Here’s something nobody tells you when you buy a house in Avon: your backyard is probably your biggest underperforming asset.
Think about it. You maintain it every week. You mow it, edge it, keep the weeds in check. You might even water it. But when was the last time you actually did something out there that wasn’t yard work?
For most Avon families, the backyard is a chore, not a destination. There’s no shade, no structure, no reason to be out there once the sun goes down. The kids might play in the yard for a bit, but the adults? They end up back inside, sitting in the same rooms they always sit in, while hundreds of square feet of outdoor space sits empty behind the house.
It doesn’t have to be that way. And more Avon homeowners are starting to figure that out.
Three Seasons You're Missing
Indiana isn’t California. Nobody’s pretending we have year-round outdoor weather. But here’s what people forget: we don’t need year-round weather to make an outdoor space worth building.
From late March through mid-November, central Indiana gives you legitimate outdoor living weather. That’s roughly eight months of the year. Spring evenings in the 60s and 70s. Long summer days where the sun doesn’t set until 9:30. Fall weekends that are practically made for sitting around a fire. Even in winter, there are stretches in January and February where temperatures climb into the 40s or 50s. With a fire feature going and a covered structure blocking the wind, those evenings are more than usable.
The families in Avon who have outdoor living spaces don’t think of their backyards as seasonal anymore. They think of them as three-season rooms that happen to be outside. And when you add a firepit or fireplace, you can push that into early spring and late fall in ways that surprise people.
What Avon Homeowners Are Building
Every outdoor living project is different because every backyard is different. But in Avon, we’re seeing a clear pattern: homeowners want spaces that do more than one thing.
In one Avon project, we designed a complete outdoor living area anchored by a covered porch with stone steps leading down to a firepit. The covered porch is the everyday space. It’s where the family eats dinner, where the kids hang out after school, where the adults sit in the evenings. The firepit is the weekend space. It’s set lower in the yard, away from the house, surrounded by seating, and designed for the kind of evenings where you don’t want to go inside. We added landscaping throughout to create privacy and finished the project with a dedicated pad for a hot tub. That one backyard now has four distinct zones: covered living, open patio, fire gathering area, and a private retreat.
Another Avon project took a different approach. This homeowner wanted to cook outside, not just grill. We built a paver patio with a full outdoor kitchen: built-in grill, counter space, storage, and seating. No more running inside for supplies. No more eating dinner at the patio table while everything gets cold because the kitchen is 50 feet away. The outdoor kitchen became the center of how the family entertains, and it changed the dynamic completely. Guests stay outside now. The party doesn’t split between indoors and outdoors. Everyone is in one place, and that place happens to have a better view than the dining room.
Neighborhoods like Timber Bend, Stratford of Avon, Forrest Commons, and Whispering Pines have the kind of lot sizes and backyard layouts that are perfect for this work. Many of these homes were built with decent yards but minimal outdoor features beyond a basic patio or small deck. The bones are there. The potential is there. It’s just a matter of deciding what you want the space to be.
Starting With the Right Design
The most common mistake in outdoor living projects isn’t choosing the wrong materials or the wrong features. It’s skipping the design process entirely.
Here’s what that looks like: a homeowner decides they want a patio. They pick pavers from a sample book. The patio gets built. Then they decide they want a firepit, so they add one. Then they realize there’s no shade, so they start thinking about a pergola. Each decision is made in isolation. Each new addition is a reaction to something that’s missing. And when it’s all done, the space feels like it was assembled, not designed.
Compare that to what happens when the design comes first. You start by looking at the whole picture: the house, the yard, the sun exposure, the sightlines from the windows, the way the ground slopes, where you want to be during the day versus the evening. You figure out traffic flow. Where do people enter the space? Where do they naturally want to sit? Where does it make sense to cook, and where does it make sense to relax?
When those questions get answered before construction starts, every element fits together. The covered porch is positioned where the afternoon shade falls. The firepit sits where it catches the evening breeze. The outdoor kitchen faces the yard so whoever’s cooking can see the kids. The landscaping fills in around everything to give the space definition and privacy.
At BGW, we won’t break ground until the design is right. That means 3D renderings you can actually look at and react to. It means a detailed scope of work that lays out every step of the project. We’ve been building outdoor spaces in Hendricks County since 1999, and the projects that turn out best are always the ones where the homeowner knows exactly what they’re getting before construction starts.
Covered Porches: Your Most Versatile Outdoor Feature
If you asked us what single feature gets the most use in Avon outdoor living projects, the answer is always a covered porch.
Not a patio. Not a deck. A covered porch, attached to the house, with a real roof overhead.
Here’s why: Indiana weather is unpredictable.
You can start a Saturday afternoon in full sun and have a thunderstorm roll through by 4 PM. If your outdoor space is completely open, you’re heading inside the moment clouds show up. A covered porch lets you stay put. Rain becomes background noise instead of a reason to pack it up.
Heat works the same way. By mid-July in Avon, a full-sun patio at 2 PM is not where anyone wants to be. A covered porch with a ceiling fan turns that same afternoon into something comfortable. You’re outside, you’ve got airflow, and you’re out of direct sunlight. That’s the difference between a space you use in June and one you use from April through October.
The structural connection to the house matters too. A covered porch that ties into your existing roofline doesn’t just look better. It functions better. The roof pitch matches your home. The attachment point is engineered to carry the load properly. It feels like part of the house because it is part of the house, not a freestanding structure that looks like it was added as an afterthought.
Outdoor Kitchens: Why Avon Families Are Making the Switch
There’s a reason outdoor kitchens are one of the fastest-growing outdoor features in central Indiana. Once people experience cooking outside, they don’t go back.
The appeal is practical, not flashy. It’s not about having a restaurant in your backyard. It’s about not having to treat dinner like a relay race between the indoor kitchen and the patio. When your prep space, your grill, your fridge, and your serving area are all in one place outside, cooking becomes social instead of isolated.
In Avon, outdoor kitchens work best when they’re positioned under a covered structure.
A pergola or covered porch roof keeps the cook out of direct sun and protects the countertops and appliances from weather. Most of our outdoor kitchen projects include a built-in gas grill, stone or granite countertops, storage below, and at minimum a compact refrigerator. Some homeowners add a sink, a pizza oven, or a dedicated bar area. It depends on how you cook and how you entertain.
The practical consideration most people miss: plan for utilities before you build. Gas lines, electrical for lighting and outlets, and potentially water for a sink all need to be routed to the outdoor kitchen location. When this is part of the design from the start, it’s straightforward. When it’s an afterthought, it gets expensive and complicated fast.
Fire Features: Turning Cool Evenings Into the Best Part of Your Day
The temperature drops after sunset in Avon starting around mid-September. By October, most backyards are done for the year. The furniture gets covered or stacked. The grill gets pushed to the side. You’re inside until April.
A firepit or outdoor fireplace pushes that timeline in both directions.
Firepits are the more common choice for open patio areas. They sit at ground level or slightly raised, surrounded by seating, and they create a natural gathering spot. On a 50-degree evening in late October, a wood-burning firepit makes the difference between going inside and staying out for another two hours. Your kids will tell you the firepit is the best thing in the yard, and they’re not wrong.
Outdoor fireplaces are a different experience. They’re typically built into or near the covered porch structure, often with a stone surround that becomes a visual anchor for the entire space. A fireplace gives you directed heat, which means you can sit close and stay warm even when the air temperature is in the 40s. It also gives your covered porch area year-round functionality. Coffee by the fire on a February morning when the sun is out? That’s a real thing people do once they have the setup for it.
The Role of Landscaping in Outdoor Living
Here’s a truth that most contractors won’t tell you: your outdoor living space is only as good as the landscaping around it.
A beautiful paver patio surrounded by bare dirt and a chain-link fence doesn’t feel like an outdoor living room. It feels like a construction project that stopped halfway. Landscaping is what makes an outdoor space feel finished.
It’s what creates the sense of enclosure and privacy that turns a backyard into a retreat. Planting beds along the perimeter soften the edges of hardscape. Ornamental trees provide natural shade and vertical interest. Privacy plantings between you and the neighbors create the feeling that you’re in your own space, not on display. Even something as simple as ground lighting along a walkway changes how the space feels after dark.
When BGW acquired Laddscape in 2024 and brought Kevin Ladd on as Director of Operations, it was specifically to close this gap. Kevin spent years building his reputation in Hendricks County on landscape design and installation. Now that expertise is built into every outdoor project we do. The structure, the hardscape, and the landscaping are all designed and built as one project by one team. No miscommunication between contractors. No landscaper trying to work around a structure that wasn’t designed with plantings in mind.
Frequently Asked Questions About Outdoor Living in Avon
Do I need HOA approval for an outdoor living project in Avon?
Many Avon neighborhoods, including developments like Timber Bend and Stratford of Avon, have HOA guidelines that govern exterior improvements. We recommend checking with your HOA early in the process. BGW can help you understand what’s typically required and make sure the design meets any architectural review standards.
What's the best foundation for an outdoor patio in Avon?
It depends on the scope and the soil conditions on your lot. Paver patios offer flexibility and drainage. Stamped or brushed concrete is durable and cost-effective for larger areas. We evaluate the grade and drainage of your specific yard before recommending a material.
How do I maintain an outdoor kitchen through Indiana winters?
Most built-in outdoor kitchen components are designed for year-round exposure. Stainless steel grills and stone countertops hold up well. We recommend covering the grill and any exposed appliances during the coldest months and disconnecting water lines if you have a sink. The structure itself requires minimal maintenance.
Can I build an outdoor living space on a sloped yard?
Yes, and some of the most interesting outdoor spaces we’ve built in Avon involved grade changes. Stone steps, retaining walls, and multi-level patio designs can turn a sloped yard from a limitation into a design feature. Firepits set into a lower area of the yard create a natural amphitheater effect that’s hard to replicate on flat ground.
Ready To See What's Possible In Your Backyard?
Take a look at our [outdoor living projects] to see covered porches, patios, outdoor kitchens, and firepits we’ve built across Avon and Hendricks County. When you’re ready to start the conversation about your space, [schedule a consultation] or call us at (317) 268-4487. We’ll meet at your property, walk the yard with you, and show you a design before you commit to anything.
