How to elevate your outdoor dining experience

An outdoor dining area consists of a food preparation area and a dining space.

You should ideally work with all three planes of outdoor space (ground plane, vertical plane and the overhead plane) to create a sense of enclosure.

Whether it is as simple as a paved area with a portable grill and some rustic furniture or elaborate with built-in appliances, counters and storage, the location is critical.

It should be near or accessible to the indoor kitchen and the indoor dining room but not too far from the rest of your outdoor living space.

In many cases, it may be created as a subspace of the living and entertaining space. Another consideration is the direction of wind.

It should be placed so that the wind carries the smoke away from other outdoor spaces and the house.