If You Can’t Take the Heat, Build an Outdoor Kitchen

The charm of the outdoor kitchen isn’t in the partially burned food, cold night air or smell of citronella. It’s the warmth and glow of the fire pit, local wine and craft beer, and pizza baking in a brick oven. Boulderites just wouldn’t be Boulderites without their communal tendencies, so YS spent the winter tramping around their outdoor kitchens, from the cozy to the colossal.

Pizza oven: Traditional, all-American barbecue has nothing on the smell of brick-oven pizza blowing in the breeze.

Boozy extras: Including, but not limited to, kegerators, wine coolers, nearby wine cellars and home-brewed beer. Expensive grills and appliances aren’t essentials when guests have a slice in one hand and a homemade stout in the other.

Fire pits: If your yard doesn’t lend itself to a blackened bonfire circle surrounded by mossy logs and stumps, a fire pit is an outdoor must. We get that heaters are subtle, but they’re pricy, don’t glow and nobody will smell like bacon after a few hours around one.

Waterworks: From pools to ponds and tiny waterfalls, water features appeal to guests visually, physically and audibly. Homeowners pay the price once and easily put guests at ease for years.

A solution to a cracked floor from a freezing/thawing cycle: A groutless deck system with hidden drainage underneath. Jefferson Builders used granite from a local quarry to create a design that will last longer than the house itself and blends perfectly with the local scenery.