Our client grew up in Utah and is an avid golfer and skier.  During our first meeting he expressed his love for the outdoors and was adamant that we use fine natural stone materials to build his project.  His home overlooks the 15th hole of a golf course and the Sourland mountain range.  A large honey locust dominates the area where he and his wife wanted us to design and build a new outdoor kitchen, bar, and fire feature.  The design concept needed to respect the footprint of the mature tree. We also needed to create a new step layout that functioned seamlessly with the backdoor, existing raised porch and the new outdoor gourmet kitchen.  We designed triangular Brazilian Walnut (Ipe) steps to overlook the 26′ long serpentine bar and gourmet kitchen crafted from 2″ thick soapstone with a beveled edge and natural veneer stone.  The terrace is constructed of mixed natural cleft bluestone.  On the other side of the dining terrace a large natural stone fire table with seating invites family and guests to gather and enjoy cocktails, surrounding perennial plantings, golf course views, and beautiful sunsets over the Sourland mountain range!

The gourmet outdoor kitchen features Alfresco and Lynx stainless steel appliances including a sink/beverage center, garbage and recycling compartments, refrigerator, weather sealed pantry, grill, side burner, Kichler lighting and a transformer cabinet.

In the front of the property the design had to solve entryway drainage problems, increase parking capacity, and add access to golf cart storage.  We redesigned the driveway into an expanded formal parking court to allow for additional parking spots for their kids’ vehicles.  We lined the driveway with a bluestone soldier course and bluestone super tread curbing to help guide vehicles and water for proper drainage.  We added a bluestone driveway/walkway to a private bay for our client’s golf cart.  Plantings and landscape lighting compliment and soften the bold bluestone accents.

We received a text message and a picture from our client on a Friday evening while he was enjoying some red wine and his new fire feature: “You did good my friends.  Thx.”  We had the privilege of having some fine beverages with our client fireside one evening and he told us: “You know what I like most about my new outdoor space?  It is a quality space that brings my family together!”