Outdoor Smoking Retreats
The season for outdoor smoking has returned, but before you unfold the lawn chairs and fill the cooler, lay the foundation for comfort and shade for your backyard burn with an enclosed smoking space. Protect yourself from the elements. And escape the bloodsuckers.
A lot of us spend the entire winter boarded up indoors, puffing delicately in the direction of an air purifier or leaning against a windowsill to let the smoke escape. A screened space takes care of the ventilation on its own, without letting in all those unwanted mosquitos. And it can protect you from sun and rain alike, so your outdoor time isn’t compromised by a weather forecast.
There are some options for temporary structures, if your need is more occasional. Frontgate offers a pavilion with mosquito netting that can be disassembled when the party’s over and stored when the first frost hits. That also lets you take it with you to, say, a park or summer home.
Coleman makes some quick-to-assemble screened tents in this vein, that might rescue a backyard party or lakeside weekend from the pest and downpour problem. And if you are on a tight budget, you can simply buy a mosquito net for your patio umbrella. The netting drapes over the top of an umbrella anchored in an outdoor table and protects everyone inside.
Summerwood prefabricated gazebos, though, present a unique opportunity—the perfect mixture of ready-to-assemble designs and customization options. Most of their gazebos have add-on screen kits. Starting at about $5,000 you can have a place big enough for two shipped out. For about $7,800 it comes ready-built. The largest models (pictured) hit 20 feet in diameter, and about $45,000 for complete installation.
Of course with that pricing structure, it makes sense to go big and build yourself. Yes, you can hire a contractor and delay the finish date exponentially, or you can build it yourself. Summerwood has easy, photo-laden instructions so why not grab a cold drink, some bug spray and a smoke? You can invest the savings into a bigger humidor for all those cigars you’re going to enjoy.
Visit coleman.com, frontgate.com and summerwood.com
