Forget the portable stainless steel BBQ and weather-worn furniture of backyard get-togethers long past. COVID forever disrupted the game, transforming entertaining at home into a bona fide art form, with outdoor kitchens leading the pack as a top-requested feature among homebuyers and renovators alike. Who better to discuss the evolution of the outdoor kitchen than interior designer and HGTV luminary Vanessa DeLeon, who recently cast a discriminating design eye on her own New Jersey beach house, turning it into a veritable indoor-outdoor haven? She joins the show today to discuss mindful material and finishing choice, the luxury of sourcing the right appliances, and her own backyard’s super-swanky “art piece” hammock.
This episode of Ask the Appliance Experts is supported by DCS. Discover the full suite of DCS appliances at ajmadison.com/brands/dcs-appliances/
00;00;05;04 – 00;00;22;09
Amy Chernoff
Welcome to Ask the Appliance Experts, A new podcast from AJ Madison Pro. ThT tackles, the ins and outs of appliances, making AN often confusing and really technical topic approachable and dare we say, even fun. I’m Amy Chernoff, VP of Marketing here at AJ Madison.
00;00;22;18 – 00;00;38;09
Jessica Petrino-Ball
And I’m Jessica Petrino-Ball, Editorial director at AJ Madison. We are the brand’s in-house experts and we’re on tap to interview installers, builders, renovation pros and other leaders in the field on all things appliances.
00;00;38;10 – 00;01;11;02
Amy Chernoff
We are thrilled to have Vanessa Deleon with us today. Vanessa is an award winning interior designer, writer, entrepreneur and television personality. Vanessa started when she was first featured on Design Star, where she gained recognition for her own unique style she coined as glamor-ick, a combination of glamor and streamlined minimalism featured on a hit season at Food Network’s Restaurant Impossible and a plethora of additional television appearances.
00;01;11;02 – 00;01;29;11
Amy Chernoff
HGTV, DIY Network and her most recent television appearance on NBC American Dream Builders. Vanessa was named Rising star of Interior Design by Jamie Drake. She’s been featured in numerous publications. Welcome, Vanessa. So excited that you’re here with us today.
00;01;29;28 – 00;01;31;09
Vanessa Deleon
Thank you for having me, everyone.
00;01;32;04 – 00;01;45;17
Amy Chernoff
I understand that you’ve recently completed your own outdoor kitchen at your home in New Jersey, and I would love to hear all about that project.
00;01;46;03 – 00;02;05;02
Vanessa Deleon
So, yes, we said, hey, why not have a beach house? We like went up and down the entire coast, down the shore, they call it. And we finally found this amazing beach house, but didn’t have an outdoor kitchen, didn’t have all the bells and whistles that I’m more than used to. But as a designer, I obviously see past that, right?
00;02;05;14 – 00;02;23;04
Vanessa Deleon
We put an offer in and they accepted and it was off to the races. We did a gut renovation and then the outside was really important, especially for my husband as he’s a restauranteur. So he needs to have his grill. I love to cook. I need to have all the couturiers that is in a kitchen, an indoor kitchen, but in the outdoor space.
00;02;23;04 – 00;02;49;18
Vanessa Deleon
And I think that’s important for the way that our lifestyle is. We entertain quite a bit. So I wanted something to be over-the-top, really large, but really stylish at the same time. I looked into what products were great, what was available at the time. There was nothing available. This is like in the midst of the pandemic. So I stumbled upon DCS and of course my go to is AJ Madison, and I quickly found the products that I loved.
00;02;49;19 – 00;03;12;01
Vanessa Deleon
I did a whole configuration and then I didn’t want your typical outdoor kitchen that’s cladded in some stone. I really wanted it to be outside the box. So what I did was actually cladded porcelain, so it felt like the inside of my house went sort of in the outside. So the entire facade and inside is all clad and in porcelain, the top of it.
00;03;12;01 – 00;03;29;00
Vanessa Deleon
I did it in a concrete looking quartz material that was going to also stand the test of time, right? Because we had the outdoor elements were right on the base. I also wanted something that was going to hold up and not be porous. And then I designed this amazing outdoor kitchen that leads right into like this foyer, garage area.
00;03;29;00 – 00;03;36;15
Vanessa Deleon
So the inside outside, near the new bathroom, near the foyer area, but still very much part the pool and entertainment space.
00;03;37;14 – 00;04;10;16
Amy Chernoff
I really think that that’s a trend that we’ve been seeing. It’s like very forward thinking of you. I know this kitchen was completed more than a year ago and I think the elevation of outdoor spaces was really pushed along during the pandemic as people are spending more time at home and there is a realization in that we don’t have to live with plastic furniture and just a grill in the backyard, that there was really more of a desire to kind of move those finishes forward.
00;04;10;16 – 00;04;25;13
Amy Chernoff
And I think there’s been a real evolution not only in outdoor living in general, but in the outdoor kitchen. And it sounds like you’ve really put that into practice and you have a living, breathing space that your family can enjoy for many years.
00;04;25;27 – 00;04;37;04
Jessica Petrino-Ball
The care that you take in to transform the flow from the interior of your home through to the outside is really awesome.
00;04;37;05 – 00;04;59;03
Vanessa Deleon
So for me, the continuity is important, right? Years ago is like classic furniture and like a stainless steel grill sitting outside with nothing that looks built in and custom right? So for me, when people come to my space, they’re going to think, okay, what does she do in her backyard that’s going to be different than the rest of my neighbors, because I always have to think outside the box and design the inside of my house.
00;04;59;07 – 00;05;28;28
Vanessa Deleon
A lot of the details are very sort of swanky, and I wanted to introduce that swank outside and how I did that was the grill area, for example, like seeing that entire thing wrapped in porcelain and the concrete robust, thick countertop juxtaposed to like and that’s like the light beige that’s a little bit in the marble. And then I had this amazing piece from Royal Britannia, which is a hammock that is literally suspended in mid-air, and it looks like a cobra, almost like a half moon.
00;05;29;07 – 00;05;48;22
Vanessa Deleon
And the hammock moves. I move it when the sun is setting different position because you could kind of position the entire hammock, but it’s gigantic So those like little elements that you wouldn’t expect to be outside even though a hammock is outside, but it’s more like a structured art piece. And then the furniture literally looks like indoor furniture.
00;05;49;00 – 00;06;12;17
Vanessa Deleon
So where my barbecue grill is and the whole built in kitchen, it’s in a little sitting area and then off to the side I have two sofas. The end of that sofa is a white porcelain kind of end table that’s attached to the sofa that picks up the coat, then cladding that I did in the bar with the barbecue is So when you look at that whole like elevation, everything has like this cohesive flow.
00;06;12;28 – 00;06;20;26
Vanessa Deleon
People are like, wait, this is outdoor furniture. It’s like, yes, it’s all it’s plastic, but it’s coated in a metallic finish. So it looks like it’s painted wood.
00;06;21;05 – 00;06;26;27
Jessica Petrino-Ball
It really is like the luxury sits inside of those details.
00;06;26;27 – 00;06;46;04
Vanessa Deleon
Yes, absolutely. But then we have like quirky things to quirky elements, like on the one side, the pool deck, I have this. It’s called Fatboy and it’s it’s literally a dog that you sit. It’s like a bench, like a white bench. So that’s like an art piece. But that doubles as a seating for extra seating When we are hosting large events.
00;06;46;04 – 00;07;03;20
Vanessa Deleon
And then my son loves the sandbox, but we made the sandbox look really sort of stylish because it’s at the end of the decking. We go down to stats, it’s kind of built into the deck part. So there is a sand deck, but it doesn’t look like primary colors. Or does it look like it doesn’t belong? It looks like it very much belongs to the entire installation.
00;07;03;20 – 00;07;06;00
Jessica Petrino-Ball
That’s probably the most attractive sandbox.
00;07;06;00 – 00;07;25;12
Vanessa Deleon
But and especially like all the plastic credit to that’s outside of it, they’re like very much primary color. You don’t really see stylish looking stuff. And it’s the wood stuff, the theater stuff. It’s beautiful, but then you have to take care of it to the cedar so it wouldn’t stand the elements, you know, right next to the bay.
00;07;25;12 – 00;07;48;10
Vanessa Deleon
So you have to be also cognizant of the materials. You’re going to have to make sure that they’re going to be okay with the salt. So that’s super important when you are working on a project that’s next to the ocean versus in different climates. We’re in Park Slope. They have seasons there. But in the Caribbean, right on the beach, not even a you’re going to get a ton of salt so you can use chrome outside.
00;07;48;10 – 00;08;18;01
Vanessa Deleon
It has to be materials that are going to stand and sustain all elements and not only that, but when we’re doing things in the tropics or in Florida, there’s hurricane, there’s hurricane season. So you have to consider if you’re going to have stackable furniture that it’s easy to stack and bring in or the opposite, making sure that it’s super heavy so you don’t have to bring it in, but it almost has to be installed within the decking that would stand a hurricane, you know, 60 plus mile an hour winds.
00;08;18;01 – 00;08;35;05
Vanessa Deleon
So just being cognizant of all those materials and obviously some Rella fabrics are a plus, but there really have gone such a long way with the different textures and materials. Like now it looks like indoor fabric and then even some of the vinyls you just have to be cognizant of, you’re on the south, you will get sun strapped eventually.
00;08;35;24 – 00;08;52;27
Vanessa Deleon
So being mindful of location of where your backyard is, if you’re a north face, then you’re more flexible with materials because you don’t have to worry about getting sun struck. But it’s all those things that are going to add up, right? If you’re doing real, real take form that’s going to each a teak is going to turn gray. Are you okay with that?
00;08;52;27 – 00;08;57;16
Vanessa Deleon
Does that match for your finishes Like all the things that you need to know when you’re designing for the outdoor elements.
00;08;58;07 – 00;09;22;08
Amy Chernoff
You have to be like a materials scientist recommends materials. So many advances every single day where new materials are becoming available. How do you keep up with everything? I mean, your clients count on you to be well versed and be able to make recommendations around not only what’s tried and true, but also new. How do you do that?
00;09;22;08 – 00;09;43;07
Vanessa Deleon
So I think leaning on our reps and where we purchase from like AJ Madison, like if there’s a new release, we get newsletters or informational things that are very important for us to sort of know. But most of all, the trade shows, I think not recognized is huge for me. I’m going to High Point next week, the Milan Show and Italy.
00;09;43;07 – 00;10;01;05
Vanessa Deleon
All these shows are really important Neocon, all the trade shows that you’re going to see, all these materials, all these new elements. What’s out, what’s hot, what’s new, what’s next. You’re right in the Mecca. I’m in New York City. You know, you’re in for furniture. What’s new? What’s left is huge. BDNY is huge. All these trade shows are huge.
00;10;01;05 – 00;10;17;24
Vanessa Deleon
plus because you get to really soak in what’s going to be like the next hot thing. And you also get to kind of touch and feel what’s going to be newly released for next season. And then you can, you know, talk to the owners or the reps that are going to be at these shows and be attending these events.
00;10;18;06 – 00;10;24;01
Vanessa Deleon
So you get really like the first kind of knowledge of everything that’s going to be released now.
00;10;24;01 – 00;10;56;08
Amy Chernoff
That’s great. But now so you’ve really been fearless in your pursuit of creating not only spectacular or indoor spaces for your clients, but outdoor as well. There are many interior designers that really don’t touch outdoor spaces at all. How would you encourage them to really approach that as a seamless experience for their clients? So as they’re contemplating a new project for interior to really try to incorporate that into the overall project?
00;10;56;10 – 00;11;15;06
Vanessa Deleon
So I would encourage my client, when they’re first starting off to really think about the indoor/outdoor element of things, right? Are we going to be entertaining? What are you going to be doing? Are we going to be doing some patios? The patios are extension of that living room. That’s a whole experience, right? How do you forget the biggest part of that experience?
00;11;15;24 – 00;11;37;12
Vanessa Deleon
So I asked them, are we including the backyard? Are we including the patios and decks? Are we adding pergolas? Are we doing awning systems? Are we doing it in closed systems? And then when you start talking that language, they’re like, Wow, I actually didn’t even think of that. Yeah, and we live in New York, but we can make it somewhat all season or Mitzi then, you know, there’s shades and heaters you a lot of different elements that we can introduce.
00;11;37;18 – 00;12;04;00
Vanessa Deleon
We have to pick all those materials you have to pick the aluminum on shutter pergola system. You have to pick the finishes. If you’re doing a wood pergola, you have to pick the awning system, color fabrics and stop the furniture. Should look like the inside. It should have this. If you’re doing all kind of black and white stripes, which you just did a really beautiful project in Englewood Cliffs, we want to carry a little bit of that black and white shape with an awning and a really cool club chair outside, so that continuity is super important and shouldn’t be forgotten.
00;12;04;07 – 00;12;19;15
Vanessa Deleon
We’re doing a Chevron for your floor, and then we do a Chevron or a herringbone porcelain outside for the decking. That continuity and that relationship is super important because it brings the house together and it makes it look like one uniform space.
00;12;19;22 – 00;12;44;15
Amy Chernoff
That’s a really good point. So I think interior designers just in general shouldn’t be afraid to broach that topic. It seems like there is really good segue way once you start talking about these spaces in that way. It’s a really great bridge to get them to think about using entertaining as the bridge is a really good way to get them to think about their outdoor spaces in a more seamless.
00;12;44;20 – 00;13;16;03
Amy Chernoff
Absolutely. It shouldn’t know it definitely secondary project It should be. No, I think it should be part of the primary project. It’s about how you live. Yeah, I’m just dying to know what are the three or four must haves that as you were thinking about your outdoor kitchen project that you really felt like you could not live without and now you’ve gone through a whole season with your fantastic outdoor kitchen and the things that you thought you really needed.
00;13;16;03 – 00;13;20;10
Amy Chernoff
Did it end up? Those were the things that really were the things that you.
00;13;20;10 – 00;13;21;16
Vanessa Deleon
100%.
00;13;21;16 – 00;13;22;29
Amy Chernoff
Did you have any additional.
00;13;23;04 – 00;13;46;18
Vanessa Deleon
No. You know what? I absolutely love? For me, the icemaker is key. You realize how much ice you use when you’re hosting and when it’s just he and I like. We could just use the ice from their freezer. The ice that’s around, right? But when you’re hosting a party and the fact that you open up that door and you have ice and ice for days, I can’t tell you what a plus that is.
00;13;46;28 – 00;14;09;15
Vanessa Deleon
And then for me, I love the bin that we added with the little trays and you could put the condiments in because you could add the ice in there. And then we put the roses and all the little soft drinks and the Pellegrino and make it look really cool. It looks like a really cool bar. And the fact that my guests can actually go to and pull like it’s amazing.
00;14;10;18 – 00;14;35;01
Vanessa Deleon
So obviously functionality and practical and esthetics, both Cami are like, it’s like split right, left and right type of thing. For my husband, it’s definitely more function or fancy as he would say. He has to have sort of everything like at his like triangle. He loves everything, sort of like right here. But for me, I don’t care how I have it because I can reach over here for a job and get this bachelor pad and stuff like that.
00;14;35;01 – 00;14;50;23
Vanessa Deleon
It doesn’t really matter. But we do have it in such a way that it’s more like the way that we format it. Everything is amazing. All the drawers at the bottom so it’s easily accessible, have skewers, you have you have everything really neat in one place. But the way I function, that is barbecue at the center single off to one side.
00;14;50;23 – 00;15;13;04
Vanessa Deleon
So if somebody wanted to like bring something off, they’re not next to the grill or my son wanted to grab a juice, never has to go within 12 to 15 inches arm length to the grill. Right. So obviously that’s still an outdoor kitchen. So it’s not like this massive kitchen, but it’s like a U-shape. So he it’ll be over here grabbing his juice boxes and then the grills on the other side.
00;15;13;12 – 00;15;32;20
Vanessa Deleon
So just even the flow of that. So I’m never bumping into my husband when he’s grilling. I’m preparing where the sink is with the condiment rack is and the ice is on the right now. The ice is on the right on purpose, or somebody wanted to come and help themselves. They can literally go grab the ice and it’s on that side.
00;15;32;29 – 00;15;48;04
Vanessa Deleon
The reason why I did the door left full instead of right is because if you do it right, you have to almost kind of go into the you versus left. They just come to the side and pull it and me so even the way I positioned the handle was intentional.
00;15;49;04 – 00;16;17;14
Jessica Petrino-Ball
To think of all of those little things, just as simple as a guest looking to get ice or your your son looking to get a juice box without having to interfere with the grill is really intelligent. And fortunately, today’s appliances, you know, you can find a lot of those refrigerators with hinges on either side or drawers and access stores and kind of all of those little extra pieces that a lot of remodelers are thinking about.
00;16;18;03 – 00;16;37;24
Vanessa Deleon
I had and then where we had even the placement for the garbage that’s in between where the self-serve area is and the grill. So you had you’re pulling burgers and getting the paper off of the burgers and you want to dump it right there because you have meat hands. It’s right there. And then the sink is off to the left.
00;16;37;24 – 00;16;42;29
Vanessa Deleon
Like everything, it just works. The ergonomic flow of things work really well within that space.
00;16;43;09 – 00;17;05;07
Amy Chernoff
It doesn’t sound like there was any detail that was overlooked. And you thought a lot about how your family entertains and how you were going to interact with the space, whether it was just your family at home on a weekend or a larger party. Was there anything that you thought about after the fact and said, Oh, I really wish we had incorporated this?
00;17;05;07 – 00;17;10;01
Amy Chernoff
Or do you feel like, you know what, we got everything. It’s 100.
00;17;10;17 – 00;17;26;03
Vanessa Deleon
Sometimes says, Sometimes I think about just how cool would it be to have a pizza oven outside because we do entertain and I think it’s just something fun to do as like a group of people. Sometimes I go back and forth, Should I have done a pizza grill outside?
00;17;26;17 – 00;17;28;11
Jessica Petrino-Ball
You can always do pizza on the grill, too.
00;17;29;12 – 00;17;52;11
Vanessa Deleon
Yes. Yes, very true. Very true. But it’s nice when the heat coming from above and the the all about the undercarriage of the pizza icing. I have a crisp bottom. It’s like a whole. And that my husband would talk about feel like the outdoor space has very much within the last couple of years have been like the bigger piece of everyone’s home.
00;17;52;11 – 00;18;12;16
Vanessa Deleon
Right? Especially during the pandemic. The outdoor space was an extension for people to run away from their families, like it was like another space, another place to be where they can have some fresh air and be outside. But there’s also climate restrictions depending on where you live. I feel like a lot of people are having this sort of indoor outdoor living.
00;18;12;16 – 00;18;30;18
Vanessa Deleon
I think the nano wall systems and even a lot of the door companies are doing a lot of more accordion style doors. Everybody’s sort of tapping on the bandwagon for that. So when you open the entire stack, it’s not like a regular sliding door that you still have panels. It feels like you’re almost like indoor outdoor up your space.
00;18;30;18 – 00;18;50;28
Vanessa Deleon
And then a lot of companies in the Pawson world had also jumped on the bandwagon, and they’re actually coordinating, forcing some interior to then be a little bit thicker for the exterior. So you’re seeing that in the Pawson trend that they’re doing that for indoor outdoor too. Pergola systems are amazing because now most of them you could automatically have heat systems in there.
00;18;50;28 – 00;19;19;01
Vanessa Deleon
So the climate there a little colder. You can turn on the heat. You could have a small gas fire at the bottom and you can sit out there. So I think people are definitely paying more attention to the outdoor space than they did in the past. And I think what’s even like a hot trend right now, which people are really loving, is like incorporating, making everything look like a living room, like the coffee table and the firepit and then the pool, the coping matches their countertop.
00;19;19;01 – 00;19;32;27
Vanessa Deleon
Everything has a very cohesive flow in the backyards. Adult entertainment, outdoor speakers are huge. You know, the rock speakers are really popular and I think feeling and feeling really like it’s the inside of your house.
00;19;33;03 – 00;19;56;04
Amy Chernoff
I would love to pick your brain on two things, which are usually problematic for the outdoors too. Nuisance as neighbors and bucks. What are your topics? What do you do for privacy? What are your favorite solutions for that? And bugs depending on where you live, right? You do about that.
00;19;56;04 – 00;20;14;28
Vanessa Deleon
Well, these land, these Lancome bugs are driving me crazy, I’ll tell you that right now. And the land from bugs are dying. Me not because they’re so ugly and they fly in a jar. All right, so let’s start with the neighbors. So you’re in the east. You want you have climates that change. New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, You’re going to have seasons, right?
00;20;14;28 – 00;20;40;00
Vanessa Deleon
So it’s important when you select your landscape to do like a forest, see, than pine or like bushes or like lollipops that are going to sort of stand the weather really important. So lining up or really beautiful shrubbery, tall plants is the easiest way to to not see your neighbor. And it even muddles a little bit of the sound.
00;20;40;13 – 00;20;58;14
Vanessa Deleon
So they have their speakers on and you have your speakers on. You’re not listening to whatever country music you love rap music to hear that collision of music outside, especially when you’re having a good time, is a big deal, right? So I noticed that that you want some kind of plans or something really muddles that sound.
00;20;58;14 – 00;21;02;18
Amy Chernoff
Do you make recommendations with landscape architecture?
00;21;02;21 – 00;21;24;21
Vanessa Deleon
I do go, Yeah, you have a really good landscape architect. They all know this off the bat. It’s something that I recommend pretty quickly. If it’s a landscape or that doesn’t have somebody in his team to sort of design and omit and he’s just a landscaper, they kind of just pretty bushes and plants and called it a day, then they’re not going to really recommend all those sort of bells and whistles.
00;21;24;21 – 00;21;44;22
Vanessa Deleon
Right. But in having a landscape architect, there really knows esthetics, you know, how we’re going to hide this, but without your view right down the shore, for example. So our property kind of goes into a little triangle, but the sunsets on the right. I love my neighbors, but we do like the privacy. We go there because it’s kind of relaxing, right?
00;21;44;22 – 00;22;06;20
Vanessa Deleon
So we do have and we added really tall bushes on the left that are all season. And then we went quarter of the way down so we don’t lose a sunset on the right. So I don’t know necessarily landscaper or regular, just Josh my landscaper then I’d be like, well the sunsets over here and you’re going to be on your deck over here when you look this way, I would want some shrubbery a little bit lower.
00;22;06;20 – 00;22;23;22
Vanessa Deleon
I don’t know how deep they’ll go with that. It would be nice if they all thought like that, but at the end of the day, they want to plant whatever they’re going to plant, give you an invoice and call it a day. So I think you really do need a professional and I usually make my recommendation to have a good landscape architect.
00;22;23;22 – 00;22;38;01
Vanessa Deleon
They will know those name, but that’s just a case in point situation that I knew when I was sitting on the deck. If I’m sitting over here, my sightline is going to be disrupted because we put the same greenery that we did on this side, we’ll have an issue. So we want a corner the way down. And then we did some shrubs.
00;22;38;01 – 00;22;57;12
Vanessa Deleon
So kind of neat in there. We’re a little bit mower and then the bug situation. So I’m a little bit more eco friendly when it comes to pesticide guides and even the sprays that we have for bottles. Right. And really cautious of that, that I had my son that’s for had little dogs and I always feel like it’s just poison that you’re spraying in the air.
00;22;57;20 – 00;23;18;25
Vanessa Deleon
I like to go a little bit more from the stick when it comes to stuff like that. So I like to use certain incense, I like to use citronella. I feel like it’s a little bit safer, but I do burn citronella sticks. It almost looks like incense sticks and they really work well. But there’s there’s other systems like a restaurants in New York City have an air curtain in the front of their property.
00;23;18;25 – 00;23;33;29
Vanessa Deleon
So something like that that you can install in your own home is also a plus. And then we do all over the Hamptons and down the shore is we do the porches that are screened in, which is also great because you’re still outside, but you have a light screen that comes down and then you could take them off when you’re not using them.
00;23;34;06 – 00;23;41;20
Jessica Petrino-Ball
Are there any additional, like sensory elements that you recommend frequently with clients like Water Feature?
00;23;41;25 – 00;24;02;20
Vanessa Deleon
I love Firepits, I love waterfalls, I love spray waterfalls in the pools, a kind of shoot out. I think that’s a really cool the fact I think we have a beautifully lit, I think positioning of light. So it’s all like visual senses is the smell here. I think the music is the vibe. All that sort of has a play, a role in to the outdoor space.
00;24;02;29 – 00;24;07;03
Vanessa Deleon
And I feel like that’s what makes it and feels like you’re in an oasis sort of speak.
00;24;07;20 – 00;24;29;06
Jessica Petrino-Ball
We’ve kind of noticed it over the course the last few years. Have you noticed people just really looking for ways to spark joy, like in the past we were seeing a pizza oven, for example, as like this splurge. I don’t need a sort of appliance. And then what happened is that when the pandemic struck, right, like no one could get a pizza oven.
00;24;31;05 – 00;24;32;10
Jessica Petrino-Ball
So it did get well.
00;24;32;19 – 00;24;59;11
Vanessa Deleon
And that even inside the house, like I can’t tell you the last time I designed a theater pre-pandemic, after the pandemic, theaters became like the heightened trend. So I think for me ultimately is in the outdoor space or even indoor people wanted to bring experiences back because they weren’t able to be a part of the experience anymore. So they’re like, okay, well, I am going to have the experience here.
00;24;59;20 – 00;25;17;21
Vanessa Deleon
I love going to pizzerias. I love to go to my local pizza shop with the kids. They love pizza, wine, and I just bring a pizza oven into the house. I’ll make it here. You know, my one of my clients was like my family and I were bowlers. They have four boys. They like to go bowling. I said, All right, let’s build a mini bowling alley in the basement.
00;25;17;21 – 00;25;38;20
Vanessa Deleon
We have 60 feet. Let’s do it. So these are the experiences that I brought into the hall because the pandemic didn’t allow these people to do the things that they wanted to do outside their home. So I think people are like, you know what? And our house is everything we can possibly enjoy from the things that we like to do on a regular than absolute staycation.
00;25;39;23 – 00;25;47;00
Amy Chernoff
Wow. I see so many great ideas today. Vanessa, thank you so much for joining us. It’s been so fun, Ella.
00;25;47;00 – 00;25;48;00
Vanessa Deleon
Thank you for having me.
00;25;48;16 – 00;26;02;25
Amy Chernoff
We’ll be posting lots of images and the transcript of the podcast. So everyone can take a peek at your fantastic outdoor kitchen. And we appreciate you joining us today.
00;26;03;11 – 00;26;34;19
Jessica Petrino-Ball
Now time for some key takeaways. One Outdoor kitchens are a fabulous way to add value and excitement to clients renovation projects. Personalizing an outdoor appliance package can be both easy and fun, too. Building an outdoor living space is an investment in future experiences inspired via your clients with resort level amenities at home. A thoughtful design will enhance the client’s outdoor living and entertaining experiences.
00;26;34;29 – 00;27;04;24
Jessica Petrino-Ball
Three. Make sure to follow us on social at AJ Madison, and if you have any specific questions, send us a DM on Instagram or message us on Facebook. And if you start your message with High Jest, I’ll make sure to respond to you personally. Four. Join us for the EU class. If you’re planning to attend capers, join me at the Voices from the Industry Conference, where I’ll be leading an interactive workshop on specifying outdoor kitchen appliances.
00;27;05;16 – 00;27;14;26
Jessica Petrino-Ball
So catch you there.
