In the beginning, there was the deck. Then came the nascent outdoor kitchen: a portable grill and serving trolley. This evolved to a high-end set-up, with a full complement of appliances integrated into cabinetry. In short order, that was supplemented by an alfresco dining area. Next, projection screens moved to the backyard, providing relief from the pandemic. Today, fully furnished living “rooms” complete the plein air picture. The genesis of the outdoor living in the backyard has been a story of expanded function and form.
For its 2023 qualitative survey on luxury outdoor kitchens, the NKBA interviewed 11 designers whose portfolios include this typology. Their insights and experiences confirm that many of the skills interior/kitchen designers use in their indoor projects can be transferred to jobs outside of the house.
Grow Your Comfort Zone With Education
In the NKBA report, Matt Herbert, founder of Sherwood Outdoor Kitchens in Vancouver, stresses the importance of getting outside and cooking first-hand. “It’s very different (than an indoor kitchen experience),” he said. “There are 30-inch-deep counters, cooking tools are bigger outdoors, there’s a need to offset a grill to create countertop space for serving. Cook outdoors yourself and you start to understand the flow.”
Russ Cletta, landscape architect and owner of Russ Cletta Design Studio in Venice, Cal. says another effective way to learn about outdoor kitchen design is to keep your eyes open and observe some things the next time you’re invited to a barbecue.
“Watch how the host is preparing, cooking and serving the food,” he said. “Observe the guests and how they interact with the host and the space. Ask yourself some questions: is the space appropriately sized? Is the equipment in the correct location? Is clean-up a breeze? Look for what works and for what doesn’t.”
The mark of a well-designed outdoor living space or kitchen is that it should seem effortless. “Learn from other successful designs and incorporate these ideas into your own projects,” Cletta said.
Designer Layton Campbell of JLayton Interiors, located in Charlotte, N.C., offers some final counsel for interior designers who want to expand their outdoor project work.
“Let your creative ideas keep flowing to exteriors,” he said. “The only thing I would advise is that you want to complement nature – whether it’s with hardscape or furniture. The minute you think you might be competing with Mother Nature is the moment you’ve lost that battle!”
Build New Business Connections
Another key takeaway from the NKBA report is when branching into outdoor living projects, designers need to find and learn from trades and installers beyond their familiar team of plumbers, carpenters, tile guys and electricians. By partnering with contractors with specialty expertise in outdoor work – landscape pros, smart-tech integrators, lighting experts ¬– designers can deliver the quality, fully-featured spaces their clients expect.
Expanding your professional network in this way can be mutually beneficial. Another participant in the NKBA survey, Kerrie Kelly, founder of California-based Kerrie Kelly Designs, said, “We’re educating contractors on new products, and they educate us on things that can go wrong. Our requests lead to eyerolls, but by the end they’re as excited as we are and they learn something new.”
To ensure a cohesive – and beautiful – outdoor living space, you may also need to broaden your product sources. While specing suitably weather-rated appliances, fittings, cabinets and surfaces is not a big stretch for kitchen designers, when it comes to furnishings, fabrics and other décor items, time spent in local design centers or trips to trade shows can sharpen your knowledge of these essentials.
Outdoor Living: What Homeowners Want
Quantitively, the market for outdoor residential work remains vigorous. The annual 2024 Outdoor Trend Report from the International Casual Furnishings Association sheds statistical light on how consumers want to improve and use their outdoor living spaces in the coming year.
According to the independent study conducted by Wakefield Research, only 18% of homeowners are spending as much time in their outdoor living spaces as they want to, and 94% would spend more time relaxing, eating, socializing and entertaining after updating their decks, patios and porches.
That’s a significant amount of motivated, potential clients.
“When we have inviting, comfortable outdoor spaces, it’s only natural that we gravitate to them,” said Jackie Hirschhaut, vice president of the American Home Furnishings Alliance and executive director of its outdoor division, ICFA. “There are so many furnishings and accessories – for all budgets and space sizes – to inspire people to step outside and enjoy their surroundings.”
Other findings from the ICFA report that bode well for designers include:
• More than two-thirds of households (67%) plan to purchase new outdoor furnishings, with nearly half (44%) planning to purchase multiple pieces of décor.
• More than half (51%) of people with outdoor spaces either have little to no furniture at all (28%) or old furniture they will swap out (23%).
• More than two in five (43%) households already have the furniture and furnishings they need; they still need a few cosmetic upgrades and design elements to spruce up their outdoor living space.
• Older people are more likely to have furniture needing replacement, with more than a quarter of Boomers (28%) and 27% of Gen X in that situation, while Millennials (37%) and Gen Z (34%), are more likely to have little to nothing to start with.
• For the first time, outdoor art (23%) made it onto the list of planned purchases.
• Lounge chairs and chaises top the wish lists of Americans for their outdoor living space (35%), while 23% want accent furniture like garden benches, plant stands, porch swings, hammocks, or a bar cart.
• More than 68% of homeowners prioritize practicality and durability of outdoor furnishings over style (32%).
With the kitchen now firmly established as being the heart of backyard as well as the home, designers are well positioned to push forward and seek opportunities to create ancillary outdoor living spaces.
