Planning your outdoor kitchen should get you excited about your new addition, but if you don’t plan correctly, it can turn into more of a hassle than a source of joy. But where do you start?
This article discusses the most critical elements of planning your modern outdoor kitchen. If you use these tips correctly, there’s no way you won’t have the kitchen you envisioned.
List of the cheap and best outdoor modern kitchen Ideas on a budget in 2021
Extend Your Space
Outdoor kitchen areas extend your living space. It gives you more places to entertain guests and relax. However, in some environments, it can be challenging to enjoy the summer with heat in the way.
Outdoor kitchen areas give you some shade. You can use an awning and plan around existing landscape elements such as trees. You can also incorporate patio umbrellas to add some shelter.
In the winter, an outdoor fireplace can help expand your entertainment season. Outdoor heaters are another option to use if a fireplace doesn’t seem feasible. If you’re up to the financial requirements, radiant heat over the patio can be the best option.
Adding heat or cooling measures ensures that you get the most out of your space, and you extend your living area in a way that’s compatible with your lifestyle.
Plan Around the Environment
Extending your outdoor kitchen space requires thorough planning around your environment. If you’re in the southwest, you want your outdoor kitchen area to reflect your region’s architectural elements.
Match your outdoor kitchen area’s design with your home design. Incorporate the same colors for uniformity and make sure you create a sense of flow with your outdoor kitchen.
You also need to consider the surrounding landscape when you design your outdoor kitchen area.
For example, If you’re in a desert landscape, choosing bold colors such as turquoise or aqua can create an oasis’s appearance. If you’re in an area with palm trees and sunshine, using materials such as bamboo can help give you a tropical vibe.
Create a Layout
Without a layout, you have no idea how your outdoor kitchen will look. As with designing anything else, you need a concrete plan before you put things into motion.
Understanding where all of the appliances fit and where the dining area works best are both examples of things that need to be hammered out before you begin building your outdoor kitchen. Additionally, suppose you want to incorporate heating elements into your outdoor kitchen. In that case, you need to understand where the heating source is and how it ties into the rest of your layout.
Outdoor kitchen areas often define their spaces by themselves. Whereas an indoor kitchen conforms to the existing structures, outdoor kitchen areas’ exterior designs have to be as appealing as their interior designs.
Because of this, many people opt for L-shaped outdoor kitchen designs. These create a barrier between the main living area and the outdoor kitchen.
What Appliances Do You Need?
After you have the layout planned, you should consider the appliances you want to fit in your space. Choosing these appliances depends on your preferences.
The following are a few examples of what you might want to include in your outdoor kitchen, but it is by no means a comprehensive list.
Grills and Smokers
Who doesn’t like grilling during the summer? Additionally, their appearance serves as a focal point for many kitchen designs. The grill can be a prominent object that you plan your other appliances around.
Grills and smokers’ prices range from inexpensive to downright absurd, so it’s up to you to decide which grill you need. You may only need simple grill capabilities. If this is the case, you can go with a standard option. However, if you spend a lot of time grilling, you might want to up your capabilities.
Built-In Refrigerator
Built-in refrigerators eliminate the need to travel back-and-forth to the kitchen. You may not think making multiple trips to the kitchen is very inconvenient, but when you’re entertaining guests, do you want to be running around like a chicken with your head cut off?
Built-In Kegerator
This one is for the beer drinkers out there who want to impress their buddies. How cool would it be to have your beer on tap for summer get-togethers? You can turn your outdoor kitchen area into a microbrewery with these cool contraptions.
Choose the Materials
Now that you have your layout and appliances planned, it’s time to choose your materials. Choosing materials depends on your budget, preference, and location.
You should make sure all of your materials are weather compliant. For example, if you live in the Pacific Northwest, you want your materials to withstand heavy rain.
Other materials such as stainless steel are great choices because they hold up to the elements and require little to no maintenance. If you’re looking for ways to reduce your overhead, replacing your countertops with stainless steel gives you a flexible alternative.
Improve Your Style
Adding to your outdoor kitchen’s style is the time to focus on the decorative finishing touches. The seating, the potted plants, and the artistic decorations can all improve your outdoor kitchen’s style.
Add Lighting
Lighting works to help you conduct tasks while setting the tone for your outdoor kitchen’s mood. You need lighting to light your cooking area, and you need it to set the moss for your guests.
Having structures overhead makes your lighting process more straightforward, but you can work around this by mounting lights behind the working areas or installing light poles near the gathering areas. In times of need, tiki torches are excellent alternatives to permanent light fixtures.
Get Ready To Entertain
Now that you’ve completed your planning process, you’re ready to break ground and get started entertaining your guests.
There’s no one-size-fits-all solution to your creative outdoor kitchen design. Your design should reflect your preferences and environment. After going through the months of planning and preparing, it’s time to put your outdoor kitchen to use and celebrate with a long-anticipated backyard pow-wow.