Bamboo Oasis

More than just an Outdoor Kitchen

When we decided to move from Virginia to Maryland earlier this year, I had to say goodbye to my outdoor kitchen. That kitchen transformed me. It made me see cooking as more than just a preferred activity, but as part of my identity, specifically my Filipino identity. If I wanted to try an Indigenous recipe, using fresh fish and unripe fruit, the only way I could cook it was in the outdoor kitchen.

Cooking outdoors at our last home was a private experience. I was learning and experimenting and the kitchen felt like a beautiful desk where I can go to create magic. At our new home, I’m ready to make the outdoor kitchen more of a shared experience. Creating a space where guests can come and take part in the cooking process is the ideal.

The good news is there’s a place in the new home that would be perfect not just for a new outdoor kitchen, but a whole set up that would include a table for meals and space for seating. Even a bar set up eventually. I’ve decided to call this area Bamboo Oasis, because there will need to be bamboo for it to work, and it will need to feel lush when the winter and summers sometimes feel unbearable.

Left, the area I've identified for the outdoor kitchen. Right, a bamboo boat picnic in Philippine Hospitality, O'Boyle and Alejandro, Acacia Corporation, 1988

Breeze Blocks + Bamboo

My obsession with mid-century modern design began long before I started cooking outdoors. When I returned to San Diego in 2014, I became a Sotheby’s real estate agent so I could market coastal mid-century modern homes. One of the biggest selling points for me are the floor to ceiling windows. The idea of bringing the outdoors indoors is a large part of the attraction. But there is also the idea of bringing the indoors outdoors. Having a shaded area with rain and sun protection is ideal for outdoor cooking. Also, having a design feature like breeze blocks makes you feel like you might actually be in the Philippines.

According to Apartment Therapy, “Breeze blocks—decorative, perforated concrete units—originated from early 20th-century industrial casting and traditional Asian/Middle Eastern sun screens. They became a hallmark of 1950s and 1960s Mid-Century Modern architecture, providing structural shade, passive ventilation, and geometric privacy screens in hot desert or coastal climates.” I would consider the DMV, especially in the summer, to fall under the the former category.

The breeze blocks are already a natural backdrop for a tropical environment. Once you add bamboo and banana leaves to the equation, you have a great setup.

Left, found on Pinterest, unknown photographer. Right, found on Pinterest. Hidden bottom left caption reads 小红书号：AIYAQ1AN 2020

Bamboo Partout (Everywhere)

Bamboo requires creativity. It comes as pre-made fencing, as individual poles, matting and panels. There are guides everywhere online explaining what you can make with it, and there is also an opportunity to just make whatever you want. When it comes to bamboo, more is more. Not only will the kitchen need to have elements of bamboo, but the vintage furniture will be made from bamboo.

Left, an outdoor kitchen built in front of a patch of banana plants. Right, the banana plants growing less than two miles from our home.

Banana Leaves for Breakfast

I recently was driving through Silver Spring, Maryland to pick up flowers and had to pull over when I saw the largest, most beautiful banana plant in a front yard. I’ve seen the banana plant in other areas of the DMV but this one was exceptional. It gave me so much hope that we too can have banana leaves surrounding the Bamboo Oasis.

Glow

The right lighting is so crucial to creating an environment. It’s not just about the dimness, but also the materials used, the shape of the lighting, and the quantity. The lighting on the top left is very much what I would expect to see in a good tiki bar. The natural material on the top mimics a beach hut, and the marbled effect on the body just feels sensual. When plants are the centerpiece of a designed experience, you want lighting that compliments that idea.

The colorful glass balls on the right are blown glass and are described as net float. Associated with Japan, they have distinct imperfections and immediately transport you to being anywhere coastal. We are far from the Pacific, but these lights would make us feel like we are much closer.

Mid-century tiki environments. From apastreimagined on Instagram, "The important thing is that Tiki was not authentic Polynesian culture; it was an American-made collage of Polynesian, Oceanic, Caribbean, nautical, Hollywood and cocktail-bar fantasy. At its best, visually, it is gorgeous: warm, immersive, mysterious, theatrical, and deeply mid-century."

The Mood

Bamboo Oasis isn’t just for cooking and serving delicious food, it should be a place one can go to relax and take in the rich plant life, the moon light and the soft artificial lighting. There should be music playing and beautiful glassware for when you’re ready to have an intimate conversation.

With the amount of time I spend at home, I want places that feel like both a haven and an escape. I read somewhere recently that your home should feel like a vacation, and I’ve very much bought into that idea.

I hope to share the Bamboo Oasis reality with you one day in the future.

x Vanessa