Important Aspects to Consider When Designing an Outdoor Kitchen

Without a doubt, once the weather gets warmer, it's outdoors where we want to spend our free time. While outdoor dining/living areas are quite popular, the most popular and latest trend in outdoor spaces is having an outdoor kitchen/dining area. No matter how small or big your outdoor area is, having an outdoor cooking area is great. And it seems that the secret to having an elegant, stylish and functional kitchen area takes a lot of planning and designing.

If not sure you can do that, taking advantage of someone's knowledge is essential, mainly for the whole design process and space planning thing. Whether you ask for help or not, here are some important aspects that you need to take into account in order to have a perfectly designed kitchen.

Location

Well, the first thing you should do is to consider your location. In other words, you need to consider the climate and environment where your home is located. This is essential so you could choose the right appliance and furniture material. When it comes to choosing outdoor furniture, rattan or woven wicker are the most commonly used material as it can resist almost everything and any type of weather. Now, when talking about the appliance material, stainless steel and marine-grade stainless are the two ideal materials as they are resistant to corrosion and are extremely durable.

Free Space & Appliances

Besides location, the space can play a huge role in the whole designing and planning thing. For instance, no matter how huge or small your outdoor area is, planning on the things you want to add is essential. For instance you might want to install an outdoor built in kitchen that has both pizza oven and a grill, which leaves less space for the outdoor sink, refrigerator and cabinets (if planning to add many). How much free space you'll be left with for the furniture is closely related to the type of appliances you want to add.

The best part in an outdoor built in kitchen is that it allows you to combine both a grill and a pizza oven all at ones, or any other types of appliances. There are lots of them available on the market, so once again, planning ahead would be needed. For instance, if you are thinking about having larger roasts, opting for grills with more than three burners is essential. Additionally, you'll have to decide on the grill's ignition options (electrical, gas or charcoal) as well as on the type of oven you want. While no other oven can make a tastier pizza like the one that works on wood, sometimes, the free space plays a huge role in the type of pizza oven you can choose. Keep in mind that only the electrical and gas ovens can be built-in, The ones that work on woods should be installed separately.

The refrigerator, on the other hand, should also be made of stainless steel surface as it's the ideal material for the purpose. While the smaller models can be built-in, the taller ones can't, so taking into account the free space you have would be great so you could make the right choice.

Functionality

While all of the above-mentioned things matter, making them functional is another important thing to have in mind. The way you arrange the appliances and your working area is key for having a functional outdoor kitchen. Planning ahead where you want to place the appliances is one of the most important things you need to take in mind. So make sure to think about where you want to place the sink and the grill, next to one another or you'll want to place it next to the working area.

Evaluate the Cost

Just like with indoor kitchens, there is really no limit to what style do you want the kitchen to be or how many appliances you want to incorporate. Except for the aforementioned appliances, smokers, TVs, sound system and fancy lighting are just some of the many other products you can choose to install in your outdoor kitchen. Just have in mind that all this will cost you more than the planned. Now when speaking about the budget, another thing to have in mind is that the higher quality the products, the higher the price. So, if your budget is tight, make sure you stay focused on the most important appliances and products first because it's better to buy in quality and not in quantity. In order to do that, you need to choose products that come from a reliable and reputable supplier. Besides that, make sure they are all backed up with a strong warranty so you can have peace of mind that there will be spare parts in case you need it. All of these things are crucial if you want to have a stylish, appealing, functional and quality outdoor kitchen.