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The Lifestyle
Outdoors is Always Entertaining
With the UAE climate ideal for al fresco living for half of the year, it's worth creating a special area for entertaining out of doors
Words by Susan James in The Lifestyle · Mar 25th, 2014
Few pleasures can match dining outdoors on a warm, sunny day or a balmy evening. When the temperature is just right conversation seems to flow so much more easily, time seems to slow down so that we can relax and enjoy it more and food certainly tastes better.
So, in the UAE, where the weather is ideally suited to al fresco living for more than half of the year, it's worth making the most of our outdoor spaces, choosing a home where a din- ing and entertaining area has been designed and integrated into the garden with real thought - or one with under-developed out- door space that would lend itself to a redesign.
Increasingly, villas in Dubai are being planned with indoor-outdoor living in mind from the outset, which means an easy and natural flow between the spaces, wide expanses of glass that can be opened right up when the weather is good and very well planned lighting to maximise the drama of the garden at night.
The best outdoor dining spaces will have much more than a standard barbecue: out- door kitchens are what the name suggests, with wet areas, refrigerated storage, plenty of prep space and several cooking surfaces, probably with different fuel sources. And they won't just be functional, they will look every bit as good as the smartest indoor kitchen.
