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Posted by microbisque 209 days ago (http://www.chair-cushions.us)

My husband and I designed and built an outdoor kitchen in the backyard of our home about 4 years ago. I can't think of any other addition to our home that would have added as much enjoyment or new dimension to our lives. As we live in a climate that is mild enough to make use of the area many months out of the year it is probably our most used space. It is definitely the area where we congregate when we have company for an evening or for a few days. It is a breakfast nook in the mornings, a cocktail bar in the afternoons and an outdoor patio for dinner or lunch that rivals any restaurant in town. We have wonderful water features in the yard that create a lovely backdrop of soothing sound, beautiful trees, flower gardens with walkways, benches, and a hammock for lounging on in the yard. These items are all important features to the successful design of the outdoor kitchen. The outdoor kitchen is an extension of your indoor space and the rest of the yard is an extension of your outdoor kitchen. Another important factor to consider is the comfort of the room; you want to have shade from the sun, views to the rest of the yard and shelter from other weather like wind or rain. I would highly recommend that you have a roof over the room or at least part of the room. A little rain doesn't have to stop the party or limit the use of the room if the room provides some shelter. If you are going to go to the expense of building this outdoor kitchen extend it's use by making it comfortable to use as much of the time as possible. Overall Design The best place to start is with a drawing of the space you have chosen. This does not have to be an elaborate drawing, but you need to take your beginning ideas and put them to paper. You will need to take some measurements of the proposed space and then layout your design ideas and see how it fits with your actual space. In any yard or any project there will always be some design challenges. In our case it was that we didn't have a very large space so we needed to use the space wisely. We had an established yard that we liked and didn't want to change the overall design. There was a space off the back of the house that was perfect for a covered patio, but as I said is fairly small. We bought a nice infra-red grill and put in the area and we had a nice teak patio set that we used for seating. If you have items that you will want to use in your outdoor kitchen area it is good to put them in the proposed area and see how it works or doesn't work. You definitely want to include such items in layout design you draw. These steps are absolutely necessary if you will doing the project yourself, but even if you will be working with a landscape design contractor or hiring subcontractors to do the work it is still a good idea to have a plan. The more you work with the idea, whether on paper or just in your mind as you set in the space and visualize the more the creative process will start to flow. Ideas that you may not have seen with your first concept will come to you as you work through the design. Sometimes what may at first seem to be a design challenge can become a point of inspiration. Access and Function In considering the design of your outdoor kitchen you need to think of access from the house and the function of preparing a meal, etc. in the space. You will be ferrying things back and forth from the house to this area, so you want to consider the ease of this process. If your outdoor kitchen is attached to the house as ours is then this will be fairly easy. If your outdoor kitchen is detached and further away from the house then this becomes an issue that you will need to consider. To me the further the outdoor kitchen is from the indoor kitchen the more complete outdoor kitchen needs to be in regard to storage of items in the outdoor kitchen so there is less to ferry back and forth. To make it a functional space you need to have good counter space, storage space, a refrigerator, a sink and of course your grill. Other items to consider are lighting, flooring, roofing, ceiling fans and possibly some type of heat source. A fire pit with a cover, a fireplace or propane patio heaters (be aware of ceiling height and ventilation) are all choices you can use to add some warmth on cool evenings and extend the length of time you can use this room. I would definitely recommend flooring that can be hosed out on occasion. It is outside and your floors will collect dust, leaves, dog hair and other outdoor elements that you will want to be able to clean out easily. Being able to move everything out and sweep or shop vac and then hose down is a wonderful design element. All of these are decisions that you will need to make and there are a myriad of choices from which to select. BudgetNow that you have your ideas in a somewhat tangible design layout and you know the dimensions of the area you will have for counter space, storage, floor space, grill area, etc. you can start to budget the project by costing out each item. If you have a very strict budget then you will probably have to make some compromises along the way. Start with pricing the materials you most want to use and see if you can stay within the budget. If you find you are over then the process of deciding what is most important to keep or substituting other less expensive materials will come into play. If you keep an open mind you can usually find a compromise that will be just as functional and attractive. The flooring you choose for this space is very important as it will see a lot of use and therefore you will want something with ease of cleaning. We have natural flagstone for our floor area, if you are doing a very large area and cost is an issue then you will want to choose, used brick, pavers, wood decking or even a poured concrete. The poured concrete being the most cost effective of these choices can still very beautiful especially when using a stained, stamped or other new concrete treatment. Other important factors to consider are not only the price of the materials you choose, but also the durability. For my money the price of installing a small sink is well worth the cost. I see so many really beautiful outdoor kitchen spaces in beautiful homes where they don't include a sink. To me it makes maintaining the kitchen and using it so much more complete. It doesn't have to be a full size sink, a sink that is designed for a wet bar will work just fine. Of course if the kitchen is further away from the house then the cost of getting water lines, gas lines and electricity to the area will need to be in the budget. We ran a natural gas line to our grill and installed a valve that is right behind the grill. With a twist of the valve you have gas and you don't have to worry about running out of propane in the middle of dinner or changing and replacing the tanks all the time. The refrigerator can also be a smaller under the counter style that will be great to keep outdoor beverages in all the time and can be used for food items while preparing meal. The counters themselves are another place that you will have many different price points from which to choose. We used ceramic tile and it has been great functionally and is very attractive and not nearly the expense of granite, slate etc. If you are doing a very large area the cost of tile could also be somewhat prohibitive so there again you might choose something like poured concrete counter tops. Remember that all materials in this space will be exposed to outside elements so consider this in your selections. Some jobs such as poured concrete counters, etc., might be better paid to someone who has experience if you don't. When deciding the size and layout of your design, keeping the cost of materials relative to the size of the project is important to keep in mind. As you price things and work with your budget the design of this new space will start to solidify. Style and DécorSome of the choices you have made thus far will no doubt be partially based on the style that you want for the décor. Accessories will also play a large part in the overall feel and ambiance of the space. The colors and fabrics you choose for cushions, table cloths, small potted flowers for the table, baskets, or containers for storage all contribute to the style and feel. Choosing décor items for this area are important choices that if chosen wisely will help create a pleasant experience when using the room and will be easy to maintain. It should feel relaxing, inviting, and beautiful without feeling fussy. An outdoor kitchen with a sitting area will be much more than just a kitchen or dining room. It will be also be a lounge, a den, a family room all in one. Here is where the surrounding area of the yard and gardens become a design element. If you don't have or want extensive gardens then large potted plants and container gardens can create color and beauty for this outdoor room. I would highly recommend including some kind of water feature in your yard that has flowing water for the sound and is visually interesting to watch. A sound system or some source of music is another nice choice to create ambiance. The more time you spend in the area the more you will probably add to the landscape of the yard to create the desired experience. You don't have to do it all at once and you can try different things. The plantings can easily change from year to year or even with the seasons when using containers. Other more permanent plantings can be used to create privacy, shade, fragrance, beauty and clean air for your space. Benefits of the Outdoor Kitchen The benefits of the outdoor kitchen for you and your family are many and as varied as they are in number. You have the obvious benefit of added living space to your home and cooking and eating more meals outside is less mess inside. You may very possibly make healthier eating choices for you and your family. Making use of seasonal fruits and vegetables and grilling lean meats, poultry or fish may be more enticing when you have an inviting outdoor space in which to prepare meals and to dine. These are just some of the surface benefits. The benefits to the family I believe go far past this if you can truly use and incorporate the outdoors into your outdoor room. By this I mean if you can bring a little of nature into your everyday life the benefits to you and are family are experiential. This room and the surrounding area can and will be a habitat unto itself with just a little bit of planning and effort on your part. Not only will you enjoy the area, but a wonderful assortment of other life will too. You will have butterflies and birds in the flowers and trees, with the addition of a water fountain or other water feature you can enjoy the birds playing in the water and you will have serene sound. The plantings, the water features, the seating areas, the quiet all of these things create a place for relaxation and conversation that is immeasurable in the health and wealth of your family. It's like a little getaway in your own backyard that you can get away to everyday. I believe that the family that has this outdoor lifestyle will find that they are calmer, happier as individuals and closer as a family. It will be a great addition to the social gatherings in your home too. People will love to come and enjoy a little getaway for themselves. Not only will you have added great value to your home if you should decide to sell, but you have added an even greater value to your life everyday.

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