Our firm is seeing clients that want spaces that blend comfort, performance, and natural materials with an aesthetic that is not just refined, but that seamlessly blends with the home's interior design. Clients are asking for the same types of appliances for their outdoor kitchens that they have indoors. For instance, gourmet pizza ovens, under-cabinet beverage fridges, nugget ice cube makers, and professional-grade grills.
Marcel's 1940s Milwaukee home, which he shares with his boyfriend, Ben, fell into that first category of being an unfinished space for storing almost entirely forgotten stuff. "It had cinder block walls with chipping paint and some old wood paneling that had been roughly cut out at the bottom from the previous owners installing a drain," Marcel says. "It was cold and full of spiderwebs when we first moved in, and not a place we ever wanted to hang out."