All Fired Up

It’s no secret that excitement in backyard living has been rising like mercury on the 4th of July. As today’s upscale consumers continue to spend more time, energy and money on creating their ideal home environment, they are – seemingly more than ever – eager to turn up the heat on outdoor entertaining.

This has created an opportunity for kitchen designers – already specialists in creating beautiful, functional kitchen spaces perfect for entertaining – as they take their skills to the great outdoors and focus on America’s newest “trophy room.”

While manufacturers work to create ever more specialized and unique products that answer the growing demand for more upscale, sophisticated outdoor spaces, they are increasingly blurring the lines between the “in” and the “out” of doors. This has left many kitchen designers and their clients wondering, is it inside-out or outside-in? When it comes to the backyard kitchen experience, even manufacturers on the hot-seat are forced to concede that it’s getting harder to tell the difference.

If the outdoor living trend speaks to a larger philosophy in the way consumers are choosing to live their lives these days, then the outdoor kitchen itself is the glowing ember that continues to stoke the flame of that movement.

As we all remember from childhood, the backyard is for playing, not working. And, as soon as we step out into our own backyard, all of the sounds, sights and smells of that childhood come rushing back. So outdoor kitchens become a natural extension of the trend toward home entertaining.

Whether consumers are bubbling to bring the outdoors in or the indoors out, kitchen designers and manufacturers agree that the backyard isn’t just a backyard anymore.

It’s another room in the house. It’s a trend that might give the term “hot-house” a whole new meaning. Because the no-frills, charcoal barbecue cart on wheels that your father stood over while wearing a funny hat is being increasingly passed over for custom-built islands with stainless steel cabinets, infrared burners for searing, slow-cooking burners for meat that falls off the bone, rotisserie systems, smokers, pizza ovens, microwaves, undercounter refrigerators and freezers and, in colder climates, awnings and patio heaters to extend the outdoor cooking season.

According to the Hearth, Patio and Barbeque Association, three out of four U.S. households own a grill, so it should be no surprise that consumers are increasingly eager to invest in their backyard living space in order to create these outdoor experiences, and share them with friends and loved ones.

However, the big change from yesteryear is the increasing level of sophistication that is evident in today’s outdoor spaces.

Whatever amenities consumers can imagine for their indoor kitchens, manufacturers say that they can now duplicate them for outside use. And kitchen designers are taking advantage of this opportunity, not only to garner new business, but to revisit their indoor kitchen clients to create an equally spectacular outdoor kitchen for them.

Home on the Range
While once outdoor cooking meant a basic grill, a bag of charcoal and a bit of sunshine, the current trend in outdoor kitchens is moving away from the skinny and toward the whole hog, with weather-resistant cabinets, built-in refrigerators, sinks, ambient lighting, and, as the centerpiece to all this, a high-quality, built-in grill.

But, there’s more. At the ultra high-end, designers are increasingly seeing demand for custom-built islands with pop-up boxes for plasma televisions, surround-sound systems, rafter-mounted heaters, fire pits and martini-glass chilling racks inside professional-grade freezers for the perfect luxury outdoor experience.

This trend toward outdoor entertaining also means separate dining areas with high-end, weather-resistant furniture, which might include lounge chairs and a conversation table made of teak or an oversized jarrah dining set with a tempered-glass table-top. Additionally, multi-functional elements, such as a table with built-in cooktop, are also gaining ground in outdoor kitchens, just as they are in indoor designs.