Varied menu

An outdoor cooking space typically has a light, informal air. When connecting to a more formal indoor kitchen, a shared material surface and multiple access points can be enough to draw the two together.

This Tuscan-style kitchen and adjacent open-air barbecue area were designed by the home's architect, James McCalligan. The architect and owners worked in collaboration to select finish materials.

"An important part of this project was the relationship between areas," says McCalligan. "For example, we introduced an archway to separate the kitchen from the more formal living areas, while still retaining a strong visual connection."

A breakfast nook has French doors that open to a covered porch that runs around one corner of the home and protects the outdoor barbecue area.

"We provided ample easy access to the outdoor kitchen as well as from the breakfast nook, it can be reached via more French doors in the living area, and the kitchen window opens directly onto the exterior countertop," says the architect.

The layout of the indoor kitchen, with the cooking zone set away from the route to the French doors in the breakfast nook, adds to the easy indoor-outdoor flow.

In addition, selecting the same granite for indoor and outdoor countertops helps draw the two spaces together visually.

However, materials chosen for the interior and exterior cabinetry and floors are quite different.

"Stone tile was selected for the outdoor floor partly to withstand the elements indoors, distressed wide-plank floors bring a sense of warmth and offset the formality of the alder cabinetry," says the architect.

For the outdoors, McCalligan designed the cabinet casing as a seamless part of the house facade, with sealed box housings for each cabinet insert. This ensures the cupboards are as waterproof as the house itself.

Overall, the design creates a quiet merger between two different aesthetics, says McCalligan.

Story by: Trendsideas