Showroom Visitors Come Home to Outdoor
Living
By Steven Shaw
For many people, “firing up the BBQ” is a joyful occasion
synonymous with summer. Yet, in recent years, outdoor cooking has
expanded far beyond the simple backyard grill of yesteryear to
include elaborate, fully designed outdoor rooms complete with
sophisticated cooking systems, refrigeration, heating and lighting
and even kitchen islands with copious storage.
Indeed, consumers are willing to invest lavishly in these
outdoor “rooms.” And, after remodeling their homes, they’ve come to
see the great outdoors as the newest frontier for luxury living and
entertainingor just enjoying some fun in the sun.
Capitalizing on that idea, American Home Showplace has teamed
with Conover, NC-based Laneventure to introduce a retail venue that
offers consumers a new experience for creating their outdoor
lifestyles.
Located in Dalton, GA, The World of Outdoor Living is a
20,000-sq.-ft. showplace for products that enhance the comfort and
pleasure of entertaining outdoors, from nostalgic Americana to
sleek contemporary. Designed by architect William E. Poole, the
showroom itself gives the outward appearance of being a
Tidewater-style home, complete with front porch.
“Once you enter the front door, you go through a section that’s
about 16-feet deep an interior of a house,” explains Laneventure
v.p./marketing Gary McCray. “When you reach the back porch, you can
see three other back porches; to the left is the rear of a country
French home, directly in front is the Mediterranean home, and to
the right is a Georgian home.”
Inside Out
The showroom is a bit difficult to describe, according to Ken
Brown, director of marketing, The World of Outdoor Living, American
Home Showplace. “We have basically taken a warehouse-type building
and gutted it, and built full-scale facades of four different style
houses to feature the different furniture. We also put a 25’x25′
skylight in the middle, which really opens it up and adds a lot of
light [adding to the feeling of being outdoors].
“What we’ve created is a courtyard type of effect,” Brown
continues. “You’re inside the building, but it looks like you’re
outside because there are landscapes and you can see the back
porches of several houses. It’s quite honestly the most unique
patio store in the country, in our opinion.”
Laneventure styled four completely different outdoor
environments based on the types of homes mentioned. “We included an
outdoor kitchen for each one, which went from just having a grill
in the smallest one to having a grill, refrigerator, side burner,
drawer units and an ice chest built into the corner of one unit. We
also included a fireplace for each one,” McCray remarks.
Adding to the full outdoor environment, fountains and gates and
fencing from other vendors were brought in to complete the picture,
according to McCray. Each setting bears Laneventure’s
Weather-Master brand and displays complete outdoor kitchens, along
with an assortment of seating pieces as well as dining sets, chaise
lounges, tables, planters and desks.
In addition to the four outdoor kitchen displays, there is an
actual outside kitchen, which is a “live” display, according to
Brown. “It has a full-blown kitchen with two grills that work. We
have featured chefs who offer demonstrations to customers and
clients.”
Origins of an Idea
“We have been in the
outdoor furniture business for 15 years and, like everybody else in
the business, we’ve been focused just on what makes up the outdoor
room,” McCray notes. “As people began to talk more about outdoor
rooms and consumers began expecting more, we saw an opportunity to
move into other parts of the outdoor business.
Last year, for the first time, Laneventure offered outdoor
kitchen islands and fireplaces. As the company contemplated how to
display these products, McCray said Laneventure turned to an old
business partner.
“American Home Showplace had put a full house in its warehouse
and our products were on the deck of that house,” explains
McCoy.
“We worked collaboratively with American Home Showplace in
creating the idea for Outdoor Living. We see this as an ongoing
collaboration.
“Our ultimate goal is to offer essentially everything that you
would need to make a high-style, high-end outdoor room. The World
of Outdoor Living is just the first step,” he states.
“The store has taken the retail presentation of outdoor
furnishings to the next level, where visitors experience an
authentic environment,” explains Art Thompson, president of
Laneventure. “The World of Outdoor Living is a one-stop
destination, offering inspiration for recreating their outdoor
space.”