One of the most beautiful things an outdoor kitchen can give a family is the ability to remain with the family. You extend your living space outdoors and can even enhance the ease of many common dishes.
Imagine this, you have your extended family coming over. Since it is summer and the humidity has been low, you anticipate you will be spending a bulk of your time outdoors. You splurge on new patio furniture, power wash the patio, and mulch your flower beds. Everyone arrives and as you planned, the backyard is where you find yourself.
When beverages are needed, you run inside and grab something from the fridge. For lunch you run inside and fix some sandwiches and head right back to the patio. Everyone is having a lovely time outside.
As dinner time rolls around, you run inside once more and pull out the fixings for a seafood boil. You find your big double boiler; you peel potatoes and shrimp, dice sausage, shuck corn. Everyone is having a lovely time outside, except you. You hear laughter from the windows. Your timer goes off and you grab a huge platter and dump out your delicious dinner. You bring plates and drinks and your one pot wonder meal to the patio.
Then you remember, the kids won’t eat shrimp and sausage, you run back in to boil a few hot dogs, because you forgot to check the propane tank on your grill. Five more minutes and you can join your family. After over an hour of kitchen prep and cooking, you emerge famished and wishing you had installed that outdoor kitchen you had been wishing for…
One of the most beautiful things an outdoor kitchen can give a family is the ability to remain with their family. You extend your living space outdoors and can even enhance the ease of many common dishes. For some, the hardest part may be knowing where to start.
Many outdoor kitchens are created from the bottom up. You choose the location for the kitchen and determine the dimensions and flooring. Many people prefer for their outdoor kitchen to be in close proximity to their indoor kitchen so they can move quickly between the two for scarcely used kitchen gadgets, extra utensils, and the like.
Another huge benefit of installing your outdoor kitchen close to your existing kitchen is that you will have water, electric, and even perhaps propane lines in close proximity. This can be a huge savings when installing new lines.
Pavers or cement are an excellent choice for outdoor kitchens because they can be washed down easily. Other options include gravel or decking materials. You may even be able to work within an existing deck or patio with a few modifications. It is great if you can add gas, electric, and water lines before placing the flooring, but talk to your contractor to see if your existing space can be utilized with just a few modifications.
When deciding on dimensions, you will want to consider seating and serving areas, what type of appliances you will use, adding a fire pit or heat source to extend use into cooler months, and existing landscaping or lawn parameters. This is why it is so important to bring experienced professionals in on your project early. Not only will they be able to design your space for you, they will also be able to catch ventilation issues and piping issues saving you money down the road.
Depending on the scope of your undertaking, an experienced contractor will also be able to bring in the expertise of a landscape architect to determine, based on the characteristics of your lawn, what is the safest way to invent your dream outdoor kitchen. This is especially important if you are adding a large patio on a steeply sloped hill, the river, or a creek.
When we envision an outdoor kitchen, we tend to automatically think of stone pavers. One of the reasons for this is that they are so easy to maintain once installed. They are very low maintenance and resist weathering, but there are a ton of new options on the market that will perform as well. These materials include tile, stainless steel, and polymer.
Another decision to make is how much outdoor storage your kitchen will require. Along with a place to store outdoor cooking accessories you will also need a place to store plates, flatware, and glasses. There are so many choices in polymer cabinets you may even be able to find one that matches your indoor cabinetry! Exploring these options can make the transition from our indoor living space to our outdoor space more seamless.
The next big decision is selecting appliances for your space to meet your outdoor cooking needs. This is where the fun begins. There are so many options available for outdoor kitchens that weren’t available even 10 years ago. For an outdoor cooking space you will need a cooking surface, refrigeration, and water. This means it’s time to start shopping for a grill, refrigerator, and sink.
When we think of outdoor cooking what immediately comes to mind is the grill. There are so many options available. The old question used to be: Do you prefer gas or charcoal? Now you can choose from gas ranges of all sizes, charcoal, smokers, and even brick pizza ovens imported from Italy.
Another choice is: Do you want your cooking surface to be built in or stand alone? Gas grills can be built directly into a paver wall with a circular opening for you to place your Big Green Egg. Many outdoor kitchens incorporate several of these options with both stand alone and built in cooking surfaces.
For your refrigeration needs, you will need to determine how you will be using your outdoor kitchen. If you have access to a large quantity of ice and will not be using the outdoor refrigerator often, you may be able to get by with just an incorporated cooler. Although, most of us do not want to run to the store every time we go outside to grab a few bags of ice.
It is often easier (and even more economical) to have an outdoor electric refrigerator. The size you will need depends on what you will be storing. If you want to keep drinks handy and can use your indoor refrigerator for food, a small, half refrigerator may be all you need. If you want your outdoor kitchen to be fully stocked with snacks/lunch/dinner items and beverages, you may need a full size refrigerator.
The final decision will be what type of sink you will need. You may only need water for drinking or filling small pans. For this, a typical kitchen sink would work well. If you want to use this sink for filling larger pans (shrimp boil mentioned earlier) or even for gardening purposes, look for a deep utility sink.
As a bonus, most outdoor kitchens do not require both hot and cold water lines as indoor kitchens do. If you already have a water line running to a spigot, you may be able to inexpensively extend those water lines to your outdoor sink. For a fully plumbed sink, don’t forget about adding a sewer line.
Many outdoor kitchens incorporate some type of covering. There are many portable or fixed options available. These are especially helpful when a short summer rainstorm comes through mid-cooking. When selecting an option, be sure to leave the space above your grill open for proper ventilation.
Now, let’s imagine the scenario mentioned earlier with an outdoor kitchen -- same menu, different memories made.
Everyone is having a lovely time outdoors enjoying your new patio furniture. The children are still running through the sprinkler, but when everyone gets thirsty, they go ahead and grab a drink from your outdoor refrigerator. The drinks are right beside the chicken salad you will serve later for lunch.
Once dinner comes along, you run inside quickly for the ingredients, but bring them outside to your kitchen prep area where your sister joins you in preparation. You fill your large double boiler in your outdoor utility sink and set it on the burner. It’s almost a scientific fact that water boils faster when you are enjoying waiting for it!
As you add the ingredients, your sister-in-law reminds you the kids probably won’t eat the shrimp/sausage boil, so you reach into the fridge for hot dogs and fire up your grill (propane is not an issue since it is hooked to the house line). You aren’t certain how long it has taken to get everything straight, but you sure are having a great time.