Designing Your Outdoor Kitchen: 5 Top Tips

Outdoor Kitchen Tips

Your kitchen should be stylish as well as functional for added versatility, value and fun for the outdoor space – acting as an extension of your indoor space. Paired with a pool, an outdoor kitchen can boost your fun factor and transform you into neighbor of the year! The process of building your outdoor kitchen should be fun, so take these five tips into consideration.

1. Incorporate ambiance: Beautiful…welcoming to guests…cozy…stylish. These are all things your outdoor kitchen should be. Welcome your guests by extending the comforts of the indoors outside. There should be comfortable patio furniture, chairs, couches and plenty of seating for barbecue time. Adding specialty lighting for mood is another great idea, plus it keeps everyone safe at night. A fountain or small pond, as well as a flat screen TV, would make excellent additions to the space also.
2. Location, location, location: Consider layout when designing your kitchen. It’s a good idea to avoid placing your grill too close to the home, as it’s a fire hazard, not to mention the smoke from your cooking can waft into the house. Your outdoor kitchen area should be relatively close to the back door of your home so you don’t have to travel long distances to bring out food. A visually appealing and functional asset is a decorative retaining wall to separate the kitchen from the pool area.
3. Fit your appliances to the space: Or vice versa. Overall, the size of your appliances will determine the size of your kitchen. If cooking and prepping in front of your guests is important to you, put plenty of counters next to your grilling station. Stagger the heights of your counters: one for prep, one for eating, and one for standing and resting a drink on.
4. You can’t have too much storage: Just like inside, you need lots of storage space outside so you have everything where you need it. This also keeps the clutter at bay so you can easily find what you need. Select materials wisely when it comes to counter tops and cabinets. You want materials that are waterproof with the ability to withstand wild temperature changes.
5. Add appropriate flooring: Your flooring is a big consideration when you think about usage and traffic. How will weather will affect the floors, or the weight of the appliances you plan to install? Also, if you have a pool and lots of foot traffic, tile and marble flooring get slippery when wet; in addition, they stain easily due to grease, food or beverages.

The main purpose of your outdoor kitchen should be to offer a safe, comfortable space to relax and entertain. Know what would go great with an outdoor kitchen? A pool or hot tub!