Inside Out

At last, this is the summer of gathering and entertaining. “The huge changes in how we use our homes has reached outdoor entertaining as well,” says Mark Warfield of Stelle, Lomont, Rouhani Architects. “Outdoor furniture is no longer just light tables and stackable chairs brought out a few times a year. Today’s pieces are bigger, plusher and more permanent — benefiting in advances in weatherproof fabric technology. Basic grills have given way to advanced pizza ovens, or even full outdoor kitchens. Heat lamps are now commonplace. All these changes in service of extending summer entertaining outside well into the shoulder seasons and beyond.”