This is a guest post from my friends in Australia! An outdoor kitchen is a great way to enjoy the summer sun. More importantly it can keep you outside when the temperature is simply too hot to allow you to cook inside. While you can manage with a barbecue, a proper outdoor kitchen will provide you with many more options. But, before you get stuck into your new project it is important to understand the best way of planning your perfect outdoor kitchen:
Photo Credit: Pixaby
Consider The Location: The easiest and generally most obvious place to position your outdoor kitchen is right next to your house. Ideally near your internal kitchen as this should make the plumbing and food storage issues easier to deal with. You also need to have a position where the smells of the food you are cooking are not generally pushed back into your home.
Access: In addition it is important to consider how easy the kitchen is too get too and which room of your house people will retire too later in the evening. This will help you to choose the location and decide the best path of access. You need a route that is obstacle free and easy to keep that way.
Waste Removal: You need to ensure your outdoor kitchen is close enough to the existing water supplies and drainage that installation is easy. However, you also need to consider what waste is in the ground and how you are going to remove it without disturbing your land. The easy answer is via hydro vacuum excavation; this can remove all waste without disrupting your land. It can even be used after your kitchen has been installed!
Photo Credit: Pixaby
Shade: You need to position your kitchen or design it so that there is some shade; this will help to ensure you are not too hot to cook comfortably.
Usage: It is important to consider what you are likely to be cooking in your outdoor kitchen and how much food and utensils you will keep outside. This will govern the size of your outdoor kitchen and even the style. You don’t want to go over the top; smaller and simpler is generally better!
Landscaping: While an outdoor kitchen is a great idea it needs to fit with the current look of your garden. You will need to consider your current landscaping and how to blend your new kitchen in properly. If you get it right the kitchen will be virtually invisible.
Photo Credit: M.comorguefile
Lights: Just because you can and will cook outside doesn’t mean that you won’t need lights at some point; particularly as you sit and enjoy your food and drink late into the evening. You’ll need adequate lighting for the food preparation surfaces and the cooking area. More subdued lighting can be used where you eat; it will help to create the right ambiance.
The Grill: This is likely to be the center of your outdoor kitchen. This means you need to choose the right one in terms of size, power and ease of use. You don’t need the biggest or the most expensive; you need the one that works best for you.
Do you have or are you planning an outdoor kitchen? What is important to you when planning that space?
