Home Decorating - Home Decor Designed for The Way You Live » outdoor kitchen http://www.homedecoratingbiz.com Home Decorating, Find Top Class home decor Designed for the way you live Fri, 15 Jul 2011 16:52:40 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.1.2 http://www.homedecoratingbiz.com http://www.homedecoratingbiz.com/wp-content/plugins/cbnet-favicon/icons/favicon-26.ico Home Decorating - Home Decor Designed for The Way You Live Backyard Kitchen Primer http://www.homedecoratingbiz.com/garden-and-landscape-ideas/backyard-kitchen-primer/ http://www.homedecoratingbiz.com/garden-and-landscape-ideas/backyard-kitchen-primer/#comments Mon, 15 Jun 2009 16:41:30 +0000 Home Decor http://www.homedecoratingbiz.com/?p=344 gargenkitback1 Backyard Kitchen PrimerIf summer cookout history repeats itself, your guests might as well be watching a tennis match. After all, you’ll spend most of the time scurrying back between your kitchen and outdoor grill to snare marinated meats, creamy potato salad, condiments and ice-cold drinks as you do all you can to earn the title of Mr. or Mrs. Hospitality from your guests.
Real outdoor cooking aces know it doesn’t have to be like that anymore. More and more consumers are building outdoor—or cabana— kitchens so they can slow down and spend more time with their family and friends. With a mix of cabinets, grills, warming drawers, sinks and refrigerators, all the elements of outdoor dining can be close at hand.
“More and more, people want to bring their living outdoors,” says Barbara Barton, a certified kitchen designer with HADCO in Atlanta. “You have a choice. You can bring the outdoors in by bringing plants into your rooms, or you can bring your rooms outside.”
Barton says outdoor kitchen areas are becoming increasingly popular, particularly in the Southeast where there has been a construction boom. “I’m doing at least two outdoor kitchens a month, and I’m certainly not the only designer in town,” she says. She says these spaces are often built into existing patios, pool areas or atriums and peppered with wicker-upholstered easy chairs, loveseats and cocktail tables.
“Everyone can have a outdoor grill,” Barton says, “but when you add in specialty items such as large woks, ice makers and wine coolers, then you’re talking about something altogether different. The question is how much do you want to put into it? She says customers can sometimes spend as much as $30,000 for a cooking space that includes appliances from Sub-Zero, Gaggenau, Thermador and Bosch.
Barton says her kitchens often include grills with ventilation hoods, warming drawers, 60,000 BTU woks (“just in case you need to cook corn on the cob for 50 people”), under-the-counter refrigerators for drinks and marinated meats, ice machines and wine storage equipment.
It’s also important to use weather-resistant materials. “You have to be sure that you’ve got things that will do well in the natural elements,” she says, adding that cabinetry can be made from teak or stainless steel; countertops from stone or slate; and sinks from stone.
Your kitchen should be as elaborate as you need it to be, she says. The family who only barbecues once a week, will do fine with a grill and a tile or stucco storage cabinet that protects supplies from the weather. The family who dines outside as much as they can will want storage space, a counter or dining table, sink and a refrigerator. Depending on what you decide to add, you can boost the value of your home because the room will count as a second kitchen, she says.
“Whatever you decide, it’s important to consider your family’s needs,” Barton says. “You want to do what you can to make sure your kitchen is as functional and casual as possible.”

source: www.realtor.com

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