Dining al fresco is only part of the fun. The dinner party really starts to sizzle when you serve the entire cooking experience outside!

An outdoor kitchen not only allows you to cook, eat and entertain without having to book a reservation but it also expands your living space. Not to mention, a well-designed outdoor kitchen will allow you to enjoy cooking and dining outside beyond the summer months.

Incorporating traditional kitchen elements to your outdoor kitchen is a great way to add versatility, value, and fun to your space.

Here are a few of my must-haves for creating the perfect outdoor kitchen.

Start from the ground up

Designing the floor layout and material of your outdoor kitchen is essential to building the foundation of your amazing outdoor space.

When making your selections, be aware of the different weather in our area, as well as the overall weight of the appliances you are installing.

Flooring such as polished marble or granite will be slippery and slick when wet and may not hold up to oil or food stains. The right flooring will not only complete the overall look of your outdoor kitchen but will also add durability and value to the end product.

Milestone Tip: When designing a project of this scale, remember that safety comes first. Outdoor kitchens are typically located near wet surfaces like swimming pools and spa tubs.

Be sure to choose materials that meet safety criteria, stay away from flooring that may be too slippery or rugged, and select a material that can handle food spills and grease. Ceramic tiles or porcelain outdoor tiles are the best option in this area.

Location, location, location

Where you decide to place your outdoor kitchen depends on several factors. First off, you’ll want to make sure that smoke from the grill doesn’t drift back into the home.

It’s wise to have a good idea of the general wind pattern in your yard so you can set the grill appropriately. Secondly, if you like to entertain you want to engage with your guests and won’t want to walk a long distance from the indoor kitchen to the outside.

Consider placing your grill and outdoor kitchen near the entrance to the inside kitchen.

Lastly, if you want to preserve the view you currently have from inside the house to the outside, you’ll want to design your outdoor kitchen to the side or at an angle.

This way, you don’t obstruct your view from the inside of your home. Just like an indoor kitchen, the outdoor kitchen is full of hazards so place your kitchen in the right area of your backyard.

The right planning will help ensure that your outdoor kitchen is in the right location for your yard.

Milestone Tip: If you are considering completing a lot of landscaping changes to your yard, such as adding retaining walls, living walls or a swimming pool, be sure to include the outdoor kitchen as part of the overall design.

Choose your appliances wisely

Every kitchen needs a focal point and most outdoor kitchens center around the grill. Whether you choose gas or charcoal, your grill should serve as an accent to your space.

When creating an amazing outdoor kitchen be sure to include a sink and a small refrigerator. Some outdoor kitchens are fitted with other appliances to make the outdoor kitchen feel custom.

You can even add specialty appliances like a beer tap, smokers, hibachi grills and warming drawers. Be sure a licensed electrician installs your electrical connections so that your outdoor kitchen is up to code.

Pizza ovens and tandoors are becoming increasingly demanding.

When purchasing your appliances, be sure to order items that will make it through the seasons, both rain and shine. Stainless steel or ceramic appliances are very durable, require little maintenance and work in all weather conditions.

Milestone Tip: Gas powered grills are a popular feature in the outdoor kitchen. If you want a plumbed gas line for your gas grill, you’ll need to hire a licensed professional and most likely file a permit with the city.

Be sure you consult an expert for this aspect of the project.

Add a touch of ambiance

Your outdoor kitchen will provide a place to cook, eat and entertain family and friends. This area will become the center of your outdoor life and is an opportunity to enjoy the outdoor weather while having the comforts of your indoor space!

Be sure you incorporate features that really make this space the center of your summer. Chairs, tables, decorative objects, specialty lighting and custom water features can complete the look while injecting your personal tastes in your decor.

When it comes to furniture, choose sturdy pieces with comfortable outdoor cushions. Select the largest table you can for the space so you have, as you’ll be spending a majority of your time here.

A water feature, such as a small fountain or pond can also lend a relaxing vibe to your outdoor kitchen. Some outdoor kitchens are being fitted with television sets, truly making the outdoor kitchen both the place to cook, eat, relax and entertain.

Milestone Tip: If you have a small backyard try not to overdo it with an extravagant full outdoor kitchen. Sometimes less can be more.

An alternative option is to build a BBQ island, which has all of the essentials from a grill to countertops and is a better fit for a smaller space and budget.

The best outdoor kitchens are just as functional as your indoor kitchen, as welcoming as your living room, and as entertaining as your family room.

An outdoor kitchen can be as simple as a grill, table, and chairs, or as elaborate as a fully outfitted kitchen complete with built-in appliances and seating.

Although a homeowner can set up a simple and straightforward outdoor kitchen, designing a grand and impressive outdoor kitchen is best left to a professional like the design pros at Milestone.

With so many different types of outdoor kitchens, designing the best kitchen for your family takes the time to plan and may require permitting from the city.

Regardless of whether you hire a pro or not, you can follow the above tips to get started on the right foot. An amazing outdoor kitchen will provide all the comforts of home in the serenity of your backyard! Bon’ Appetite!

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Pergola Design Tips for Your Outdoor Retreat

By Sejal Nagjee on

December 13, 2016

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Backyards have become a true expansion of the home. When properly landscaped and designed, your backyard will provide additional outdoor living space where you can spend time entertaining family and friends.

Pergolas are architectural garden hardscapes that became popular during the Italian Renaissance. They can be a welcome reprieve from the midday summer sun while creating a lovely visual for your space.

At its heart, the pergola is simple: crafted from sturdy boards and crossbeams, and accented with lattice and sometimes vines. With the right materials and guidance, they are a welcome addition to your garden retreat.

Play to Your Landscape’s Best Features

Where you place your pergola is almost as important as the pergola design itself! Pergolas and similar hardscapes work great placed directly in the landscape or right next to your home.

When located within the landscape, a pergola is visible from indoors, creating a beautiful scene. When deciding where to place your pergola, you should play to your landscape’s best features.

Think about where you will be spending most of your time. What area of the landscape have the greatest views? Are there any spots that need to be sheltered from the wind? What time of day do you want to sit under your pergola?

Which areas of the landscape are most pleasant at that time? How big a structure you want ? Minimum distance of 1-1.5 m is recommended from boundary lines to build a pergola.

Bring Shade to Your Backyard Retreat

One of the most charming benefits of adding a pergola to your backyard design is the shade they offer to your backyard retreat. When building your pergola, you have the option to place smaller slats on top of the main beams, oriented in the opposite direction.

These shorter slats are placed only two inches apart, offering exceptional shade cover to your outdoor space. Remember that a pergola is not designed to give you shade all day, as the sun will be moving.

So consider your lifestyle and schedule when planning where to place any outdoor structures to make sure you design the best setting/space for the time of day you’re likely to spend time there.

Curtains can be added to pergola for extra shade and sail shade fabric can bring shade too when combined with wood to create a cosy feeling.

Create Boundaries for Your Outdoor Space

You can easily create boundaries within your backyard by adding a pergola. This covering can designate space dedicated to eating and entertaining, especially when built in combination with a patio and outdoor kitchen.

Additionally, pergolas offer a covering for your outdoor furniture or outdoor dining area, amping up the functionality of your space. You can even add climbing plants, including flowering plants, ivy, and vines that will thrive with a pergola offering them support.

You can even hang beautiful planters from the slats of your pergola to showcase additional plant life.

Spa Covers & Patio Partitions

A pergola is a perfect addition for those looking to enjoy a little shade with the bonus of a nice breeze. A pergola is a great addition to for your hot tub or plunge pool.

A meranti wood pergola or aluminum pergola featuring louver panels that open for air or close for more privacy. If you don’t want to wait for the decorative vines to grow, you can add a thin shade cloth that will cut the UV by up to 65%.

Not only are these pergolas decorative and functional, but they also create the feeling of a separate area for your backyard spa.

As a home construction project, a pergola is far less intimidating than a covered patio. Whether your patio is directly outside your door or deep in your backyard, a pergola creates a separate space for entertaining and relaxing in the shade.

Pergolas and patio covers let you spend time in your landscape even on the most sweltering of summer days. They are also great for defining spaces within the landscape and creating an inviting transition between indoors and out.

Waterproof pergolas

Milestone Builds waterproof pergolas with wood and gypsum combination, wood covered by polycarbonate sheet, aluminum louvered pergola. Concrete structure can be combined with wooden roof to add character to the backyard.

Choose your theme to decide what kind of pergola will suit you the best.

If you are a homeowner working with Milestone to design a backyard retreat, you have countless options for customizing your space. Homeowners always have the choice to include a pergola in their backyard.

These beautiful, wooden structures offer countless benefits, including dramatically improving the aesthetic appeal of your outdoor space.

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Creating Your Personal Zen Garden

By Sejal Nagjee on

September 17, 2016

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Wouldn’t it be wonderful to create a space in the comforts of your backyard to relax and feel at peace? That’s precisely what happens when you create your own Japanese garden.

Japanese landscapes are created to be spaces of meditation and reflection. What started as a space made for Japan’s ruling aristocracy to find calm within the storm of their country’s conflict and war, has transformed over time into a way of life and deep-rooted culture.

Therefore, it’s not difficult to understand why the idea of a Japanese garden would be an appealing addition to your own landscape.

In a world that moves swiftly and creates days that are filled to the brim with stress, having a place to unwind, and even find inspiration is more important than ever.

With a little research and the right materials, you too can create a landscape that will offer a slice of peaceful Zen into your life!

Learn the Basics of a Japanese Garden

On their most basic levels, there are two distinct styles associated with Japanese gardens. The first type of Japanese garden, often referred to as Zen garden, is a rock garden that includes the soothing element of sand.

This type of Japanese landscape contains no water element and is intended to depict a scene of the inspirational mountains and rivers of Japan. Wait! Didn’t you just say there are no water elements in this design? That’s right, no water.

However, the sand and gravel are raked into a particular pattern that’s meant to symbolize the river, while rocks placed on the sand signify the mountains. The result is a peaceful homage to the inspirational mountains and rivers of Japan.

The next style of Zen garden you can design is referred to as a moss garden. Lovely, soft moss flourishes in Japan’s naturally humid and rainy climate. Zoysia grass replaces moss easily and is much easier to grow in this climate.

Adding zoysia grass to your garden will establish a soft and balanced feeling that is known to comfort a burdened mind, body and soul. It will create natural varying heights to your Zen garden making it look so authentic.

While each of these gardens is a representation of Japanese culture, your Japanese Zen garden can be a combination of the calm that speaks to you.

Whether you decide on a rock, zoysia grass or even a peaceful pond in your garden, the purpose of your Japanese garden is to create a space that achieves your personal Zen.

Stay True to the Culture of the Japanese Garden

If your goal is to create an authentic Japanese garden, it may require a little education and research to remain loyal to the culture of its creation. We often feel tempted to adhere to the traditional ideas of what the garden should look like, with bright, colorful flowers.

However, many of these preconceived notions tend to come from Chinese culture. Additions such as red hanging flowers and bridges covering small streams are all descended from ancient Chinese traditions but are often mistaken for Japanese.

Sure, many of these features have influenced Japanese gardens over time, but a true replica of a Zen garden will not contain flashy or bright colors.

Instead, a traditional Japanese garden incorporates monochromatic green, which is used to create the primary landscape palette.

When it comes to incorporating flowers into a traditional Japanese Zen garden, they are not completely out of the question. It’s just important to understand their role in the garden and your journey towards achieving Zen.

Flowers can be colorful, but they should not be so bright that they become distracting. Above all, the Japanese traditions incorporate flowers that work towards highlighting the green that serves as the balancing color of your peaceful Zen garden.

Additionally, the arrangement of your garden serves as a key aspect to achieving an authentic Japanese garden. The thought process behind a Zen garden comes from understanding that every little detail is a symbol.

The total sum of the landscape is intended to work towards creating Zen, which means that every detail serves a purpose.

Keep it Small and Simple

Creating a Japanese garden is not an exercise in creating the biggest and the best! So once you decide to create a Japanese garden, you must first set aside any notions of glitz and glamor.

Zen gardens are a testimonial to simplicity and purpose. More often than not, keeping your design simple and small works best towards achieving a successful final space.

Start by using materials that include simplicity. For example, a bamboo fence that serves as your garden’s perimeter is a natural and simple way to enhance your garden’s design.

This renewable resource (bamboo) will effortlessly add a natural element to your garden. Another peaceful aspect to enhance your garden is found in using small stone pathways that wind past stone statues or icons that speak to your goal of Zen.

These winding stone paths adhere to the Japanese belief of anticipating what’s waiting in the future while simultaneously respecting and honoring your past. Isn’t that a wonderful way to view life?

Creating Your Own Zen Garden

Understanding the ancient foundations of a Japanese garden is the best way to start with your personal Zen landscape. While this traditional garden does take some time to get just right, the benefits of a Japanese garden are well worth it in the end.

Not only will you have a space that produces peace of mind, but you’ll create a garden with a purpose that is based on a deep-rooted cultural history. It’s time to experience your Zen!

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Design a Backyard That’s Perfect for a Rocking Party!

By Sejal Nagjee on

September 7, 2016

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What good is a back yard if you can’t enjoy it with our family and friends? There are few things in life that can compare to creating lasting memories.

Whether you are looking to throw a rocking party for the neighborhood, host an intimate dinner party for a few close friends, or simply want to create a space that will be enjoyed by your family for generations to come, your backyard can serve as a pivotal space for all of your outdoor entertaining.

Here are a few tips to ensure that your backyard is certain to become the envy of the neighborhood!

Gorgeous Landscape

First and foremost your backyard should feel like an oasis away from the frustrations and stresses of life. Create a landscape that is soothing and relaxing. Keep in mind that your backyard is more than just the lush plants and flowers you choose to incorporate.

You can get creative! Vertical gardens offer a stunning visual effect that will also serve as a great conversational piece. Custom water features and fountains not only add the soothing sight and sound water, but they also work to enhance your space.

Be sure to add some of your favorite artifacts and unique benches to place the finishing touch on your little slice of paradise.

From Japanese Zen inspired gardens to modern minimalist gardens, you can create a space that speaks to your personal tastes and vibrant personality.

Customized Fire Pit or Fire Wall

Everyone loves gathering around a fire pit! A custom-built fire pit can serve as a focal point, creating a distinct area in your backyard while simultaneously lending a little warmth.

For example, a patio provides a nice place for friends and family to gather outside and spend time together. Unfortunately, a patio can also be aesthetically boring. Even when it’s textured, a flat surface is still a flat surface.

Adding a fire pit to your patio is like adding a centerpiece on your dining room table. A fire pit breaks up the monotonous flat, injects depth, and makes the surface area much more interesting, especially when you’ve got a fire burning!

You can take this love of fire pits to the next level by incorporating a fire wall to your outdoor living space. A custom built fire wall takes that traditional fire pit to the next level!

The firewall is a self-contained unit that can provide more heat than a traditional fire pit. It can be designed in any shape or form. They are truly unique and will help to keep your party going long into the night! Check out a few of my favorites below.

Take a Plunge in Your Pool!

What better way to keep the party going on a hot day than by taking a dip in your pool? Regardless of the size of your backyard there is a pool design out there waiting for you!

Take it up a notch with an awe inspiring infinity pool, that effortlessly extends into a limitless horizon. Limited on space, a plunge pool provides a space saving alternative that also keep you cool and refreshed.

Take a look at some of our favorite designs below. Each was designed to fit into the lifestyle and space for the client. A backyard pool is a sure fire way to create a rocking party!

Outdoor Kitchens and Barbecues

In the Mediterranean, it’s very normal to see families cooking outdoors. Today, this style of outdoor cooking has become a popular trend in Dubai.

Homeowners are experiencing the delights of using their outdoor kitchens and barbecues in their own backyards. One benefit of having an outdoor kitchen is that they’re perfect spaces for entertaining!

When food is cooked out on the patio, guests can gather around the grill and socialize as dinner is being prepared (and later served). It might get crowded in an indoor kitchen when everyone hangs out with the chef, but outside there’s so much more space!

Additionally, you can increase the comfort for your party guests by adding outdoor furnishings, custom mood lighting, and great music. After all, a great meal is a key element to creating a rocking party for your guests!

Comfortable Sitting Areas

Perhaps one of the most important features for outdoor entertaining is to provide a comfortable space for your guests to relax and enjoy the comforts of your spectacular outdoor living space.

Shaded areas with comfortable and unique furniture provide the perfect retreat from the heat and inclement weather so that the party never has to end! Gazebos and pergolas can be accented with lights, plants, and your favorite accent pieces to add to their ambiance.

Be sure to use elements that you love, incorporating special pieces that mean something to you. Items that you pick up along your travels always work well to create a personal space that reminds you of your past adventures.

These unique items will have you loving your space even more! Shop your own home or head out to your favorite local shop for items that not only speak to you and look cool, but serve a purpose as well.

As you create your outdoor entertaining oasis, remember that this is your space! This is the area that you and your family will enjoy, creating lasting memories for years to come. So let’s get the rocking party started! If you ever need any tips, leave a comment below!

I love hearing from you!

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Tips for Designing an Outdoor Kitchens that Really Cooks

Start from the ground up

Location, location, location

Choose your appliances wisely

Add a touch of ambiance

blog

Pergola Design Tips for Your Outdoor Retreat

Play to Your Landscape’s Best Features

Bring Shade to Your Backyard Retreat

Create Boundaries for Your Outdoor Space

Spa Covers & Patio Partitions

Waterproof pergolas

blog

Creating Your Personal Zen Garden

Learn the Basics of a Japanese Garden

Stay True to the Culture of the Japanese Garden

Keep it Small and Simple

Creating Your Own Zen Garden

blog

Design a Backyard That’s Perfect for a Rocking Party!

Gorgeous Landscape

Customized Fire Pit or Fire Wall

Take a Plunge in Your Pool!

Outdoor Kitchens and Barbecues

Comfortable Sitting Areas