Hanging out with the family is always a good time outside on summer evenings. An outdoor kitchen enables you to have those great times with family, adding that one extra element that everyone loves: food.
Outdoor kitchen installation provides you with an easy way to cook family favorites -- burgers or steaks or even pizza in a wood-fire grill -- while dining under the stars. You don’t even have to be a gourmet chef to pull off great dishes for the whole family to enjoy the experience.
It’s true: Anything that can be cooked indoors can be cooked outdoors when you have an outdoor kitchen. And sometimes…it even tastes better.
Since a backyard kitchen can provide years of outdoor enjoyment, you’ll want to follow these tips for creating that kitchen you’re truly going to get the most use out of.
Outdoor Kitchen Installation Tips
Well-designed home exteriors are just as important as well-designed interiors these days.
An outdoor kitchen can enable you to enjoy those great days in nature while cooking dinner and entertaining family and friends.
But you want an outdoor kitchen installation in or around Elmhurst, IL that is going to meet your specific entertaining and cooking needs. With so many options out there, choosing which route to take can be tough. Use these discussion points to help you determine your outdoor kitchen wishlist.
1. Look at How You’ll Use the Space
Determining the outdoor kitchen that will work best for you involves looking at how you’ll really use the space.
Are you just going to do some quick grilling and focus on dining? Then maybe investing in the patio space and just a small grill and bar would better suit your needs.
If you’re going for full-on entertainment and you want to cook a variety of things while offering guests drinks and appetizers outdoors, you might be looking for a larger bar area and more counter space, as well as a refrigerator and sink.
Consider what you and your family like to eat most? Hamburgers on charcoal? Grilled fish and veggies? A pizza cooked in an outdoor brick oven? Smoked food? These decisions will impact the type of outdoor kitchen options that will best fit your lifestyle.
While reviewing the type of cooking you want to do most often, also think about the number of people you’ll regularly be accommodating outdoors. Your space should fit the size necessary to feed and entertain that number of guests regularly.
2. Think About Outdoor Kitchen Components You Need
When considering installing an outdoor kitchen -- especially when factoring your budget -- you have to begin with the components you want most.
What type of outdoor kitchen grill do you want? Those can range from $2,500 to $20,000, so they can make a big impact on your budget. But if you are a serious grill master, you’ll want to incorporate the grill you desire into your design. Anything else, and you might be disappointed with your overall result.
Other components, such as vents, pizza ovens, smokers, outdoor beverage centers, and ice makers can all be important additions to consider based on how you want to use the space.
After you decide on your key components, consider housing and cabinetry necessary for the space you want to create -- you can dream up anything from a simple L-shaped design to a massive U-shaped bar area with granite countertops. Based on what you decide when looking at how many people you are going to regularly entertain, this can determine your space needs.
3. Consider Materials For The Outdoor Kitchen
Next, look at your home. You’ll want to design an outdoor kitchen that coordinates with your home.
If you have stone or brick on your home exterior, using these elements or coordinating ones in your outdoor kitchen will help the space look cohesive and connected.
These elements are important to consider because it’ll be a space that you’re proud to use and invite people to because of it’s great design. They also can impact the overall cost and planning of your outdoor kitchen, so you’ll want to prioritize materials you truly want.
4. Don’t Forget About Chicago Area Weather
Chicago faces some impressive weather extremes -- from humid and hot in the summer to windy in spring and fall and bitter cold in winter.
Proper placement of your outdoor kitchen installation can help you avoid the wind. But if you want to cook outdoors all year long versus just during 8 months of the year, you’ll want to incorporate some sort of cover like a pavilion over your grill or outdoor kitchen so you can keep cooking no matter what conditions Mother Nature brings.
Planning the Perfect Outdoor Kitchen For Your Backyard
Hopefully these tips help give you a better idea of outdoor kitchen installation in Elmhurst, IL.
Whether you’re a home cook or a gourmet chef, you want a space that you can really use. And getting the right space to match your needs requires good planning.
A design/build professional should be able to take the time to learn about how you want to use your outdoor kitchen, as well as educate you on components, materials, space considerations, weather concerns, and budget impacts so you can get the best space for you.
If you want to better understand all of your backyard kitchen options and ideas, KD Landscape can help. We can show you design and material options and inspire you with project photos, so you can get a better idea of what will work best for you.
Ready to see how KD Landscape can transform your suburban Chicago area backyard with an outdoor kitchen? We’d love to share our design and installation expertise with you and deliver a space that best fits your needs. Get started today with a free consultation. Together, we can create a solution that works best for you.
