Embrace summer with outdoor kitchen
West-end couple extend their living space by turning an old covered back porch into a cosy, rustic retreat
It seems only fitting that Jeff Douglas has a bright red beer fridge on his back porch. After all, he is Joe Canada, the good-natured guy who delivered the now iconic, Canadian myths-busting spiel known as “The Rant” in a 60-second TV commercial for Molson Canadian in 2000.
Today, Douglas and his wife, Ana Diez, an entrepreneur, make the most of Canadian summers by embracing patio life in the backyard of their west-end Toronto home — including a rustic outdoor kitchen the couple built over a long weekend. The couple lives in a small semi-detached house with their two rescue dogs and have extended their living space by turning an old covered back porch into a cosy outdoor retreat.
“We are all still kind of kids inside,” says Douglas, who co-hosts the popular radio show As It Happens on CBC. “For us, it’s like our house is our clubhouse, not structurally of course, but with little things we always say ‘let’s try it, let’s have fun.’ ”
Together, Douglas and Diez built a rustic outdoor kitchen inspired by a photo they saw on Pinterest using wood leftover from a recent DIY back deck project.
The Star caught up with the couple to talk about their latest DIY project and how growing up in Nova Scotia for Douglas and Colombia for Diez has influenced how they live in their home. The outdoor kitchens we often see are fancy, stone-clad projects. This one is different. How did this project come about?
Jeff Douglas: When we originally thought about building a deck we thought about having a bar, a place to hang out or sit, like a tiki bar type thing. Then, when we started looking around, and Ana was looking on Pinterest, we saw a built-in BBQ cook station and I was like “oh, what about one of those, we can use the lumber that’s left over from the lower deck?” and so we just started from there, just using what was basically leftover lumber and a photograph from Pinterest.
How do you think your backgrounds have influenced how you live in your home and make the most of Canadian summers?
Ana Diez: I just can’t be inside in the summer. I grew up in (Colombia) in houses that always had a courtyard. You always had the outdoors right in your house. Indoor-outdoor living is so big for us. A lot of the houses I grew up in had the kitchen open right out to the courtyard … (Here) we wake up, we come down and we make our first Americano. We are here until we go to bed.
JD: For me, being from the east coast, people would just enclose a deck with vinyl or chipboard, and in winter have almost like a mud-room. Our back deck is an all-in-one space. I’m a fan of a kind of trailer trash chic and old-school things, like Old Spice aftershave and soap on the rope, I’ve got a lot of nostalgia for that kind of stuff.
Why was it important to create this space?
JD: As a way to enjoy our home more and get more out of this space. There is something really awesome about having people over to your home that is different from going out and meeting people someplace. Philosophically there is something different. When we do these things it’s to open it up but also to make it more fun and a more social space for us and people who come over.
Did you sketch out a plan?
JD: We just winged it. Ana and I are kind of creative problem solvers. It’s just jump out of the plane and worry about the parachute later kind of deal.
Did you run into any snags when you were building it?
JD: Yes. Whoever built the original deck didn’t work with a level. When I built the (kitchen) tabletop and made it level, it looked weird because the lower deck slopes down, and this looked like it was taking off. It was level but didn’t look level. When in doubt if your eye is arguing with the level go with your eye. I kind of fudged it but parallel is better than level, in this case.
How difficult is this project? Is this a weekend project for someone who is comfortable with tools?
JD: If you have the tools, you do need a chop saw or miter saw, a circular saw helps, a skill saw or jig saw helps because sometimes you are working into a space that is already there and you need to so some fudgy little cuts, so that helps. I don’t think it’s that hard. It’s just like building with Lego. If it was a 1-10 skill level you need this is probably a three. It could be a beginner project. Especially if you were building into a corner you already had, it’s not hard.
It’s so cosy. Have you used it for entertaining yet?
AD: We had a barbecue on Saturday and it was really nice to be able to have all your things there and to have space around the barbecue. The big advantage is the counter space and to have spices, tools and cutlery at hand.