Home: The Fine Print: Hot Tips
When choosing materials for your outdoor kitchen, go with concrete, granite or natural stone, says Kevin Minton, contractor service representative for New Jersey’s EP Henry. Formica and Corian won’t
When choosing materials for your outdoor kitchen, go with concrete, granite or natural stone, says Kevin Minton, contractor service representative for New Jersey’s EP Henry. Formica and Corian won’t stand up to the elements.
To keep bugs away naturally, plant a few citronella geraniums. Their scent will keep mosquitoes at bay, says Bob Keiter, horticultural consultant at Waterloo Gardens in Devon and Exton.
“It’s nice to have separate switches for cooking and dining areas so you can turn bright lights off and keep the mood lights on,” says Mark Best, owner of Outdoor Lighting Perspectives in West Chester. “In the design phases of your outdoor kitchen, see if switches can be built near the countertops so you don’t have to run in and out of the house to change the lighting.”
“You create an ‘outdoor room’ by setting boundaries,” says Lisa Shull, owner and designer for The Fabric Loft in Southampton. Arrange your outdoor furniture into a seating area, the way you would in your living room, or use potted plants to define the space.
“There’s a trend now to do outdoor curtains,” says Shull. She uses bright, colorful outdoor fabrics to pull off cabanalike getaways.
The mouthwatering menu at Sweet Lucy’s Smokehouse in Philadelphia keeps tables packed all year long. To create the smoked flavor at home, owners Jim and Brooke Higgins say to add wood chips wrapped in foil to the burner of your gas grill.
