open-air kitchen

Fire observed water to Garrett and Ann Davey's backyard.

　　Soon after they had a stream-splashed 10,000-gallon pond up and running behind their Indianola home, they realized they wanted to spend as much time as possible near their man-made pond. So the Daveys built an open-air kitchen and dining room close enough for them to hear their pond murmuring softly.

　　"It's just a stark sound," Ann Davey said as she stood within earshot of the small cascade, under the pergola that guards the area.

　　Softly speaking streams and ponds have long been the main attraction of Plants, Ponds, Paradise, an annual self-guided tour sponsored by the Central Iowa Water Garden Association, now in its 16th year.

　　But the al fresco kitchen as a companion to a water feature is a new twist for this year's tour, which showcases six ponds south of Des Moines on Saturday, said association spokeswoman Judy Anderson.

　　"Now, you're always going to have grills and sitting areas nearby," she said. "But this is the first time we've had a kitchen like this."

　　A fully functioning kitchen - the Daveys' with a Weber gas grill, a stainless steel sink, a refrigerator and plenty of counter space - makes perfect sense in a yard with a water feature, Anderson said.

　　"The water draws you outside, and once you're out there, you want something else to do," Anderson said.

　　For the Daveys, the outdoor cooking area is an important lifestyle component. The Daveys cook outside six to eight times a week, Garrett Daveys said, explaining that sometimes although they've grilled outdoors, they may eat inside if the weather is hot or rainy.

　　The Daveys, who are in their mid-40s, finished building their outdoor kitchen in 2009, Garrett said. The task took most of the summer because the couple did most of the work themselves, Ann said.

　　Their landscaped yard comprises about five acres that they carved out of their rural 46-acre parcel of farmland a few miles east of Indianola. The Daveys grow grapes (for wine) and corn on their farmland.

　　In addition to their kitchen and pond, the Daveys have several kinds of Japanese maple trees and a piece that Ann calls her Stonehenge Planter, which is a rock from a nearby field that sits near the pond.

　　The Daveys wanted to create their own oasis because they like to spend as much time outdoors as possible.

　　"We liked the idea of bringing a little bit of something else to Iowa," Ann, a native Californian, said. "It's capturing the feeling of being somewhere else without being somewhere else. ... Sometimes when we're out here it really does feel mystical."

　　Future water garden tours are likely to feature more outdoor kitchens, Anderson said. She sees enhanced outdoor living areas growing in popularity around central Iowa.

　　"I think it has become a little less expensive than it used to be," she said of purchasing outdoor kitchens.

　　The owner of a full-service landscaping company that installs pre-fabricated and customized outdoor kitchens agreed.

　　"This is something that has really taken off in just the last four or five years as more people are saying if they're going to spend money, they're going to spend it on things they can enjoy at home," said Matt Kaldenberg, owner of Kaldenberg's lead[2]s Landscaping, 5555 N.W. Beaver Drive in Johnston.

　　"Eight or nine years ago, we did maybe one outdoor kitchen a year. Now we're doing 10, 12 maybe 15 in a year."

　　A customized outdoor kitchen project can run easily more than $20,000, but "prices have come down from where they were a few years ago," Kaldenberg said.

　　At the same time, prefabrication technology has improved, he added. Outdoor kitchen kits are available in the $2,500 to $quintuplet,000 range. These kits can be installed by a homeowner or by professionals, he said.

　　The future is presumed to bring upgrades in outdoor living space to even more central Iowa backyards, Kaldenberg believes.

　　It is just part of a natural progression that he has witnessed over his 20 years in the landscaping business.

　　"When I started it was all about flowers and berms and then people started putting in ponds and waterfalls and now they're adding outdoor living environments," Kaldenberg said, adding that homeowners who have the space and wherewithal will always look to expand the outdoor comfort zones.

　　That's why Garrett and Ann Davey have spent much of the past six years working to bring fire and water to their backyard.

　　"Yes, we have done a lot of figure out," Ann Davey said. "But we have a place back here where we are really able to relax."

Tags: Outdoor garden shower  Bathroom handrail  aer-controlling wall table   Bathtub Seat  Shower Mat  Shower Bench  Shower Bench