Outdoor Kitchens

Today outdoor kitchens are taking over as the favorite place to cook, entertain and relax.

Most outdoor living areas are right next to the interior living spaces to allow easy movement between and house and outdoors.

You can use the same things in your backyard kitchen as your indoor kitchen.

This would include cabinets, grills, and refrigerators. The difference is that everything must be waterproofed.

Here are a few examples of backyard kitchens to view and get ideas from.

A good place to start is get an outdoor grill.
You can customize it or buy a free standing grill. If you want to be extravagant you can get a drop in stove with six burners and a gas kit. You may want to hire a kitchen designer if you are planning a large area or you may decide that you can do it yourself.
You may want an outdoor fireplace.
A fireplace can be transformed into a place where you can cook. Many people find that a fireplace adds a cozy dimension to your outdoor room. If you want to be more casual you could consider a fire pit. Fire pits can be used to cook with a rotisserie or you can cook on a grill over an open flame. You may also want to add an oven such as a brick or stone pizza oven.

Some other considerations would be:

Counter tops and storage cabinets.
Remember that they need to be waterproof so stainless steel might be a good choice. Stainless steel would also match the grill.
No Kitchen is complete without a sink.
The water will come from the hose or will be connected to the home's water supply. Again I would consider using stainless steel. It will give your outdoor kitchen a uniform look.
Next you need to consider the flooring.
You don't want to use any material that is slick especially if you have swimming pool and people are walking around with wet feet. Flagstone or brick might be a good idea.
Task lighting is important.
You may find yourself cooking after dark and having a good light source will be helpful.
You will want to consider shelter over your outdoor kitchen.
You will not be able to cover the grill area due to fire danger. To get started look through books and magazines to get ideas. Make an idea file and put the pictures in it. Take some photos of back yards that your really like and them to the file. Look for indoor kitchens that you like as they can be adapted to the outdoors. After you get your kitchen area built, then you will need to think about seating areas and landscaping.