Let’s face it: We’ve been stuck at home this year perhaps more than ever before. When your primary getaway is your backyard patio, you might as well make it a place you love to spend your time, especially if you’re cooking and eating at home a lot. But therein lies the rub. Cooking means being stuck in the house, unless you’re grilling of course, and enjoying a meal alfresco requires hauling dishes and beverages to and fro. What if you could have the best of both worlds?
An outdoor kitchen puts everything you need at your fingertips and creates the ideal entertaining and leisure space. Here are five outdoor kitchen designs to stir your imagination and get the ideas rolling for your own open-air retreat.
Everything but the Walls
If you’re looking for the ultimate outdoor entertaining area, this luxurious pavilion is right up your alley (er, backyard). Boasting lounge seating, a TV, fireplace, wrap-around kitchen, recessed lighting, and fans hung from the gabled ceiling, you may never want to go back inside again! If you host a lot of get-togethers (or plan to once social distancing guidelines are lifted), this setup will keep the crowd — and chaos — out of the house. Game-watching parties, holiday gatherings, and family movie nights just found their new headquarters. Party at your place!
Contemporary Meets Earthy
A wood-fired oven offers the opportunity to explore new cooking methods and expand your culinary repertoire, not to mention it provides an interesting focal point and conversation piece. Here, sleek black furniture and accents modernize the look, which is has a slightly earthy vibe from the clay oven and dark slatted wood. Want to make homemade pizza? This setup provides a fun cooking experience for the entire household.
Modular Minimalism
If you like to cook from scratch but don’t like the idea of designing an outdoor kitchen from scratch, consider an out-of-the-box modular option. Shown here is the WWOO outdoor kitchen, which is constructed of prefabricated concrete walls that fit together for a completely customizable configuration. Lots of counter space, firewood storage, and, not one, but two grills make this a modern grilling paradise. Of course, you can mix and match these features — and more, such as adding a stainless-steel sink — to fit your specific outdoor area.
Small but Mighty
Short on square footage? You don’t need a huge backyard to create a functional, gorgeous outdoor cooking and dining area. This cozy patio makes great use of the allotted space by positioning the outdoor kitchen directly against the house. Encasing the built-in grill and appliances in brick allows the two structures to blend seamlessly. The farmhouse picnic table saves space with bench seating, while plenty of greenery adds privacy and a soothing atmosphere to your gatherings.
A Room With a View
If a full-fledged outdoor kitchen is not in the cards anytime soon, bridge your indoor and outdoor spaces with a large gas-strut window that opens up to the patio and creates an extension of your kitchen. Guests can belly up to the bar and chat with you while you chop and prep, and when it’s time to eat, voila! You can transform the bar into a serving station. This particular combination of white and natural wood is perfect for the modern beach-house look. Supplement your indoor-outdoor kitchen with nearby French doors to ease traffic flow.
Your outdoor kitchen can be as simple or as extravagant as your heart desires. Work with the space you have, tailoring your design to suit your home and your own unique style, and you’ll be cooking in the great outdoors for years to come.