Bring it home: investing in backyard activities means big returns.

• Author: Little, Candace M.
• Position: Executive Living

It's a breezy July evening, the grass is green and soft, there's a hint of barbeque smoke in the air, the sound of laughter in the distance, and you have an incredibly empty backyard. While some enjoy their summer on patios or in swimming pools, others consider a summer outdoor experience watching TV with the window open. Let's face it, backyards are an important part of a home these days, but they are expensive and time consuming to maintain, and sometimes they aren't frequently used. Here are a few ways to turn your backyard into a place you want to be, instead of a place you're content looking at from an open window.

Say OK to the Outdoor Kitchen

It's a time saver, really. You can enjoy your backyard, and have an easily cooked meal all at once. Someone called it killing two birds with one stone, but in this case, only grilling the birds is required.

Outdoor kitchens start with a basic barbeque grill that can be enhanced with state-of-the-art accessories, hooking up gas or electric lines, adding built-in counters, cabinets, sinks, refrigerators and really anything your imagination can think up. Home-improvement stores carry the gamut, and outdoor grilling islands have many of these elements built into one structure.

In a national poll conducted by the Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association, two out of three consumers said they would rather grill out at home when they are in the mood for grilled meals versus eating out at a restaurant. If you side with the majority, an outdoor kitchen could be the perfect way to use your backyard more.

Even during the winter, outdoor kitchens are still popular in Utah. Ann Robinson, a principal at Renovation Design says that's because our interest in grilling out-weighs the harsh climate. "There's somebody in the household who loves barbequing and they want to have a fine facility to flip burgers," says Robinson.

She also says there are a few basic things, in accordance with manufactures requirements and Utah code, to consider when designing and installing an outdoor kitchen. There must be at least a 24-inch gap between a barbeque island and other structures, no roofing of any kind is allowed over the barbeque, but pergolas and roofs may be built over other parts of the outdoor kitchen. Robinson also cautions to choose materials carefully. Stainless steel will weather the storms in Utah, but if you choose to make anything out of wood, she recommends it be covered with stone, tile or stucco--whichever will...