In this series, the professionals at the B.O.L.D. Company will take you through the process of building a custom home in the Greater Cincinnati – Northern Kentucky area. From plan and lot selection, to mortgage approval, to the actual construction, we’ll take you behind-the-scenes each week for an inside look at a different part of the process.

Last week, we looked at creating outdoor living spaces with porches, decks, and patios. This week, we take that idea a step further. Dress up your porch, deck, or patio by stocking a complete outdoor kitchen!

The convenience of an “outdoor kitchen” means dining and entertaining outside without having to continually run back inside for utensils, condiments, or food that is cooled by the time it reaches the table. You also avoid potentially dirty shoes tracking from porch to kitchen. An outdoor kitchen provides everything you need right where you need it!

The most basic (and most budget-friendly!) outdoor kitchen might include simply a grill and an outdoor bar–somewhere to house drinks and snacks for the evening, for the convenience of guests. For a little bit bigger investment, some bar stools and also cabinet space to allow storage of plates, napkins, and utensils, would dress up the space.

Upgrading the outdoor bar design to an outdoor kitchen would consist of a built-in grill with a miniature sink and a small counter space for food preparation. More elaborate outdoor kitchen designs might include a dishwasher, a refrigerator, an oven, or even a television set for watching the big game! Some designs also include an outdoor fireplace or fire pit, to make their outdoor entertaining more of an all-season facility.

All of these items would need to be installed or covered in such a way as to protect them from the elements, however. Keep in mind:

*Flooring – avoid flooring that would become dangerously slippery when wet.

*Hot or wet surfaces – any part of cabinets or countertops that would be exposed to heat from the grill, or to rain or even direct sunlight, will need extra protection, such as backer board covered with stone veneer, or will need, at least, to have a sealer applied.

*Lighting – avoid accidents by including sufficient lighting for walkways, food preparation areas, and dining areas.

*Shelter – don’t be run out of your outdoor space when the sun is too bright or the air too chilly. Prepare for the conditions you expect to face, whether it is by including simply a patio umbrella or a complete pergola-with-plexiglass-panel roof; or maybe a stone-faced outdoor fireplace for warmth, or even just a portable outdoor patio heater.

B.O.L.D. Homes, a B.O.L.D. company, has been established as among the premiere Greater Cincinnati / Northern Kentucky custom home builders since 1986. We have well over 500 customer designed homes to our credit. Work one-on-one with the owners of the company – including a licensed real estate broker, a licensed real estate agent, a licensed professional engineer, and a CAD draftsman/designer – to design your dream home full of the features important to you. We can help you find a balance between luxury and budget.

More photos of BOLD designed and built Porches, Patios, and Decks!

In this series, the professionals at the B.O.L.D. Company will take you through the process of building a custom home in the Greater Cincinnati – Northern Kentucky area. From plan and lot selection, to mortgage approval, to the actual construction, we’ll take you behind-the-scenes each week for an inside look at a different part of the process.

This week, we look at outdoor living spaces:

Outdoor living spaces add value and open-air living and entertaining space to your home. From decks to patios, covered porches to screened porches, there are outdoor living options for every budget.

PATIOS

The most basic type of outdoor living space is the patio. With a floor of poured concrete, brick pavers, or stone, patios are inexpensive to install and very easy to maintain. Patios provide a place for outdoor entertaining, dining, grilling, sun bathing, or for installing a hot tub.

–Special features to consider for your patio:

Stamped concrete – Concrete can be customized to resemble just about any type of material: brick pavers, cobblestones, wood, etc. By “stamping” patterns and textures and adding color, you can have a “brick paver” patio that won’t allow weeds to grow between the pavers, or a “cobblestone” patio that won’t succumb to heaving of the frozen ground underneath.

Patio cover – To provide shade to a patio, consider adding a pergola, arbor, or patio cover to your design. Common materials for covers include wood, synthetic wood, aluminum, or fabric. They can be solid and provide maximum shade (in the case of a roof cover of aluminum or fabric), or they can provide partial shade (in the case of a pergola or arbor).

Gas hook up – Instead of having a propane tank for your gas grill, install a gas line hook up out to your patio!

DECKS

Decks are also a fairly inexpensive way to expand the living space of your home. A deck, however, can be built to accommodate damp or uneven ground where a patio cannot, and it can be built at ground level or higher. Often, a deck is built in conjuction with a patio – a deck creates shade for a patio below. Decks can be built from pressure-treated wood, redwood, cedar, or composite decking. Some composites are made from recycled materials, which can be a more eco-friendly product, and good composites are more easily maintained than a typical wood deck.

—Special features to consider for your deck:

Deck cover – To provide shade to a deck, consider adding a pergola, arbor, or deck cover to your design. Common materials for covers include wood, synthetic wood, aluminum, or fabric. They can be solid and provide maximum shade (in the case of a roof cover of aluminum or fabric), or they can provide partial shade (in the case of a pergola or arbor).

Gas hook up – Instead of having a propane tank for your gas grill, install a gas line hook up out to your deck!

Door/stairs – decks can be designed like a balcony – where the only entryway is from the house, or they can be built with an additional entryway to/from the yard. For decks built off the ground, this will include stairs.

PORCHES

Covered porches are a part of the design and foundation of the home, compared to a deck or patio which is an extension added on to the home. Covered porches, while allowing light, open-air, and breezes, also provide greater protection from the elements than would a regular patio or deck. As you might imagine, covered porches tend to be more expensive than patios and decks, and must be planned for from the beginning of construction.

Screened porches provide an even greater level of protection from the elements – while light and rain and air can get through the screens, bugs cannot.

Sun porches provide the greatest level of protection from the elements – surrounded by glass windows, light but not air can get in (unless the windows are open).

–Special features to consider for your porch:

Ceiling fans – Move the air around on a hot day with a ceiling fan.

High ceilings – A vaulted ceiling in a screened or other porch will give rising hot air somewhere to go other than where you are sitting

B.O.L.D. Homes, a B.O.L.D. company, has been established as among the premiere Greater Cincinnati / Northern Kentucky custom home builders since 1986. We have well over 500 customer designed homes to our credit. Work one-on-one with the owners of the company – including a licensed real estate broker, a licensed real estate agent, a licensed professional engineer, and a CAD draftsman/designer – to design your dream home full of the features important to you. We can help you find a balance between luxury and budget.

In this series, the professionals at the B.O.L.D. Company will take you through the process of building a custom home in the Greater Cincinnati – Northern Kentucky area. From plan and lot selection, to mortgage approval, to the actual construction, we’ll take you behind-the-scenes each week for an inside look at a different part of the process.

This week, we look at kitchen design ideas:

With the growing popularity of open floor plans, the kitchen has become more of a focal point than in generations past: the kitchen is a place to entertain, and thus, a focus of style and decorating, in addition to retaining its more practical purposes.

Designers have two methods of addressing this dilemma: (1) decorating around customized or high-end appliances that you’ll be proud to show off; or (2) hiding the appliances with custom cabinetry.

“Showy” appliances include high-end stainless steel varieties, those with copper trim or accessories, or professional grade appliances. The latter can serve a dual purpose if you do a lot of cooking, catering, or entertaining.

There are many things you can do to make your appliances “blend in”, or to hide them altogether. Increasingly, appliances are available with changeable front panels to match the cabinetry color and style (think of a dishwasher or trash compactor front panel). Custom cabinetry can make other appliances “disappear.” Drop doors, “roll top” doors, and sliding doors make good cubby holes for small appliances, such as toasters, coffee makers, and blenders. A “microwave cabinet” hides the clunky white or black box. Even the refrigerator can have “armoire” style doors designed to open and close around its space. Built-in refrigerators and dishwashers blend even more easily. Refrigerated drawers can hide within the island, for instance, or a built-in refrigerator can sit atop freezer drawers below.

After the cabinets, the second most noticeable surface in the kitchen is the countertop. Today’s countertops must be both practical and showy. Durable and stylish options are readily available for every budget.

The economical choice is a laminate top, such as those made by Formica or WilsonArt. Available in a wide range of colors, designs, and styles, you can find laminates that mimic just about any kind of natural surface. The disadvantage is that laminates crack or chip fairly easily, and repair of this damage is not so easy.

Ceramic tile is very durable, and it is one of the few do-it-yourself options for kitchen tops. The necessary grout between tiles can be difficult to keep clean, however, and it must be regularly sealed in order to resist moisture.

Solid surface acrylics are becoming increasingly popular for their durability, non-porous water resistance, easy scratch repair (just sand and buff out), and their wide arrange of colors, designs, and styles. Products such as Corian and Avonite produce a good product for a competitive price, making solid surface acrylics a great middle-of-the-road price option.

High end natural surface options include granite, marble, quartz, and even concrete. These products are beautiful, but the high cost does not ensure indestructability. Each of these products are prone to cracking, and none (with the possible exception of concrete) will withstand the damage inflicted by a hot pan (but neither will any of the other options, with the possible exception of ceramic tile).

B.O.L.D. Homes, a B.O.L.D. company, has been established as among the premiere Greater Cincinnati / Northern Kentucky custom home builders since 1986. We have well over 500 customer designed homes to our credit. Work one-on-one with the owners of the company – including a licensed real estate broker, a licensed real estate agent, a licensed professional engineer, and a CAD draftsman/designer – to design your dream home full of the features important to you. We can help you find a balance between luxury and budget.