Kitchens alfresco; Three designs, three budgets: from elaborate stone pavilion to simple counter

Sunset, August, 2004 by Peter O. Whiteley, Julie Chai

Cooking and dining outside for much of the year is one of the great traditions of living in the West. But no time is more sublime to do it than summer, when warm days stretch into balmy evenings. On nights like this, we can't imagine turning on the oven. This is where the outdoor kitchen comes in: An icon of Western living, it's the ultimate barbecue fantasy, one that almost every homeowner has daydreamed about.

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The outdoor kitchen means so much more than a barbecue with a prep sink. There are pizza ovens, griddles, infrared rotisseries, built-in woks, deep-fryers--you can customize your outdoor kitchen to suit the food you cook and the way you want to entertain. From fireplaces to pop-up thin-screen televisions, the features are limited only by your budget.

Here are three alfresco kitchens that represent a range of options, yet share one common purpose: to bring families together for good times in a beautiful setting.

LARGE BUDGET

Country retreat

It's Tuscan and it's timeless. Mary Prchal and Jacque Ducharme's Healdsburg, California, outdoor kitchen is a casual but elegant environment for year-round dining--they even have Thanksgiving dinner here.

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The look is defined by the materials: stone columns, flagstone pavers, handhewn wood beams, terra-cotta roof tiles, and warm-toned plaster walls. But the focal point of the 16- by 22-foot kitchen space is an elevated, wide-mouthed fireplace that rises from the tawny concrete counter. Having the fire at table height is as practical as it is romantic: The fire not only warms a late-evening meal and bathes the space in flickering light, it also serves as a place to cook pizza (using a gridlike Tuscan grill).

Situated between two columns, the fireplace is flanked by a large soapstone sink on one side and a gas-fired barbecue with a side burner on the other; a cubby for wood storage is beneath. A pantry contains a full-size refrigerator, trash containers, and shelves and drawers for kitchenware. The 1,008-square-foot total structure, which also houses a bathroom with a shower and a sauna room for eight, truly is deluxe. It was built for approximately $250 per square foot.

DESIGN: Pamela Dreyfuss Interior Design, Santa Rosa, CA (707/525-1044); Exteriors Landscape Architecture, Santa Rosa (707/528-8696)

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SMALL BUDGET

Backyard BBQ

Carl and Lynne Steffens loved spending time in their Northern California backyard, so the desire for a built-in barbecue area was natural. They couldn't find a premade model to meet their needs, though, so they built an outdoor kitchen themselves and made it a family project by including their four young daughters--Sophia, Helena, Isabel, and Caroline--in the process.

Carl and Lynne, both of whom had minimal building experience, researched and planned the project, incorporating the girls' ideas about the barbecue area's look and features. When construction began, the girls--then ages 4 through 8--helped shop for supplies, assisted Carl while he built ("He always needed at least one assistant to hold things," says Lynne), and photographed the project's progress.

The barbecue area took two months of mostly weekend and evening work. It includes a barbecue, sink, bar, and storage space along with gas, electricity, and plumbing lines. The area shares a wall with the kitchen, making it easy to talk and pass food and dishes through a connecting window.

Now the built-in barbecue is family central. "We have a rotisserie, a vegetable cooker, and a griddle," says Lynne. "With the warmer weather, we use the barbecue about four nights a week. The girls like to sit outside for breakfast on the weekends."

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Cost breakdown

Barbecue unit: $750

Sink and fixtures (including cabinets): $500

Water/electric/gas lines: $75

Tile: $400

Framing (concrete blocks, wood framing, backerboard): $750

TOTAL: $2,475

How the family built it

The Steffenses had a perfect place to install an outdoor kitchen: up against the house on their rear patio, where there was ample room for a simple L-shaped counter. A trellis provides partial shade.

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1 Carl Steffens built the basic framework for the cooking center--where the stainless steel built-in barbecue would be installed--out of fire-safe concrete blocks. Wood framing, including 2-by-4s and 4-by-4s, forms the tablelike support for the base of the sink and bar.

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2 After the concrete blocks were set in place for both the grilling counter and the small buffet, they were covered with backerboard.

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3 Waterproof tile backing covers the sink counter and the buffet to form a base for the slate tile.

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4 After Carl laid out the tiles to check for fit, he set them in tile mortar. Then he covered the backerboard with a light coat of stucco painted to match the wall of the house.

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5 Carl's overall advice is to consult with professionals: "Draw up your plans and walk through the steps with an expert," he says. "It can save a lot of backtracking. The expert can also help with material choices.