Tap into the Outdoor Kitchen Trend

Outdoor kitchens represent one of the fastest growing areas of consumer capital spending, but remain a largely untapped opportunity for many design professionals. Learn how to build a successful outdoor kitchen design business at the 2010 Landscape Expo, Oct. 6-7, at the Long Beach Convention Center, Calif.

If you’re considering adding outdoor kitchen design to your repertoire of services and have questions and concerns about how to do it right, then be sure to sign-up for two outdoor kitchen design seminars being offered at the 2010 Landscape Expo, Oct. 6 – 7, at the Long Beach Convention Center, Long Beach, California.

Russ Faulk, Seminar presenter and vice president of product development for Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet, is on the front lines of outdoor kitchen design, working daily with design professionals of all disciplines to create outdoor cooking and entertaining spaces that exceed client functional needs and design expectations.

The first, “Winning Outdoor Kitchen Design: A Best Practices Seminar, will be taught by Russ Faulk, an authority on the latest outdoor kitchen design trends and industry innovations. This introductory course will expand your expertise and help you capture new business by learning the details of outdoor kitchen design, one of the biggest trends in outdoor living.

In this seminar, you’ll also learn key functional design principles for kitchen layout, including prep areas, storage, and equipment placement. Faulk will share specific and actionable guidelines that have been developed through years of experience with outdoor kitchens and are founded in some of the best practices for indoor kitchen design. This two-hour seminar is being offered at 9:30 a.m., Wednesday, Oct. 6 and at 12:30 p.m. on Oct. 7, and carries LACES professional development hours.

An engineer by training and a Harvard MBA, Pete Georgiadis is the chairman and president of Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet. He will share his unique perspective on how to build a winning business during his seminar “Building a Successful Outdoor Kitchen Practice.”

Pete Georgiadis, chairman and CEO of Kalamazoo Outdoor Gourmet, a leading manufacturer of outdoor kitchen fixtures and appliances, will present the second seminar “Building a Successful Outdoor Kitchen Practice.”

Georgiadis will discuss things that are crucial to establishing a successful outdoor kitchen design business such as how to leverage your existing client base and why you must market tirelessly.

You’ll learn why now is the time to focus on outdoor kitchens and what you can do to capitalize on this opportunity, such as what leads owners to buy outdoor kitchens in the first place. Georgiadis will discuss the top reasons for putting in outdoor kitchens like:

• How the backyard retreat becomes a gathering point for friends and neighbors.

• Outdoor kitchens provide added convenience, enjoyment and relaxation for the homeowner.

• Putting in an outdoor kitchen provides a strong return on investment for the homeowner, which is often comparable to that of an indoor kitchen remodel.

• An outdoor kitchen also adds livable square footage to the home.

This seminar will be held Wednesday, October 6, at 12:30 p.m. and lasts for two hours.