Southern Breeze 2007 Fall Issue - (Page 31) OPEN invitation story by MICHELLE ROBERTS MATTHEWS FROM SIMPLE TO SUBLIME, OUTDOOR LIVING SPACES ARE NOW DE RIGUEUR FOR THE COASTAL CLIMATE. F or some homeowners along the Gulf Coast, their favorite room in the house is neither a room nor in the house. That’s right: It’s the outdoor spaces that give them room to breathe, room to grill and chill, room to relax. From porches to patios to pool houses, outdoor rooms are becoming more important for entertaining as well as for solitude. Concrete patios and charcoal grills have gone the way of the rotary phone. Today’s homeowners are incorporating often elaborate outdoor spaces that include cooking pavilions— often referred to as “summer kitchens”—complete with high-end gas grills and cooktops, refrigerators, icemakers, and even dishwashers built into brick or stone surrounds. For clients of Mobile architect Craig Roberts, the sky is literally the limit when it comes to designing outdoor spaces. “Whether they use it or not, they want it,” Craig says of the trend toward outdoor kitchens and fireplaces. He says outdoor kitchens are so popular that half his clients want them. Custom-designed outdoor fireplaces are in demand, as well. In fact, Craig says that two or three projects he has going right now “have as much going on outside as inside.” At his own home, Craig blends the inside and outside together. Designed around two courtyards, the home is “really a pavilion with glass walls, where the artwork is the views of the garden,” he says. “When the weather’s nice, with the sound of fountains going on both sides, it’s like you’re in a giant gazebo.” Al and Linda Chamlee have perfected the art of outdoor living at their home in Mobile’s Spring Hill neighborhood over the past 20 years. Early risers, the Chamlees have coffee every morning, yearround, on their “porch,” which is a true outdoor room complete with a door (an iron gate), a floor (concrete), a ceiling, and three walls. It opens to a courtyard area that extends along the back of their home, where French doors open to let guests flow from the inside out when they entertain. The perfect outdoor room blends inside and outside, Originally, when they planned the outdoor space, they thought where the artwork is the views of the garden, and they might enclose it one day—but now they wouldn’t dream of it. you are treated to the sound of fountains. Fall 2007 31 IMAGES COURTESY OF SUMMER CLASSICS
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