This summer, it’s all about the outdoor room

Gail Katz, left, chats with husband Bruce Wessel, as he tends to a burger. The kitchen (with grill and small bar) is situated just on the other side of the seating area, so Wessel, the griller in the family, can be part of the party. The deck is made of ipe, a sustainably harvested wood.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Architect Steven Ehrlich and his client, artist Kharlene Boxembaum, have breakfast at one end of the 23-foot-long steel plinth that serves as an outdoor counter at Boxembaum’s modern Beverly Hills home. Boxenbaum thinks of the counter’s shimmery surface -- it’s covered in quartz CaesarStone -- as “functional sculpture.”

COUNTER

Dimensions: Top: 23 feet long, 3 feet wide and 14 inches high; supports: 22 inches high

Materials: Steel and white CaesarStone

Cost: About $15,000

Architect: Erlich Architects, Culver City

Landscape: Nancy Goslee Power & Associates, Santa Monica  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

The Boxembaums, who frequently open their home for charity and political events, love the counter’s versatility. The first function was a catered dinner for 135 people that used the indoor dining room table and the long plinth as buffets. “The glass doors slid away to create one seamless indoor-outdoor space,” says Kharlene. “Everyone just flowed inside and out.”  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Culver City architect Steven Shortridge (center) and partner Barbara Callas (left) maximized the compact footprint of the sleek Venice home they designed for film producer John Melfi (right) with outdoor rooms on the first floor and on the roof (shown here). Two lightweight aluminim sunshades offer shelter; Shortridge flush-mounted six brackets into the deck so they can be rearranged according to the angle of the sun. “The sunshades offer more flexibility and don’t pick up the wind like conventional umbrellas,” he says, “and they’re pretty easy to move around.”

SUNSHADES

Dimensions: Round 5-foot shade wiht 1 3/8-inch pole

Materials: Aluminum and Versatex mesh; custom stainless-steel floor brackets and arms

Cost: Brown Jordan Sunshades, $1,490 to $1,850 at Berk’s in Santa Monica; cement-filled aluminum base, $400, and custom brackets, about $4,500  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Architect Barbara Callas and partner Steven Shortridge relax in the outdoor room off Melfi’s kitchen. The patio is decked out with a built-in teak sofa, dramatic fire pit and custom barbecue. The same acid-washed concrete floor is used inside and out, for a seamless transition. The fire pit’s hot-rolled steel-plate backdrop acts as a partial wall, while new plantings, such as large black pine and assorted olive trees, make up the room’s soft green walls. The landscape was designed by Bent Grass in Venice.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

John Melfi with his spacious, 5- by 7-foot oval cooperage-style hot tub. The raised Boardwalk composite decking surrounding it doesn’t splinter and holds up to weather better than natural wood. Australian brushwood on two sides of the hot tub adds texture and offers privacy. An adjacent Boffi shower fixture is mounted next to the tub on an integral blue plaster wall.  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)

Los Angeles architect Alla Kosovosky sets the table in the outdoor dining room of her Hollywood Hills home. Her youngest daughter, Nastya (13), helps, while Mia (16) walks along the ledge of the 40-foot lap pool. A lighting system made of five aluminum beams defines the space.

LIGHTING

Dimensions: 8 feet tall, 2-inch-by-2-inch, with 4-foot arm

Materials: Aluminum with a clear anodized finish; MR16 bulbs

Cost: $750 each

Architect: Alla Kazovsky Architects, Los Angeles  (Jay L. Clendenin / Los Angeles Times)