Outdoor rooms have become very popular in areas with mild climates, such as California. Outdoor kitchens are much more than a grill and a picnic table. An outdoor kitchen may have grilling accessories, counter top space, cabinets and drawers, a sink, refrigerator, dishwasher, table and chairs, as well as lighting, carpeting, and even a TV.
In an article in "Today's Homeowner.com," Fran J. Donegan pointed out that outdoor kitchens can cost from about $3,000 for one with a good-quality grill, a 6 ft. long counter and a patio, to $15,000 and up for top line outdoor kitchen facilities. In another article it was noted that the more sophisticated outdoor rooms could cost upwards of $25,000.
Outdoor living rooms are becoming fashionable as well. Most will feature a large permanent fireplace and furniture that would look at home inside the house. Gretchen McNally's luxurious furnishings include a $4,500 "rug" made of hand-painted tile, a $9,700 cushioned iron furniture set (the acrylic cushions are "printed" to look like suede), a $30,000 fireplace, and a $2,200 wrought-iron mirror.
Interior decorators are being hired to design these exterior rooms. In a quote from Backyard Patios Begin To Resemble Home Interiors by Eileen White Read, "Patio furniture is passé," says Marcia Mohler, a Newport Beach, Calif., interior designer." Furniture makers and upholstery houses who once never considered outdoor furniture are beginning to create designer lines of outdoor living furniture.
There are even outdoor bedrooms being added to some homes. Here in the Midwest that would not be a very feasible idea, though my kids always enjoyed the idea of 'sleeping out' and on some hot summer nights I can see advantages to it.
The outdoor-furniture industry is pushing the new outdoor fashion trends. If they can convince us our patio furniture needs to be replaced with something more stylish, then they make more money.
If the outdoor living collections at your favorite stores don't manage to convince you to try the new trends, then maybe the European trend setters can. While American furniture manufacturers and designers are pushing natural woods, wicker, terra cotta, and wrought iron; the European designers are going with synthetics. Under the premise that good garden furniture should be weather proof and affordable, they are turning out designer plastics with designer names.
