The biggest problem with kitchens, if you're in the stone business, is that there's generally just one to a household.

Oh, sure, the well-to-do may add a kitchenette to the basement rec room or family room, but it's a rare home where the number of kitchens equals the number of bathrooms.

A new kitchen market, though, is growing out the back door C literally. Despite the economy, the outdoor kitchen market is on the rise in popularity, especially among high-end homeowners.

Part landscape feature and part entertainment venue, these custom spots frequently incorporate natural stone, whether it's flagstones under foot or a veneer on the cabinet island.

And, of course, there's a countertop. While granite isn't the only option, it can provide another source of income for fabricators C if they're willing to develop relationships with the contractors building these jobs.

PLENTY OF INTEREST

Not surprisingly, the outdoor kitchen market saw a lull last year, along with the rest of the economy. However, after the market started very slowly this spring, many of the people designing and building outdoor kitchens say it's bouncing back.

Rick Fox of the Martinez, Calif.-based Straightline Imports is fairly typical. At mid-summer, he said his sales were about half of what theyd been in 2008.

"However, as the summer has moved on, we're getting a lot more interest," he says. "We're getting a lot more people walking in and we're getting a lot more phone calls. The interest is there."

Fox attributes some of his decline in business to the fact that his product is very high-end.

John DiGioia, president of Elite Outdoor Kitchens, is located across the country in central Florida, and his clientele is more modest than Fox's. He says he's doing just as many proposals this year as last, but the value of the average job is down C probably about 25 percent.

 

"There's obviously less money to spend, and credit cards aren't being used anymore," DiGioia observes. "I think the lack of available credit is putting a crunch on this particular home improvement."

After spending what he calls a "very scary" winter with little design work, Thomas Earl, a partner in the Muskego, Wis.-based design/build firm Durham Hill Nurseries, says many people seemed to rearrange their priorities in April and May.

"I think they felt like they weren't going to lose any more, and they became very realistic as to what they wanted and what they could afford," he speculates. "Then, the calls started coming, and Id say by the end of the year we'll be very close to where we were last year, or just a little off."

And, a pair of suppliers C Darryl Jones of Muskogee, Okla.-based Joneses Stonzes and Robert Smith of Greenville, S.C.-based Superlandscape Supply in Greenville, S.C. C say their markets are strong for outdoor kitchens.

"I've really noticed this year that more people are adding to their houses or backyards," says Jones. "They're putting their money in their backyards and their landscape C more than they did last year."

"There's probably less buying and selling of new homes," says Smith. "People are updating, remodeling and refurbishing what they have."

Smith adds that while many of the clients for these projects are in homes of 7,000+ ft², there's also an increased interest from what he describes as middle-class homeowners, which probably explains Jones' feeling that more are taking on at least part of the work as do-it-yourself projects.

SIMPLE ANSWERS

When it comes to interior kitchens, there are some pretty standard items that go into a successful project, and often the countertops are a star attraction. That isn't necessarily the case when the kitchen moves outside.

Not only do fewer kitchen amenities move outdoors, but the centerpiece is most often associated with fire, such as a grill. However, when asked what he sees as the hottest item for his customers, Smith has a simple answer: fireplaces.

"Without a doubt, the fireplace is the focal point we're seeing as far as the standard outdoor kitchen," he says. "Everybody wants a grill and a refrigerator, but the element of fire is really the focal point, whether you're talking an outdoor kitchen or an outdoor living space."