Our Company Blog

Add An Outdoor Island This Year

2020 can be your best year yet with the best get-togethers, the tastiest food, the greatest music. You can bring your backyard to life and bring value to your property with the addition of a new outdoor island.

IBD Outdoor Islands and Extras

When it’s time to upgrade and update your outdoor space, look no further than IBD Outdoor Rooms for all your islands and extras. We specialize in designing and creating outdoor spaces that are functional and long-lasting. Our products leave much to the imagination, allowing homeowners to customize on a small or large scale. IBD outdoor kitchens are built in a modular fashion to accommodate the simple or a complicated one. Don’t stop with the kitchen alone. Our islands and extras add to any outdoor patio, poolside, garden, or pavilion. Start with IBD Outdoor Rooms to create your outdoor dream space this year.

Outdoor Kitchen Islands

When you work with IBD Outdoor Rooms you’re able to choose between six basic designs for your luxury outdoor island that can mix and match for the perfect shape and function of your outdoor space. Your products are constructed of quality products and can be shipped “unfinished” so that you can customize their completion exactly, partially finished, or completely finished and install-ready. All you will need is a licensed contractor to complete the install according to your municipal code and your specifications.

• Santa Fe Straight – Straight to the point, the Santa Fe Straight is a straight design with two standard cutouts. It can be a standard length or extended for your needs. It can also be customized with more cutouts, dining ledges, electrical boxes, cabinet liners, caveats, and backsplashes.
• Versailles V Shape – Perfect for a small space, this corner piece includes two standard cutouts. Choose from a piece in which the corners extend to the edge or one in which the corners turn back toward the unit. Popular add-ons include backsplash, cabinet liners, and electrical boxes.
• Lexington L Shape – Like the Santa Fe, the Lexington L uses straight lines as an aesthetic. With an L-shaped angle, this kitchen island is perfect for standing and cooking, but you can choose another angle if preferred. There are four standard cutouts, but popular options can include as many cutouts as necessary, dining ledges, electrical boxes, cabinet liners, caveats, and backsplashes.
• Trenton Tri Shape – A popular choice, the Trenton Tri Shape features two angles and six standard cutouts. Customers can customize this design with any accessories and options listed on our website. The best part of this design is that the angle is also customizable and perfect for multiple grills or cook surfaces.
• Ultimate U Shape – Our bestseller, The Ultimate U is a large format island with six standard cutouts and available with any of our IBD options and accessories. The Ultimate U is ideal for a more centralized feel but with open aesthetics. Your island can be placed in an exact U or segmented apart to cover larger spaces and open for more traffic. Install a fireplace or pizza oven to warm your crowd while they’re gathered in your space.
• Concord & Serpentine Curved – Our C-shaped Concord and Serpentine outdoor kitchen islands are custom designs only. Although these designs aren’t listed on our price sheet, they continue to be a popular option due to the accessibility of counter space for beverage spaces, grill and cooking space, and buffet-style dining. In order to order either of these custom designs, you must call and speak with an IBD Outdoor Rooms specialist at 704-960-4530 or by using our online contact form.

Although our company is centralized, we ship ready-to-construct products all over the country and they’ll arrive with detailed instructions for your contracted installer. Check out our photo gallery for inspiration and get started today so that you can have a new and improved outdoor space this spring and summer. Take advantage of these mild winter months to make a change you’ll be happy with for years. Improve curb appeal, raise property value before a sale or refinance, or just create the fantasy-space you’ve always wanted.

Other products that will bring your porch, patio, garden, or poolside to life is an outdoor fireplace, fire pit, or custom fire design. These fire products can be finished to match your outdoor island and complement your home and landscape. Work with our professionals at IBD Outdoor Rooms to find the best layout, extras, and add-ons for what you need, but also what you want.

Before Your Product Arrives

If you’ve already searched online for inspiration (consider this Pinterest board), spoken with one of our design specialists, and placed your order, make sure you’re ready when your product arrives. Make sure you hire a certified contractor for the work. If part of your design is a fire appliance, make sure your contractor is an NFI certified chimney and fireplace technician. It will not only protect your investment, but it’s required by most local code authorities and most homeowners insurance companies.

Start today and get one step closer to adding your outdoor island for 2020.

How to Warm Up Your Outdoor Space This Winter

With Halloween past and Thanksgiving coming quick, it is the season for entertaining. More people travel for Thanksgiving than almost any other time of the year and a fair majority of these people are gathering together with family for holiday festivities. A few fortunate homeowners have enough space for their visitors. A few can head outside to patios when space gets crowded. What do you do when your house is getting cramped, but temperatures are frigid outside? Don’t worry! There are ways to warm up your outdoor space this winter.

Fire Features

The most popular options for outdoor patios, pool-sides, and gardens are fire. Homeowners love fireplaces, and they don’t have to be inside. A fireplace can complement the aesthetic of your home on the inside, an outside fire feature can complement much more. You can choose a fire pit with a stone finish that matches the tones of your house, choose a chimenea that accentuates the shrubbery in your landscape or the curling vines in your garden, or pick a custom fire table that doubles as a table at dinnertime. When you’re looking to add a fire feature to your outdoor space, make sure you work within your city’s laws and codes. You should also choose the best fuel type for your needs. If you have a source for firewood, you may choose a wood fire. If it’s quick and convenient you want, gas is the better option. Whatever you choose, make sure you contact a certified dealer for your appliance and hire a licensed contractor to install it.

Patio Heaters and Lamps

Even if you have a fire feature such as a fireplace, fire pit, or chimenea, you may still need extra heat for your outdoor space. Depending on your budget, there are many possibilities. Portable patio heaters usually burn propane and can be moved as needed, but many homeowners dislike them because they can be unattractive and impossible to hide. There are electric tower heaters that are less ostentatious but have to stay plugged into an outlet. For short periods these may be the best option. However, a more permanent heat source that can remain hidden year-round is a heater that is mounted onto walls or beneath patio roofing. Because of the incredible amount of heat they generate, an outside wall-mount or built-in should only be installed by a certified professional. Infratech is a brand of outdoor heaters that uses infrared energy to create a direct wavelength of light that carries heat with it. The heat from an Infratech patio heater will reach your guests and will not blow away in windy or drafty conditions. You can choose between a heater that emits light or one that emits none at all while still producing the heat your outdoor gathering needs.

Heated Floors and Rugs

Most of the heat that leaves your body goes through the head and the feet. In the same way, your guests will feel warmer when their feet are warmer. You can add warmth to your outdoor space with rugs on stone and concrete patios and even add radiant heating to deck floors. Radiant heat is growing in popularity not just for keeping guests comfortable, but also for melting snow throughout winter months. If you’re interested in heated flooring for your outdoor space, it’s important to do your research and talk with a professional as you plan.

Heated Pools and Spas

Most homeowners opt to clean and give their poolside a rest for the winter months. If you can turn your summer pool into a heated pool for the winter your guests will enjoy it! This may be the most expensive way to add heat to your outside space because there is a lot of water to heat! One way to cut costs is to use solar power to heat your pool by day and still enjoy it by night. On a smaller scale, you can invest in a hot tub for the same effect. They require less maintenance, less water, and less heating costs. Make sure you utilize patio heaters so no one gets too cold on the way back into the house!

Warm Atmosphere

Like putting down a rug or throwing on a light blanket, sometimes it’s the illusion of warmth that can warm your guests. When all else fails, add some light. Warm, yellow lights bathing over your outdoor space will add a warmth that has nothing to do with temperature. It is the type of warmth that is a product of comfort. The same can be accomplished by bringing out blankets, fur throws, cushions, and pillows. Make your guests comfortable and it’ll warm them from the inside out.

You don’t have to freeze out your guests this winter, and you don’t have to cram them all into your house either. Warm-up your outdoor space with fire features, outdoor heaters, heated floors, pools, and spas, and more.

You can also help to create a less windy, drafty space by creating a space with walls and curtains to hold in all the heat. IBD Outdoor Rooms sells high-quality pergolas and pavilions that will bring any outdoor space together with quality and style.

Find out more about turning your outdoor fantasy into reality this season by calling IBD Outdoor Rooms at 704-960-4530.

Get Your Fall Project Started Now!

Spring may be for cleaning but summer is for barbecues and fall is for bonfires! Now is a great time to start thinking about your fall projects. Your outdoor fun doesn’t have to end when cool weather hits. At IBD Outdoor Rooms, we have great options for your outdoor space that are durable, practical, and stylish.

Your Dream Space

When you begin thinking about your fall project, the sky is the limit. You can build up with a new pergola to lounge beneath on a cool evening while stars are out. You can choose to remodel and upgrade your fire or kitchen appliances, or start a new construction! Whatever you’re planning, start with IBD Outdoor Rooms for ideas and models to choose from. Next, hire a certified contractor for building and a certified technician or chimney sweep to install your fire appliances. At IBD Outdoor Rooms we turn fantasy into reality and safety is our top priority.

Outdoor Kitchens

Many homeowners find it cost-effective and beneficial to install an outdoor kitchen. It helps to keep a party from getting overcrowded in the house. It helps to keep noises, odors, and heat from getting inside. An outdoor kitchen also creates a great focal point for a landscape. Since it will likely become the focal point of your yard, make sure it’s a beauty! When you shop IBD Outdoor Rooms, you have control over the shape, size, model, and finish of your outdoor kitchen islands, cabinet units, ovens, kamado grill spaces, and more.

Outdoor Fireplaces

The kitchen will likely strike the interest of the Grill Master, but the fireplace or fire pit will get all the attention from everyone else. You can choose a fire pit that fits the size and shape of your space and select a finish that fits your personality and your landscape. You can also get it installed before fall. Only if you start this summer!

Beautify for Fall

You may not be interested in outdoor entertaining at all, but want to increase the aesthetic. You can invest in your property’s look by installing a new mailbox, lamppost, pergola, or even a custom structure or building. If your mailbox is drab and rusted, or even leaking or collecting bugs, consider a new mailbox. Our mailboxes and lampposts are sure to increase your curb appeal, are designed to “break-a-way” if hit by a car, and can be matched to your landscape through a variety of finishes. Many of these extras are perfect for a do-it-yourself project and can be completed before cold weather hits this fall.

If it’s a pergola or pavilion you want, it will be best to build in the summer. Winter ground can be difficult to work with and to install an adequate floor and foundation. Check out designs or discuss custom structures with an IBD Outdoor Room expert, and we’ll make sure it arrives in time for construction! All you need is a contractor to do the work.

Start now by calling IBD Outdoor Rooms at 704-960-4530 or scheduling an appointment online!

Start Talking About Spring Projects Now

Temperatures are still dipping in the evenings, and most of the country is still in the thick of winter. That doesn’t mean you can’t start planning now for a fantastic outdoor space in the spring.

Visualize Your Dream Space

There are many options when it comes to choosing and building your dream space. At IBD Outdoor Rooms we offer our customers every resource to build the space of their dreams. Whether you want a space with walls and a roof, or a simple patio with a fire pit and seating, you can have the space completed and ready in time for Easter festivities, spring break, and more. It may not seem like a good time, but it’s the best time to get started!

Fireplaces

Depending on the space you have in mind, you may be able to install a wall fireplace or a fire pit.
Wood-Burning Fires—If you have access to a source of firewood, there are great options for outdoor fires. Garden fireplaces can be installed at the edge of any patio without a wall. They produce substantial heat and are eco-friendly. Wood-burning fire pits are also a great option! They generate a lot of heat, but may be more work.
Gas-Burning Fires—If you’re looking for the most eco-friendly and efficient option, gas-powered fires are the ticket. IBD Outdoor Rooms sells a variety of gas fire pits. Depending on your space, you may choose an octagonal, round, square, corner wedge, oval, rectangular, even pedestal fire pits. Once you’ve chosen the shape of your fire pit, it will be easier to choose furniture to complete the space. Rinnai walls are also gas-fueled and perfect for your outdoor space, especially if you have divider walls or when larger units are needed.

Outdoor Kitchens

Your outdoor space may work better for you if you can cook comfortably. IBD Outdoor Rooms sells kitchen islands that will work perfectly with your space, fit well with your grill equipment, and can be designed and decorated to match your personality and your landscape.

Walls, Roofs, and Extras

You can have the best of both worlds when you add a pavilion or pergola to your outdoor space. Offer a shaded space for sunny days, an open space for stargazing, even custom walls for windy afternoons. You don’t want to limit yourself when it comes to your outdoor space.

When you design and order your pergola from IBD Outdoor Rooms, it is the best lumber at the best price, ready to assemble in clearly-marked instructions and materials, delivered to your door. When it comes to the benefits, there is no reason not to invest in your home now.

Contact IBD Outdoor Rooms at 704-960-4530 today and get started on your dream outdoor space before spring.

Getting Your Outdoor Space Ready for Warm Weather

You probably winterized your outdoor space to protect it from animals and weather during the cold weather. Fire pits and fireplaces along with appliances like grills and refrigerators can be affected by winter, even if you do your best to prevent it. When weather warms up and you’re ready to fire it up for summer gatherings, there are a few things you need to do first.

Clean and Check the Grill

You may have a grill or a stove-top in your outdoor space. Whether you have one or the other, or both, you should clean and check it before use. Even if you cleaned and checked your appliances before closing out your space for the winter, you should again. Even if your grill was working properly at the end of the season last year it may not be now. A lot can happen during a winter even with your best preparations.

Clean and Check the Fireplace or Appliance

Your fireplace, fire pit, or appliance should be cleared of debris, ashes, and anything else that might have blown or fallen into it. Anything besides the intended fuel can cause a dangerous fire or explosion. Also, if you have a gas appliance you should make sure the burners and glass are cleaned and that the fuel connection is not leaking and set appropriately.

Prepare Wood for your Fireplace or Fire Pit

Do you have a wood-burning fireplace or fire pit? if so, you should start gathering your summer fire wood today. You should only burn properly seasoned wood in your fireplace even if you’re burning outside. Burning the right wood insures that you have a warm, efficient fire. Burning dry wood also means less byproducts. Do you already have a supply of seasoned firewood leftover from your winter burning? Then it will be perfect for your outdoor fire as well.

Update Seating and Furniture

If you prepared your outdoor space for winter, you might have thought to store your furniture and cushions in a dry area so they wouldn’t get ruined. If you forgot this, you might need to replace your furniture or cushions. Maybe you like to update your furniture each year. No matter your reasoning, you should set up the space as you like. Make sure to secure cushions to the furniture so they don’t become fire hazards, as well.

Secure Valuables

Depending on your outdoor space, you might have walls, a roof, or even a full kitchen. If you have expensive items in your outdoor space that can be removed, tampered with, or vandalized, you should secure them for the season. Many cities have codes that specify certain requirements regarding open fires. It’s also important to make sure your homeowners insurance policy doesn’t have any restrictions as well.

When you’re ready to start your outdoor entertaining this spring, don’t rush into it. Make sure your appliances are safe and ready for use. If you’re looking to upgrade portions of your outdoor space or replace damaged items, you can choose IBD Outdoor Rooms for the best products!