Few summer pleasures are as much fun as a cookout. The smell of grilling food is mouth-watering, everything tastes great and it's hard not to have a good time - that is, unless you're the harried host running back and forth between the grill and the kitchen for the chicken, steak, veggies, forks and knives, beer and wine, and ketchup and mustard. And when everybody's done, all the leftovers must be lugged back inside.

An outdoor kitchen can help you slow down and spend more time with family and friends by putting all the ingredients for outdoor dining close at hand. It can be as simple as a storage cabinet for cooking gear or as ambitious as a full kitchen with grill, refrigerator, sink and eating area. Either way, your yard will gain an outside "room" that's a natural gathering spot.

Please allow me to work with you in designing an outdoor kitchen that will make you the envy of the neighborhood.