The Outdoor Room

“We get $1 million and $2 million homes all the time with smaller versions of what I just described,” Bush says. “Their more modest versions might have a very cool outdoor barbecue grill surrounded by masonry, with a sink and a fireplace.”

Much of the appeal, he says, is the ability to entertain friends and family at home. “For the people who have the budget to build a $1 million home, usually that lifestyle dictates entertaining larger crowds,” Bush says. “They need the space to accommodate these things.”

The social life begets a more entertainment-friendly home, he says, and that includes outdoor rooms. Then the entertainment-friendly home begets an even busier social life, and the desire for more outdoor living space continues to burgeon.

It doesn’t always require major acreage to accommodate several outdoor rooms. Tom Dahlmeir, landscape designer at Southview Design, a landscaping company in Inver Grove Heights, says he is currently creating an intimate series of rooms on a 38-by-45-foot city lot.

“In that space we’ve got a three-season porch, two patios, a spa, outdoor lighting, and a lot of flower gardens for seasonal color,” he says. “Sight lines and privacy are extremely important; we’re trying to hide a telephone pole, for instance. The people entertain groups of 15 to 20 people, so a lot has to go on in a limited space.”

Outdoor rooms may be the latest incarnation of a longtime Minnesota tradition. For decades, affluent families have owned upstate lake cabins or second homes in Florida. Now, they are just as likely to invest that same money closer to home, making their in-town residences a holiday spot. They might, for example, add a pool and a permanent barbecue grill. “You are starting to see people really focus more on the family, stay home, and do things around the house,” Dahlmeir says.

Year-Round Living

Realistically, there are two limits on outdoor entertaining: Frigid temperatures in the winter and mosquitoes in the summer. Because homeowners invest quite a bit of money in their extensive outdoor living spaces, it’s important that these areas be designed to push those limits as far as possible.

Patio heaters, fireplaces, and fire pits are extremely popular. Roger Peterson, technical sales manager at Fire Stone Home Products, an outdoor-room supplier in Bloomington, says his company looks to all kinds of different heat sources as design elements. Even grill islands can help extend the season because of the warmth and cheer that hot food brings.

Subzero temperatures aren’t just a deterrent to socializing, though; they can also wreak havoc on furniture and building materials. “Our products, like our grill islands and fireplaces, are all UL-listed [safety tested] to be outdoors,” Peterson says. “We offer a pergola made of fiberglass polyresin that is maintenance-free and is able to withstand the harshest of winters.”