When interior designer Gina Sims redesigned a family of six’s home, she infused color into every corner of the house including the backyard, where pinks, blues and greens set a cheery tone. The pool is the centerpiece of the backyard with recliners and an umbrella on one side, a pergola with a swinging bench on another, and a lounge area at the foot of the pool.

Sims and her team enclosed the deck behind the house, allowing her to create a covered patio area underneath it. Instead of leaving the ceiling bare, Sims painted 12 eight-by-four panels of plywood that were then affixed to the ceiling. “We had this beautiful abstract art across this giant ceiling in the pool area, which is really, really neat,” she says. “We used exterior paint, so it’s perfect for outside.”

Gray and beige, long heralded for their universal appeal, are being pushed aside by color-seeking dwellers. This extends to the outdoors, as well. “People are creating more wild and colorful gardens, and they’re less creating this kind of curb appeal kind of generic garden where it’s boxwoods and azaleas and everything’s kind of symmetrical and perfect and nice, lovely,” says Feaster. “I think people are wanting something a little more boho and hip.”