Finding a home with an outdoor kitchen
This brick outdoor kitchen in Manhasset has a multicolored granite countertop, a stainless-steel grill, three refrigerator drawers, a sink, two gas burners, rotisserie, ice bucket, storage drawers and trash bin. The house is on the market for $4.995 million. Credit: Handout
For her Memorial Day barbecue this weekend, Bayville resident Ann Monsees says she is planning to catch some bass and fluke and grill it on the open flame outside.
The outdoor space at her cottage, which is currently on the market, is used year-round. She has a bluestone countertop with a stainless-steel 36-inch barbecue built into a stone-wall base. "I hooked the barbecue up to natural gas, so I am able to use the grill all the time," says Monsees, 33, a teacher.
Fifty percent of average homeowners on Long Island -- those who have been in a single-family home between three and 20 years with an average combined income of $80,000 to $150,000 -- have made their backyard more family friendly, according to the National Association of the Remodeling Industry.
Many are adding not only granite countertops and bar stools, but large grills, smokers, wine chillers and even wood-burning stoves for baking pizza.
"It is an easy cooking experience and just adds to the outdoor ambience," says Lesa Dresher, executive director of the New York City/Long Island Chapter of the National Association of the Remodeling Industry, a Melville nonprofit trade association.
Everyone has their own vision of an outdoor cooking space, says Leslie Wheeler, spokeswoman for Hearth, Patio and Barbecue, an association of manufacturers, dealers and retailers of hearth, patio and barbecue products.
"It can be just a grill dropped into a small cooking island that is modest, or it can be a $30,000 to $50,000 unit with all the bells and whistles, sinks, dishwasher, deep fat fryer, pizza ovens, additional burners," she says. "My gosh, basically now anything you have in your indoor kitchen, you can have outdoors, and that is what the manufacturers have developed."
One of the top three features home buyers request when they are looking for a new home is an outdoor living and cooking area, Wheeler says, citing information from the National Association of Home Builders. "They used to be called a trend, but now it is beyond a trend. It is now a lifestyle. People like that casual, informal lifestyle and cooking outdoors. It is an easy way to entertain family and friends, and people enjoy doing it."
A permit for an outdoor cooking space varies by town since each municipality, village and city has different rules. Homeowners should contact their town to find out what the regulations are.
Outdoor cooking spaces do add to a home's resale value, says Sal Alfano, editorial director of Remodeling Magazine, a monthly publication for remodeling professionals nationwide.
Here are a few homes on the market that feature such spaces, from the basic to the deluxe.
