Interest in outdoor kitchens continues to grow at a robust pace, with designs often continuing the theme of the indoor space and incorporating grills, pizza ovens, refrigeration and cabinetry.

Snyder Diamond has been selling outdoor kitchen products for more years than many readers have been breathing, much less designing. The Santa Monica-based high-end appliance and plumbing retailer got into outdoor kitchens more than 40 years ago, says company President Russ Diamond.

Of course the business has changed quite a bit since then: “Vendors such as Charmglow, Ducane and Weber were dominant, and most of the products were domestically produced,” he recalls. Then the big box stores came in, expanded outdoor as a category, and much of the manufacturing moved to Asia.

“We began our Home Design Trends survey in 2005, and outdoor living at that point was already a popular trend,” observes Kermit Baker, chief economist with the Washington, DC-based American Institute of Architects. “Almost half of responding architects indicated that it was growing in popularity at that point,” he adds. The recession hit this trend, as it did home building and remodeling altogether, but Baker has seen this category recover along with the rest of the market. “Beginning in 2011, interest in outdoor living began to increase again, and steadily grew through 2015.” Trends in Outdoor Kitchens | Kitchen Bath Design