Deck of the Week: Grilling, Dining, Sunning and Lounging

“After” photos by Tiffany Ringwald Photography

Deck at a Glance
Who lives here: A woman with three sons in college and high school
Location: Cornelius, North Carolina
Size: 1,043 square feet (97 square meters)
Designer: Sandy Kritzinger of Collaborative Interior Design

Before: The homeowner, a mother whose nest was emptying, had recently downsized from a house on North Carolina’s Lake Norman to another on the same lake that was a lot closer to everywhere she needed to go on a daily basis. Early on, the renovation plans for this 1990s home drifted into the popular territory of a white modern farmhouse with black windows, but the design morphed into charcoal siding and a kiss of hot pink. Most important, a large indoor-outdoor addition transformed the family’s lifestyle.

The house did have a large deck that faced the lake. But the lack of roofs and screens shortened the amount of time the family could use it, and the railings partially blocked the views. New plans included porch roofs, screens, fans and heaters to mitigate the climate and bugs. This extended the family’s outdoor living time to at least three seasons of the year.

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After: Screened-in porches bookend the deck. From left to right are a covered outdoor dining room with a large grilling station, an open sun deck and a covered outdoor lounge with a fireplace.

“This was a two-and-a-half-year project that just grew and evolved as my client lived in and got to know her space,” Kritzinger says. “There is real value in planning and completing a renovation like this over time, as you’ll figure out what you want to do as you live with the spaces.”

A good grilling station was a must-have on the homeowner’s list; the designer located it directly off the indoor dining room. And with three active young men and their friends around, durable surfaces were needed. Kritzinger steered the homeowner toward honed granite for the grilling station’s almost 10 feet of counter space. And while the backsplash tile looks like concrete, it’s a more durable and wipeable porcelain.

“We wanted to go for a warm contemporary style indoors and out that wouldn’t lean cold or austere,” Kritzinger says. “By using lots of organic materials, we were able to achieve that warmth.”

What to Know About Adding an Outdoor Kitchen

The primary bedroom has doors that open to the lounge. Lowering the deck 18 inches below the finished floor inside prevented the views of the lake from being obstructed by furniture, as mentioned.

Kritzinger layered light throughout the outdoor spaces. “I never want to have only overhead lights, and I always put them on a dimmer,” she says. In the lounge she added lanterns, also on dimmers, so the family can switch up the lighting scheme.

This is the view from the primary bedroom to the outdoor lounge and beyond it to the lake. A textured charcoal wallcovering on the headboard wall plays off the exterior charcoal siding, creating a strong connection between indoors and out.

With its leafy surroundings, the lounge has a luxe treehouse-like feel. The fireplace surround is painted brick, and the hearth is bluestone. “Both are simple and clean natural materials,” Kritzinger says. “I used lime-washed brick inside the house, so using brick here was another way to connect these outdoor spaces to the interior.”