July 29, 2005 archive

Nothing says “summer” quite like a cookout. Kids love them. Adults, too-because they get to feel like kids again. The aroma of cooking food mixed with fresh air makes everyone’s mouth water. And no one has yet explained how everything cooked outdoors somehow tastes better.

Outdoor kitchens are the newest trend in Houston landscaping. These structures create a focus point similar to the kitchen inside the home. It becomes the center of all the action and entertainment. In other words, outdoor kitchens give you a natural gathering place in a natural setting.

Best of all, an outdoor kitchen allows you, as the host, to enjoy the good times, too. You may be the chief cook and bottlewasher, but, with an outdoor kitchen, you get to do all your necessary-and much appreciated-work right in the midst of your family, friends and guests.

An Expert Call to help with your Outdoor Kitchen

Building an outdoor kitchen is not any different than any other remodeling project-except it must withstand extremely high levels of heat from the grill and, if not built properly, it can damage or destroy your property. Therefore, it makes sense to use a professional.

A pro will help you during the landscape design phase to check your deed restrictions concerning rules regulating such items as size, lot coverage percentages, height, and color materials. They will also be familiar with city regulations prior to and during construction. It is also imperative that you have a good layout so that all your appliances fit and are convenient for use.

Another consideration for which a professional will provide advice is tying your outdoor kitchen’s design into the larger space; things like, complementing any existing structures, easy access to the indoor kitchen and the outdoor kitchen’s relationship to a swimming pool and outdoor fountain. There might be important factors concerning the layout; for instance, if the outdoor kitchen is at your beach house, it might be best positioned to catch the prevailing breeze.

Additions and Subtractions

Decisions to make concerning your outdoor kitchen include:

• Do you want your outdoor kitchen covered so that you can cook and entertain even when it rains? If you opt out of a roof, fabric covers keep your grill and other furnishings clean. Plus they’ll last longer with extra protection.

• You will want to consider the overall size needed. For instance, for the chairs at the dining table, you need at least four feet away from any other element, especially the grill or any step-downs.

• Plan for adequate cabinet space. This way you can keep your outdoor kitchen properly supplied, which will help cut down on trips back and forth to the indoor kitchen.

• Counter top options include tile, granite, stone and concrete. Consider a counter top with a minimum of grout so that it reduces your clean-up time.

• Overhead fans.

• Refrigerator: Undercounter units are popular for outdoor kitchens because they are out of sight, protected by the counter and handy for storage. Look for models that include automatic ice makers and frost-free features.

• Sinks: Stainless-steel sinks are preferable for outdoor kitchens because they won’t corrode.

• Other accoutrements to consider: Waterproof TV and sound systems, hot water heaters, warming drawers, and fireplaces.

The Star of the Show: The Outdoor Grill

Grills can be either custom-built or pre-fabricated. Custom-built grills provide a more permanent appearance. They also require a non-combustible surround, usually made of brick or masonry. Prefabricated grills use a steel frame and are available with decorative finishes such as stucco, brick or stone.

Other nice-to-have features for the grill include a smoker, side burners and a rotisserie.

Whether you go with a custom or ready-made grill, your builder will need to check for any necessary permitting. Electricity, water and natural gas lines are usually brought to the outdoor kitchen from the service in the house.

Don’t Forget!

Jeff Halper with Exterior Worlds suggests three elements that often get overlooked when designing an outdoor kitchen:

• Outdoor kitchens need adequate landscape lighting-and lighting that not only provides general and task lighting, but accent lighting as well. “Lights can be attached to the grill or lighting can be mounted in beams in the arbor, in nearby trees or on the house eaves,” says Halper. “Lights create dramatic effects by casting shadows from plantings and trees. They provide an artistic element that can be enjoyed indoors or out.”

• Plenty of electrical outlets should be included in plans for the cooking and dining areas.

• Think about landscaping, an herb garden nearby. “It’s a nice touch and you can easily add the garden-fresh ingredients to your cooking,” says Halper.

Outdoor wall lighting products are essential to provide security to your home at night. They are also useful to illuminate the areas surrounding your house such as backyard, gardens and patio. They can enhance beauty of your home and at the same time provide essential security from intruders.

Outdoor wall lighting products provide several forms of lightings that are useful for decoration and celebration.  Outdoor wall lanterns are most common example of outdoor wall lighting products they can be used for landscape as well as decorative purposes.   They are mostly used to decorate the entrance of a house, backyard and garden of your home.  The brass wall lantern is the most commonly used Outdoor wall lighting product, they are widely used with outdoor lighting fixtures.

There are many types of lanterns are used such as simple and advance lanterns.  They are modern in style and sizes.  Some Outdoor wall lighting products are run by batteries. They are available in forms of simple light bulb and special fluorescent lamps.

The Outdoor wall lighting products can recognize your walk area and walls. They are based on highest quality standards.  They can make your walls classy and admirable. They are durable and reliable. They can make your wall attractive and safe. The Outdoor wall lighting products are easily available in the market. They are easy and safe to use. These lighting products are organized according to their type. They are beautiful and affordable.

Outdoor wall lightings products can provide visual solution to the problem of interior and exterior lighting.  They are useful for residential and commercial applications. They are durable and shock proof; some Outdoor wall lighting products do not provide traditional illumination effects to your walls.  Paper lanterns are another example of outdoor lighting products.  They are useful for party related activities. It contains a paper bag having with candle placed inside.

Outdoor wall lighting equipments are most suitable for restaurants, homes and hotels. Hanging lanterns are most commonly used for lighting walls and outdoors. They can make wall much more attractive and beautiful.  They are available in modern styles and they run by rechargeable batteries. 

Sometimes Chinese lanterns are used to decorate wall and outdoors.  Chinese Outdoor wall lighting products are most attractive lighting products. These lighting products contain Chinese themes and cultural symbols.  They are most commonly used in china for outdoor and indoor lighting. They are also popular in Japan and they are popularly called as “chochin moli”

Outdoor wall lighting adds exotic touch to your walls; they can increase warmth and brightness of your wall. They are also useful for your gardens and backyards.

Outdoor wall lanterns are available at part stores, home ware suppliers, hardware lanterns and lighting stores. Outdoor wall lightings products are suitable for indoors as well as outdoors. They are made in some of the best designs, which are useful to light steps as well as walls. Proper selection of outdoor wall lighting products is essential to get maximum lighting benefits

Outdoor banner signs are placed on or before premises to identify the nature of the business done there or, placed at a distance, to advertise a business or its products. Advertising through outdoor banner signs is one of the best available inexpensive and easy ways to enhance your business in the outdoor marketplace. Outdoor banner signs suits for all your outdoor promotional requirements. The outdoor banner signs make a big impression when you are looking to attract and motivate customers for your business. An outdoor banner sign is simple to install. Outdoor banner signs are available in both light and dark shades of different colors.
Generally, digitally printing or vinyl lettering is applied on outdoor banner signs. You can use other services such an offset printing, screen printing, web design, etc with a much clearer and consistent logo format. Printing can also be done using letters made of durable polypropylene with ultraviolet (UV) inhibitors to prevent fading and cracking in sun. Heavy-duty reinforced poly vinyl material is also UV treated to prevent fading of banner color.
Outdoor vinyl banner signs draw attention always. They are suitable for all situations which require proper advertising and are especially inexpensive way for promoting any business. The outdoor banner signs deliver durable eye catching images for outdoor use. You can even use them as a temporary name change of your business location. PVC vinyl outdoor banner signs are suitable for events, general business and visual displays.
Some banner makers use new banner sign materials and techniques of Australia, and most of them offers high quality printing onto outdoor banners. ‘Australiasigns’ is a national signage supplier. You can buy such banners directly from Australiasigns’ company warehouse. At QSonline Sign Warehouse, you can view plenty of banner signs with designs of Australia. These banner signs are extra strong with the power of our Australian graphic designers. The printing is performed with extra bright colors. The extra strong banner material used does not need wind holes.
Outdoor banner signs printed with durable polypropylene letters with ultraviolet (UV) inhibitors last for many years. They are suitable for use in demonstrations, vigils, pickets, marches, hand-held highway overpass displays at rush hour, as well as displays in booths at events and retail store windows. They are highly visible and effective from far away. Weather-resistant poly-coated outdoor banner signs can be easily fit over an optional heavy gauge wire frame to push into ground for outdoor display.
Changeable banner signs with VELCRO(R) brand hook-and-loop fasteners are cheaper than custom made vinyl banner with die-cut vinyl lettering. The real savings comes in after you have changed your message just three or four times. This banner lasts for years, and the text can be changed in five minutes. The hook-and-loop fasteners on the back of the banner enable to quickly and easily fix the banner. These banner signs with rigid UV resistant polypropylene material won’t crack or fade even after long exposure to sun.
Now-a-days some online banner makers allow you to price outdoor banner signs yourself. The online banner makers enable you to make the banner have any message you want by just 5 minutes. Some vinyl banner signs look exactly the way you want because you may design them.
Before you plan your outdoor banner sign, it is better to know what types of outdoor signs are available in the market. Choose an outdoor banner sign that goes with the aesthetics of your building architecture and business.

Outdoor entertaining has come a long way from just setting up a barbeque grill on the back deck or a picnic table on the patio. Now the most exciting new room in the house isn’t even in the house: it’s the new “outdoor room”. Creative homeowners are adding gas patio heaters (the kind you see in sidewalk cafes) and even building fireplaces so their outdoor rooms can be used in the winter. They’re arranging special seating areas to entertain guests. Decorating with different flowers, plants, and outdoor art. And, using large planters as well as arbors, trellises, or other simple structures to help define the space.

Where to start with your outdoor room

So how do you transition from a few pieces of lawn furniture to a true outdoor room? We believe the best way is to start with a central focal point and move out from there. Try centering your outdoor room around the one thing that you’ll be doing in it the most – gathering for a meal. Think about it like an indoor room. What’s the most important gathering place in the house? Where do people come together for conversation, drinks, and meals? It’s the dining table. That’s why we believe the best place to start is to put an attractive dining table in the middle of your outdoor room and work around it from there.

Borrowing from a beautiful Mediterranean tradition

You can’t drag your fine mahogany dining table outdoors, but you certainly don’t want a white plastic patio table to be the focal point for your outdoor room. What are the alternatives? You could go with a teak or wrought iron table. But, if really you want to do something special, then borrow from a timeless Mediterranean tradition and gather your guests around an exquisite handcrafted mosaic table. With its colorful, meticulously arranged hand-cut tiles, the table itself is not only a centerpiece for parties, but a delightful focal point for your outdoor room and a unique talking point for you and your guests.

Choosing the right look for your outdoor room

Before you select your mosaic table, ask yourself which colors you want to pick up in the tiles. Do you want to reflect the sunny yellows and blues of the French Riviera? Or the warm ochre reds found in the zillij (tile work) of Southern Spain and Morocco? Then think about reflecting those colors in the table decorations on top of your mosaic table. Accenting them in accessories like pots and planters. And complimenting them with colorful cushions on wrought iron chairs around your mosaic table. It’s not just the table that’s mosaic. You’re really creating your own mosaic out of the flowers, pots, and other accents that go on, above, and around your mosaic table.

Don’t forget that your outdoor room is outdoors

Of course, you want to make sure that everything that goes in your outdoor room can stand the outdoors. So look for furnishings and accent pieces that work well both indoors and out – like your mosaic table. In harsher northern climates, some homeowners will cover their tables when not in use or even bring them indoors to add color as kitchen tables, accent tables, or even dining tables.

Light for the night. Shade for the day.

Once you’ve established your central visual theme, think about radiating outwards with some unique lighting fixtures. Light the night with exotic Moroccan lanterns or hand-cut metal sconces. Also, consider adding some shade to make your outdoor room more inviting during hot summer days. But, don’t just think about umbrellas. Consider using arbors, awnings, or canopies where you can grow flowers and vines to create natural shade. Then, you can use these same structures to hang your lanterns and lights by night.

An outdoor room can fit any budget

There are many ways to create an outdoor room. You can do it surprisingly affordably with just a few simple pieces like your mosaic table, wrought iron chairs, and a few basic flowerpots. Over time, you can add fireplaces, stainless steel barbecue grills, and water features such as a fountain or waterfall. Again, the main idea is to start with a central focal point – like your mosaic table – and add other elements that complement it.

Make your move to the great outdoors

To get started, try looking online at some Moroccan handcrafted mosaic tables. Look at the patterns in the zillij, the colors, and the different shapes. Define the focal point of your outdoor room. Then, start to explore other accent pieces to compliment your mosaic table. Before you know it, you’ll have added a whole new room to your home – a beautiful place to entertain guests, gather the family for a meal, or escape with a quiet cup of tea and a book.

Copyright © 2007 J. Reed and B. Reed

An Outdoor Kitchen is a fabulous addition to a house, it is something that will change your house completely.

Outdoor Kitchens are becoming more and more popular, the change is mainly due to the fact that a lot of people are trying to upgrade the familiar barbeque experience into something a little more elegant and comfortable – the Outdoor Kitchen.

Outdoor kitchen can be used not only as the main attraction at your parties, an outdoor kitchen can be used on a daily basis, with the whole family enjoying a meal n the open air, you may find yourself disappointed of restaurants when you start eating “out” a few times a week. Suddenly an evening in a closed space will seem like less fun compared to the outdoor kitchen experience waiting just a few steps from your living room.

The growing popularity of the outdoor kitchen in the last years has created many different products to choose when designing your outdoor kitchen, some people prefer to design a small and practical outdoor kitchen and save some costs, others go for the luxury additions when creating their outdoor kitchen design.

Today you can find outdoor kitchens in region of the world that have relatively short summers, people living in these areas try and enjoy the summer to its fullest, and install a kitchen that is built around the grill, this way they can have a barbeque without running in and out of the house and use a small kitchen in their backyard.

Weather conditions in your area will be very important when thinking of an outdoor kitchen design, in some cases extreme weather will call for unique solutions and custom made outdoor kitchens, these can be very expensive and take a lot of energy to put together, you may need to consider the conditions of your living area before going ahead with the plan to build an outdoor kitchen.

Naturally there are huge advantages to the outdoor experience, spending quality time with your family and friends and enjoying the outdoors, an outdoor kitchen can create the prefect setting for all these things on a regular, everyday basis. The work you will need to put into your outdoor kitchen is also something to consider before checking out the appliances, if you plan to do this by yourself you should be aware of the fact that building an outdoor kitchen may take a lot of time, so free a couple of your weekends and carefully plan and design your outdoor kitchen. If you plan to have a third party perform the construction of the outdoor kitchen make sure you know exactly what you want and start the negotiations from your ideal point, don’t forget that contractors sometime have their own preferences, but they are not the ones living in the house, so remember to make it absolutely clear that you are calling the shots on this outdoor kitchen design.

One last word about outdoor kitchens, you may find that some people are much nicer to you than they were before when you have your outdoor kitchen ready, some of them may even call and ask if they can come over for a nice sunny Sunday lunch and enjoy your new outdoor kitchen, you don’t have to invite all of these new friends, and if they complain about you never answering the phone or not getting the door, you can simply tell them you were outside, preparing a nice lunch in your new outdoor kitchen.