What Is An Outdoor Kitchen And What To Consider

The seasons are changing and finally, it seems like warm weather is around the corner. Once again, it’s time to embrace the outdoors and not feel cooped inside your home all day. Once you get the freedom of being able to go outside whenever you want, you don’t need to exclude primarily indoor activities such as cooking. Cooking and spending time in the kitchen is a great way to entertain and spend time with family, all while preparing a delicious meal. Who wouldn’t want to be able to do all these things outdoors? Outdoor kitchens are a great segway from the living room and kitchen to your backyard. In this week’s blog, we explain what an outdoor kitchen can be for you and what to consider when building yours!

What Is An Outdoor Kitchen?

An outdoor kitchen is as simple as being able to cook and prepare meals with the use of some sort of heating element like a grill, cooktop, stove, or oven. Along with those aspects, the point of the outdoor kitchen is also to entertain guests so you can cook while also partaking in any conversations. With that being said, outdoor kitchens are primarily aimed towards those who plan on having a considerable amount of guests.

Having a kitchen outdoors is a great way to open your home up to more and optimize your space to its full potential. It’s not only a great way to enhance your home, but it can also highly increase the value of your home. While an outdoor kitchen may sound amazing, it’s also important to realize what’s right for you and your home, and what to consider before adding one.

Outdoor Kitchen Factors To Consider

1. How Often Will You Use It
   
   Outdoor kitchens come with a price and that price will only be worth it if you plan on getting your money’s worth. If you find yourself to typically be the host of many parties, family gatherings, and general get-togethers, then an outdoor kitchen is the right fit. Also, the commitment to having an outdoor kitchen has the same restrictions as committing to a pool. Does the weather in your area allow you to use an outdoor kitchen year-round to make it worth having?

2. The Layout
   
   The layout of an outdoor kitchen is just as important as the layout of the kitchen indoors, if not more. For starters, you’ll want to be able to have a layout that provides shading from the sun and heat so your time outside is still enjoyable. Opposed to preparing for the heat, you should also be prepared for other conditions such as rain or even snow.

   Another part of the layout to consider is seating and eating arrangements. Your outdoor kitchen is primarily meant to serve as a place to cook while entertaining. Your guests are going to want to know where they can sit and hang out to make the space serve its purpose. Also, you will want the layout to allow you to be able to converse with your guests while cooking.

   The last important part of the layout will be setting up a specific area for the appliances and items needed. Your outdoor kitchen should be split up into three sections: a dry area for cooking, a cold area for refrigeration and cooling items, and a wet area for a sink. You should have all these sections included in the space so you can eliminate the time of going back and forth between inside and outside.

3. Design Style
   
   The design and style are ultimately a personal preference, but it’s definitely something to take into consideration before building. You may want to have your outdoor kitchen match the same style as the general theme of your home or replicate your kitchen to match perfectly for consistency. Or you may use this as a reason to explore different styles to use outdoors. If it’s significantly different from the rest of your home, since it’s outside it won’t clash with your indoor theme.

4. Appliances Needed
   
   To build off of the style you are going for with your outdoor kitchen, you will want to figure out what appliances will fit both your wants and needs. You will want to figure out the general look and finish of the appliances you are going for. Before you can look at wants, the primary factor in the appliances needed will be if they are rated for outdoor use. Some appliances may have the finish approved for outdoor use yet the inner components can get ruined due to weather or even just moisture in the air. You can find Outdoor Rated Range Hoods made by ZLINE perfect for your outdoor kitchen here.

5. Extras
   
   The final part of things to consider for your outdoor kitchen are the extras. These are the most fun parts in completing your outdoor kitchen, as you get to add your own personal touch to the final outcome. The extras may come secondary to the needs previously listed, but they’re still very important because when it comes to it, this outdoor kitchen is for you and how you want to elevate your home. Within the extra pieces to your outdoor kitchen, you can decide the lighting you want, the accent pieces, music capabilities, and much more. The most necessary part of this step in the process is to make it how you want it to look.

That concludes our list of need-to-knows for building your outdoor kitchen. Make sure to follow us on all of our socials for updates from The Range Hood Store!

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