The promise of warmer weather often evokes thoughts of lifestyle improvements. Getting outside more, unplugging, enjoying time alone, or hosting family and friends are all great reasons to expand your outdoor living space.
Choosing a home remodeling project that includes creating or adding to an outdoor living area can set the stage. Whether it’s a patio or deck, your outdoor living space should be a reflection of your personality and a space in which you find comfort. When planning your deck space, consider what materials you want to use, how long you want it to last and if you want an outdoor cooking space. The demand for culinary amenities has increased nationally for the past 3 years and continues to gain momentum.
Our team can help you extend your living space and translate your vision into a reality. We can assist you with most outdoor projects from a simple deck or patio expansion to a built-in barbeque. Here are some benefits to extending your living space to the outdoors:
1. Increase the value of the home – According to Zillow, homes with outdoor kitchens sell for nearly 30 percent more than those without. Of the nearly four million homes nationwide that sold between January 2016 and December 2018, these outdoor features made the largest impact on sale price. CNN Money, About.com and Remodeling Magazine support that outdoor kitchens nationally return 100% to 200% of the improvement cost. It is important to note that with any home improvement, the ROI formula only works providing the design and build of a kitchen is proportional to the home value and location.
2. Great for entertaining – Outdoor entertainment spaces appeal to both boomers and millennials. According to Rymer Strategies Company, 78% of boomers and 68% of millennials are willing to pay more than $5,000 extra for a great outdoor living space. Boomers are famous for their grill nights, while millennials love their outdoor yard games. Both generations enjoy prepping, cooking and eating their meals at home, alfresco-style, capturing the luxury of open-air dining. Depending on the design layout, such as an island configuration, guests can gather around the kitchen, socialize, and watch the chef perform culinary magic. In turn, it allows the chef to remain engaged with guests without disrupting the task at hand.
3. Expand the living space – Outdoor deck designs often mirror the indoor feel of your home, successfully transitioning the indoors to the outdoors, and making use of previously unused outdoor space. This can be done by playing off of what’s already there, for example, building to complement your home’s existing shape, and staining the deck the same color as the shutters. Additionally, you can decorate your deck for the season, adding lights, garlands, and more.
4. Make cooking easier – Too many cooks in the kitchen spoil the broth. Maybe, maybe not. An outdoor kitchen allows for more cooks – or helping hands at the very least – to help with prepping, mixing drinks, grilling, and cleaning up. Depending on the layout, more bodies in an outdoor kitchen aren’t necessarily a bad thing as it can be less crowded than an indoor kitchen. Additionally, by placing a refrigerator, ice machine or wine cooler on the end of a cabinet run, guests are invited to help themselves without disrupting the chef’s workflow.
Cooking foods with strong odors that emanate? No problem. Let them disperse outside rather than within your indoor kitchen, which can permeate the rest of the home. Canning or cooking lobster? This is a great task to undertake in an outdoor kitchen. A large pressure cooker pot on a burner will need some extra space for the assigned attendant and some extra space when it’s time to remove it. Any spills make for a quick hose down versus a mess on an indoor floor followed by a slip and fall hazard.
5. Convenience – Smelly foods can linger in indoor kitchens for days. Cooking errors can create rising smoke that travels throughout the entire house and sets off the smoke detector. Cooking outdoors eliminates these issues resulting in more convenient cooking and a better household environment.
Lastly, a hot kitchen in the summer months forces the air conditioning to work harder and can crank up usage. Give the utilities a rest and let us create an outdoor living space for your enjoyment!