Patio of the Week: Gaucho Grill, Pavilion and Fire Pit

“After” photos by Bureau Gravity

Patio at a Glance
Who lives here: A family of five
Location: Western Springs, Illinois
Patio size: 500 square feet (46 square meters)
Landscape design and installation: Hursthouse Landscape Architects and Contractors

Before: The existing patio simply wasn’t large enough for the family to get its elaborate wood-fired grilling going.

The firm completed both the design and the build for this project. John Algozzini and Bob Hursthouse created the design, while Rob Jastremski managed the project.

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After: The new full-range, natural cleft bluestone patio is 500 square feet, including the portion under the pavilion. This material plays nicely off the blue siding on the house. The new pavilion is 19 by 15 feet, providing 285 square feet of covered space for an outdoor kitchen and dining area.

“The architecture of the house was quite traditional and it was important to us to make the landscape cohesive with the house,” Algozzini says. “There are multiple ways you can install a gaucho grill, and it can be a standalone piece. But after looking through images with my clients to see what they liked, I proposed we move it into a fireplace that would be integrated into a pavilion.”

Gaucho, or Argentine-style, grills use traditional cooking methods to produce foods with rich, smoky flavor. Typically, meat is grilled on a grate over wood embers or charcoal. The signature wheel or crank allows you to adjust the grate’s height to control cooking temperature and time.

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Before: The 8,000-square-foot yard had plenty of space that could be used more efficiently. Also, the fence had seen better days.

After: Now the pavilion occupies part of that area. In addition to the gaucho grill in the fireplace, there’s a gas grill for side dishes and alternative proteins. It has storage cabinets beneath it. The outdoor kitchen also includes a sink between the two grills, firewood storage and a trash receptacle. The countertops are honed bluestone and provide ample prep space. There’s a 42-inch concrete footing beneath the kitchen that serves as a foundation.

Algozzini used a combination of lattice screens and a line of columnar Regal Prince oak trees (Quercus x warei ‘Long‘, USDA zones 4 to 9; find your zone) planted behind the pavilion to create privacy. Nods to the home’s architecture include matching the white paint to the trim on the house and using the same stone that’s on the home’s front facade. The stone, seen here on the fireplace and columns, is Wisconsin limestone.

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A gaucho grill uses charcoal or wood embers to cook meat. This family uses wood. In this photo, the wood is being fired to create embers. Once the embers are ready, they’re shaken down through a liner and fall to the floor of the fireplace. Then they’re raked over to sit beneath the primary grill on the right.

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The big wheel mounted on the right side of the fireplace can lower or raise the grilling platform to change the rate of cooking.

Douglas fir V-groove paneling adds warmth to the pavilion ceiling. A ceiling fan helps cool things down in summer, heaters extend the pavilion’s seasonal use and recessed lights let the family use the pavilion after dark.

There were two unsightly air conditioning units to the left of the pavilion. The designers added lattice to screen them from view.

“Cooking, grilling and eating together is a huge part of their family experience,” Algozzini says. In this case, they invited the team from Hursthouse to come over and grill up a meal for themselves during the photo shoot. That’s Bob Hursthouse, the owner of the firm, cooking lobsters on the gas grill to go with the steak he prepared on the gaucho grill.

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Before: Finding the space for grilling, dining and lounging by a fire pit wasn’t possible on the existing patio.

After: The bluestone extends from under the pavilion out to the new lounge area. “This provides a great spot for everyone to gather around the fire pit and visit after the meal,” Algozzini says.

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The gas fire pit is also crafted from Wisconsin limestone. The coping is bullnose honed bluestone that matches the outdoor kitchen’s countertops.

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Plantings in the new bed include a ‘Velvet Cloak’ smoke tree (Cotinus coggygria ‘Velvet Cloak’, zones 5 to 8). Algozzini and Hursthouse surrounded the tree with soft ground covers and perennials in a variety of colors. Also seen in this photo is the expanse of lawn that the family wanted to keep for active playing.

This photo also shows the new fence, which was also part of the project. It’s vinyl and matches the trim on the house and pavilion.

Site plan: The fire pit lounge is on the left and the pavilion is on the right. One thing to note is that local codes dictated that a fire pit with a gas line be at least 15 feet from the house.

Algozzini is happy that his clients found his firm on Houzz. “It may sound like a cliche, but great clients lead to great results. These warm and generous people were spectacular to work with and I cannot say enough good things about them,” he says.

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