ENTERTAINING: Grillin'

Options abound for grilling enthusiasts these days. Need more than one cook top, a rotisserie or side burners? Want beer on tap within an arm's reach? Enjoy listening to music or watching television in the great outdoors? All can be incorporated in customized outdoor kitchens and island barbecues, which typically feature a gas or propane grill, storage and other accessories built into free-standing cabinets.

"An outdoor kitchen is like an extension to your home. If you have a party, everyone seems to hang out around the kitchen and eat and talk. With this, we move the kitchen and the party outside to the patio," said Ashton Root, co-owner of The Islands, which builds units measuring from about 52 inches to more than 12 feet and priced from $1,000 to $30,000.

"It also keeps the inside of your house cooler and cleaner because you can cook everything outside. You can keep the refrigerator outside and have beer on tap in `kegerators.' Outdoor kitchens come in all shapes and sizes. Some have raised-bar seating, some have tables on the end with room for umbrellas and tiki torches, some have multiple cooking surfaces. This isn't your father's or grandfather's barbecue anymore."

An outdoor kitchen is central to a $7.5 million, 10,000-square-foot custom home built by Christopher Homes in the Southern Highlands Golf Club, the featured show home at this year's International Builders Show. A stainless-steel grill with side burners, a sink, overhead lighting and storage cabinets were built under a brick-accented patio.

"The outdoor kitchen is integral to the design of our homes, instead of just an afterthought. I would say on a retail basis that the barbecue in the show home would cost between $10,000 and $15,000, depending on the counter top used," Christopher marketing executive Erika Geiser said.

"We often build them in our custom homes and they can range in cost from $5,000 to $15,000, depending upon the options that are selected. It may include a wet bar with a barbecue built into it, side drawers, refrigerators, sinks, as well as other components. Sometimes it's all attached, sometimes it's free-standing. In most of our luxury-production homes, outdoor kitchens are done after we build the home and the buyers choose their own contractor. They are becoming a very popular item."

This option is not limited to high-end homes. KB Home will offer it with its production homes later this year, according to Ryan Wells, director of purchasing.

"Barbecues and outdoor kitchens will be offered as options in the majority of our neighborhoods, wherever lot sizes allow. KB Home has seen a demand in the market for such products and more buyers who want to utilize their outdoor living space. It will be a great option to have it installed and ready when you move into your new house," Wells said. "We are looking at offering three or four kinds, ranging from a basic 3- to 4-foot rectangular unit to a 5- to 6-foot corner unit. Buyers will be able to do some customization, whether it's by choosing a sink, a freezer, a refrigerator or a different size of grill. This will cost in the $3,000 to $5,000 range."

Design options are numerous, according to Don Thompson of AAA Backyard Barbeques.

"An outdoor fireplace, a kegerator, multiple grills, a patio cover; barbecue islands can be designed as a real social center with seating, dining areas and umbrellas. We can use just about any surface -- tiles, granite, brick, stone accents. There are a lot of possibilities, just use your imagination," Thompson said.

"We recently completed a 42-foot backyard kitchen for a client. It includes a 5-foot raised table, a large barbecue, side burners, a separate buffet counter top, a fireplace, lighting -- just about everything that you'd ever need. This project cost between $20,000 to $25,000, but the cost can start at about $1,500, depending upon what options you choose. The most popular options for an island barbecue are three burners, a stainless-steel grill, double side burners, and two drawers with a towel rack."

Practicality and convenience should be considered.

"Almost all barbecues have an electronic component which allows for appliances, stereo systems and lighting. I recommend that people include a lamp that is flexible and can be pointed at different areas of the barbecuing area. That way you don't need to turn on all of the lights in your back yard and light up the neighborhood if you decide to grill something to eat in the middle of the night," Thompson said.

It can take three to five days to build an island, depending on size and options.

"Delivery can be the biggest problem because they are rather heavy. A few guys can carry one if it weighs 300 to 500 pounds, but sometimes with the bigger ones we have to use cranes to place them in someone's back yard. With the super big ones, like the 42-foot one, we framed it at our factory and finished it on-site because the tiles and accessories weigh the most," Thompson said. "They are considered mobile and can be moved if you sell your house, but not too many people move them."

Island barbecues are also available at such specialty outlets as Barbeques Galore.

"Our Casita Island Barbecue is new this summer and has been popular," said Pat Furrule, assistant store manager at the retailer's South Decatur Boulevard store, where the unit is priced at $4,699. "It includes built-in lights, a stereo center, covered lattice on top. There's a dining bar opposite of the grill."

One of the store's most expensive units, priced at $7,899, features Viking appliances.

"The Brentwood Outdoor Kitchen is top-of-the-line with commercial-grade appliances. It includes a 41-inch grill, cooking island, double burner, warming drawer, stainless steel, a rotisserie pole. It can hold up to 80 pounds of meat on it, and there's a grill that Viking builds that can even hold more meat at one time," Furrule said.

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