Garden and patio accessories

Today’s garden is virtually an extension of the house. Thus, the patio becomes an outdoor dining room, decorated just as well as its counterpart indoors. Garden furniture is taking on a more distinguished look. Fences and outdoor lamps are decorative objects blending in with the style created inside the house. Everything natural! That’s why it’s important to choose your accessories with care, so that you can fulfill and personalize your own terrace or patio.
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The kitchen area
Furniture: an invitation to comfort
Sounds, colors and fragrance
Heat and light

The kitchen area

Planning the kitchen area should be your first priority – starting with the barbecue, cooking accessories, and dishes.
The central unit
The barbecue is an essential element in all backyards. According to the space you have available and your budget, you can opt for the compact model, either portable or on wheels, or you can install a luxurious and practical summer kitchen – with a large counter, a built-in grill, and even a mini-fridge. Between these two options you will find a large variety of barbecue models on the market. Depending on the type of cooking you plan to do, how often the kitchen will be used, and the scale of the meals you plan to prepare, choose a model that will best suit your needs. Before finalizing the purchase, find out as much as you can about any current municipal regulations, or rules that might have been established by home owners in your district concerning barbecue use.
Fuel
Different kinds of fuel are available.
  • Wood charcoal
    Barbecues using two types of charcoal-based fuel, charcoal briquettes and wood charcoal, seem to be regaining favor among barbecue lovers for two reasons: the special taste they give to food cooked on them, and security. Manufacturers are now offering models with very attractive features – a modern look, better performance, solid construction, working surfaces and cupboard space, larger charcoal fuel holders, larger containers for collecting ashes, and a propane igniter.
  • Gas
    Propane gas barbecues are popular because of their practicality. They quickly reach the desired heat level, and are easy to maintain. A minimum capacity of 100 B.T.U.’s per square inch of cooking surface is required to reach the desired cooking temperature. Ceramic briquettes are preferable as they radiate heat better than volcanic rock.

    Natural gas barbecues benefit from a reliable fuel supply, and are therefore free of the inconvenience of frequent refueling. The chance of fuel-related failures in the middle of preparing a meal is also eliminated.

  • Electricity
    Electric barbecues are gaining in popularity particularly among apartment and condominium dwellers, where gas and wood charcoal barbecues are often not permitted.

Cooking and serving accessories
If you want to move away from the traditional hamburgers, hotdogs and steaks, an assortment of accessories paired with the right utensils will allow you to prepare a wide variety of foods. For fish and vegetables, why not equip yourself with a few woks and vegetable baskets of different shapes and sizes? Special containers for meat pieces are also very useful.

Burners and warming racks are highly valued by outdoor cooking enthusiasts. The truly passionate will search the market for aromatic wood shavings to put in the food smoker. The rotary spit is also prized, useful as it is for cooking large pieces of meat such as a whole chicken.

For easy maintenance, you have a choice among utensils with wood, stainless steel or even plastic handles. Both price and quality vary a great deal, so it’s mostly a question of personal taste. Most important: take good care of your equipment.
Dishes
What could be more pleasant and agreeable at a barbecue than to sit down at a table that has been attractively and colorfully decorated. All this food so exquisitely prepared on the grill deserves to be presented and savoured in the appropriate manner – which is to say, well! Summer flatware is now at its finest. Delightful motifs and attractive colors are yours to use in creating a truly convivial table. Choose from plates of all sizes, practical and beautiful serving dishes, and colored glasses and cups in unbreakable acrylic – as easy to care for as they are irresistible.
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