Outdoor kitchen island + Outdoor kitchen grill
=
Outdoor kitchen.
An
existing deck or portable gazebo is a great springboard for a DIY
outdoor kitchen.
Sometimes it pays to start small and add on
to a kitchen as a budget allows. A premium standalone grill and a
well constructed, well landscapped patio are great places to
start.
Working in stages, you can add outdoor kitchen
equipment, lighting, a seating area, or perhaps a firepit or water
feature all without breaking the budget.
Outdoor Kitchen Grill (or other outdoor kitchen equipment used to cook.)
Charcoal and propane
grills (freestanding or surrounded by brick or masonry) were around
long before warming drawers, pizza ovens, and alfresco beverage zones became
popular.
Some of these outdoor
kitchen designs were just metal cooking
grates over brick-lined fireboxs -- some had stone slabs that doubled
as counter space.
You can add any number of other
amenities to an outdoor kitchen design, but it's the grill with a
landing zone that forms the core of all outdoor
kitchens.
Avoid comparing grills based on the amount of
the heat they produce (BTU's). BTU's don't tell you how evenly the heat is distributed
or whether the lid does a good job of keeping the temperature
even.
Consider these other tips when choosing an
outdoor kitchen grill:
Compare the shape, size, and design of the gas burners and their
capacity
Talk to other owners
who have grills similar to what you'd like to own
Read grill reviews to get a handle on performance and
convenience options
Outdoor Kitchen Island
The grill island is a lot like your indoor kitchen counters
with a two important differences.
Outdoor kitchen islands have a more
powerful heat source and they must be able to
withstand the elements. Given these differences,
a standard indoor wood cabinet will not do well in an exposed
outdoor kitchen design.
The
grill island has three primary functions:
powerful heat
source
prep surface
storage for outdoor
kitchen accessories
To
make it as convenient as possible, plan for at least 3
feet of island space positioned next to the
grill.
For added
convenience, include an outdoor
kitchen sink
or an outdoor kitchen
refrigerator. But the convenience of these is
no tradeoff for a sufficient amount of counter space.
People tend to like small mosaic-style tiles, because
they're pretty and you have more pattern options that can be contrasted
with the grout lines. But this design idea is not necessarily a good
idea for outdoor kitchen counter tops.
Instead, use
larger tiles. You'll get larger flat sections to work on
with a lot fewer grout lines to clean.
Custom Outdoor
Kitchen
Customizing your outdoor kitchen design is where the
fun really begins.
Consider the following as
your outdoor kitchen plans develop:
Position the kitchen to take advantage of the
best view of the landscape
Choose a design that suits how you will cook
and entertain in the space
Include your outdoor kitchen
to handle storage, cooking, preparation, dining, and cleaning.
Use a bubble plan to map it all
out.
A bubble plan is an overhead diagram of your property that shows
the landscape design, the hardscape, the planting beds and your
the new outdoor kitchen addition.
Put your ideas on
paper then
use the bubble plan to help
convey your outdoor kitchen ideas to outdoor kitchen construction
professionals.
Easy
Outdoor Decor
