How to Get the Most Out of Your Outdoor Kitchen

How to Get the Most Out of Your Outdoor Kitchen

It’s almost prime grilling season, which makes it the perfect time to think about how you might want to improve your outside cooking setup. When inquiring about a landscaping job, it helps the designers if you have an idea of what you want. Installing a custom outdoor kitchen allows you to really get the most out of the space and fit all of your cooking needs, so here are some considerations to discuss.

Design around other hardscape features.

Whether you’re adding on the outdoor kitchen to your existing landscape or it’s part of a large installation job, try to create a cohesive design. For example, too many conflicting stone colors between the pavers and stone counters won’t look as clean and pleasing to the eye. Plus, it’s important to avoid squeezing too much into your yard. Crowding a space with features will only make the backyard look smaller instead of adding to your home’s overall aesthetic.

Extend into outdoor dining.

What’s a kitchen without a dining area? Whether you choose to extend the counter out to make a sitting bar or you add on a patio area for a table, it’s important to have somewhere close for everyone to sit and enjoy the food. However, you want to make sure there’s plenty of room to maneuver around both spaces.

Add features for easy cleaning.

Installing a sink and a pull-out trash helps make cleanup easy after using your outdoor kitchen. The sink hardware would also benefit from a faucet spray being included so you can spray down the basin and the counter if needed. If you have the storage, you can keep all of your necessary cleaning supplies there as well.

Include storage.

When you’re dealing with the elements, storage in the outdoors needs to be specially designed. The landscape designers should know the best outdoor-safe cabinets, which will often be metal. Adding a mini fridge will allow you to keep food like meat at a safe temperature while prepping, and you can also keep drinks and condiments in there for an easy grab.

Get the features you want.

Have you always wanted a smoker or a pizza oven? Maybe both? The design phase is the perfect time to consider how those features might fit into the job and if they’re manageable with your budget. Having a list of needs and wants will let the landscaper know exactly what you’re looking for, and they can do their best to include as much as possible.

If you’re looking for ways to improve your current outdoor kitchen, give our experts a call. Outdoor Innovations has been offering quality landscaping services in the Twin Cities since 2007.