Outdoor Kitchens: Outdoor Home Living and Fire Places

Summer is nearing which means you will probably be entertaining and now you are wondering how to dress up your outdoor space.

Outdoor living areas take advantage of nature and healthy living. Outdoor living rooms with fireplaces, fire pits, and barbeques are becoming more of a common place to entertain and spend time with family and friends during the warm-weather months and even beyond.

Outdoor fire places are available in the traditional masonry for wood-burning applications. If it is convenience that you are looking for, gas fire places are designed with corrosion resistant, and stainless steel components. A simple economical alternative is a fire pit or chiminea. They are available as wood or gas fired units and they are portable, so you can move them to almost any area on a deck or patio.

Many factory-built fireplace manufacturers provide modular units with grills that can be integrated into the design. To complete your outdoor living room, consider adding a wet bar, burners, refrigeration, and storage cabinets, or even a TV. Outdoor living rooms are also a great investment for your home because it increases the appraised property value.

• Outdoor living rooms increase your usable space, costing less than a new addition.
  
• In most locations an outdoor living area with a fireplace can be used seven to nine months out of the year.
• Concrete patios and walkways can be stamped, formed, and dyed to look like custom tile, flagstone or brick, without the hefty price tag. Even molded and dyed pictures can be incorporated into your décor.
• Local river rock or cut stone recycled from an old building foundation gives the fireplace a unique outdoorsy feel with a piece of history attached.
• Economical chimineas or portable fire pits are available to burn wood or gas. Be sure to use a listed fireproof pad if the unit is on a combustible surface, such as a wooden deck.