Every decade seems to have a housing trend. From the water beds of the 1980s to the wicker furniture of the 1990s, the trends of the past may have been unique, but they weren’t exactly swimming in practicality. The trends of present day, however, have sought to remedy this: enter outdoor kitchens.
Extending an Inside Kitchen
An outdoor kitchen is exactly what it sounds like: it’s a kitchen in the backyard. But it’s also much more. An outdoor kitchen can essentially add another room to a house; it provides an area for not only cooking, but also relaxing and entertaining. It is something that can not only be utilized in the summer months, but many times throughout the year.
One way to create an outdoor kitchen is to extend the indoor kitchen to the outside. According to Madison Magazine, decks, patios, and other outdoor arenas can provide more entertaining potential than anything indoors (source: “Kitchen Trends: New for 2015,” Madison Magazine, http://www.channel3000.com/madison-magazine/home-lifestyle/kitchen-trends-new-for-2015/31359582). This is true even for people who live in places like Minnesota or Alaska.
Using Warmth as an Advantage
Unless a person resides in Hawaii, the weather will not always be conducive to sitting outside. However, using heating foundations as an advantage can help. Adding design elements such as fireplaces and fire pits can infuse a little warmth during the cooler months. Pizza ovens, likewise, can also warm the area while adding an ideal way to create the perfect pie.
Building Around the Outdoor Ambience
If you’re interested in creating a summer kitchen that’s both functional and stylish, check out the great ideas and designs offered by RTA Outdoor Living, and don’t forget to explore the tips on how to decorate your outdoor kitchen. For people who love barbecue, adding a built-in grill may be essential. For those into summertime cocktails, installing a bar can help get the party started. For anyone big on vegetables, adding an herb garden can provide the opportunity to eat as fresh as possible. For the person who hopes to do a large amount of cooking outside, building a food prep area can allow many nights of cooking underneath the open skies. Taking into consideration favorite things to do outside is an important factor – if not the most important – when deciding what an outdoor kitchen needs and what it doesn’t.
Building the Walls
After it’s decided what a kitchen should have, some kind of frame will be required to to help give the kitchen shape. Just as walls, floors, and cabinets can shape an indoor kitchen, outdoor pavers and blocks can help shape an outdoor one. For the countertops, poured concrete or a natural stone good at surviving weather elements are most often used.
The Final Touches
Once the logistics of an outdoor kitchen are lied down, it’s time to put on the finishing touches. A screen door that goes from an outdoor kitchen to an indoor one, for instance, can make both spaces appear larger and more expansive. The correct lighting can also create a celebratory ambiance. And, finally, an extendable and/or folding designs wood patio dining table can customize the needs of your outdoor kitchen by creating more spaces when there is more people (Source: “Dining,” Terra Patio, http://www.terrapatio.com/diningtables.html).
