Planning the outdoor kitchen design in great detail right from the start is actually half the project. You have quite a few things to consider before you get started; things which if neglected will create great disappointment later on.
What may go wrong with the outdoor kitchen? Anything, from the choice of the location to the choice of the material. Then, you may make it too small or too big. The sink may be the wrong size. Did you forget to include some storage space or room for outdoor appliances?
What we understand here is that things may go wrong. What do you need? A good outdoor kitchen contractor and a very thorough plan, which implies hours of thinking, researching, measuring, etc. Can I lend you a hand?
How to avoid mistakes when building an outdoor kitchen
• Your first concern is to find the ideal spot to create the outdoor cooking area and the dining area. Even if you don’t want the structure attached to the house, it’s best to have the outdoor kitchen in close range so that you won’t have to walk long to go back and forth.
• You need an outdoor kitchen design that will be perfect for you – not your friends, not your relatives, but for you. And so, you need to take into account all things related to your landscape – direction, size, shape and also, your personal needs.
• Even if this is a rather small outdoor kitchen – for any reason at all, budget, lack of space, etc., it’s best to create sufficient task space. Having a rather large outdoor kitchen countertop is a must if you want to enjoy the moments you spend outdoors. Since the design of the outdoor kitchen has to do with the landscape and available space, if you cannot have a big countertop, see if you can fit an island.
• While this can be addressed later, if omitted from the start, see if you can cover the outdoor kitchen and the entire backyard living area with a gazebo or canopy. This way, you will protect your outdoor appliances, the furniture, the whole structure and you’ll have a shelter in the event of an unexpected rain shower.
• Keeping the structure of the outdoor kitchen close to the dining area. You don’t want to travel “miles” to serve your friends. Keep things in close range, even if you have an outdoor living room as well.
• Make sure you have the right outdoor cooking appliances for you. Take into account your own habits and what you will most likely like to do in your backward.
• Create as much storage space as possible so that you will have everything you want right beside you and thus, eliminate the backs and forth to the indoor kitchen. The whole point is to make your outdoor living easy, not make your life more difficult.
Overall, try to think of the ways you can maximize the role of the outdoor kitchen in your life, of ways to make it truly useful all year around.
Let me ask you this: if you cannot get a Rolls Royce, you won’t buy a car at all? Or you’d buy what you afford? What does this example have to do with your outdoor kitchen? Everything. Let’s say, there’s no room for a dining area. What would you do? Just eat over the casserole or settle for an outdoor bar? That’s the way to think when you have not enough space for the things you’d love to do, or the budget to build the exact outdoor kitchen of your dreams. Instead of having nothing, better have a petite one. But it must still have the amenities you want, the items you use in the indoor kitchen as well to make your outdoor experience fabulous.
