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Recently my husband and I have been looking over several outdoor kitchen plans and options. We have been considering location, size, style and costs. Most of our research has been online, at our local home improvement center and design magazines.
Outdoor Kitchen Plans Can Add Value to your Home
With the right outdoor kitchen plans we can add an excellent space for outdoor entertaining while also adding value to our home. We have been a little overwhelmed with all the appliances, materials and design options available. It seems that new products arrive on the market every year.
Do-it-Yourself Outdoor kitchen Plans
We are do-it-yourselfers by nature and have also been considering outdoor kitchen plans that we can affordably build without hiring professional contractors and designers. We have found that online there are quite a few “how-to” planning guides, videos and photos that will make this type of project doable for us.
After setting a budget, our next and possibly most important step will be to determine the location for our outdoor kitchen. We want it to be close to the house for the convenience of connecting to the existing water, electrical and gas sources as well as for the transporting and preparation of food. If it is in a remote location we may rarely end up using it.
We also want the end result of any of the outdoor kitchen plans we choose to add beauty to the architecture and landscape of our home. Shade should also be a concern as it can get hot cooking over an outdoor BBQ or stove under the sun. Shade can be provided by pergola, patio cover, an umbrella or simply by existing trees. Constructing some type of shade will of course add to the cost.
And the size, how big should our outdoor kitchen plans realistically be? Will we want a buffet or counter area for guests to sit and chat with us while we are cooking? Do we want a prep counter with sink or just a built in barbeque? We have seen photos of some amazing outdoor kitchens that have included fireplaces and pizza ovens.
The size of our outdoor kitchen will depend on the number and type of amenities we hope to have. They can include such items as the grill, extra burners, sink and an outdoor refrigerator for drinks and cooking supplies. We have read that it is important to allow approximately a foot and a half between each appliance to set serving platters and utensils on.
There are also several layout options we have been considering. Do we want the basic stand alone counter type of space that includes simply the grill, some storage space, a small refrigerator and food prep area? We have also been looking at an L-shaped, U-shaped, split-level and ¾ square style layout.
It has been fun dreaming and planning our outdoor kitchen options. We need to get down to business, make a few decisions and get to work! After all we do want to be ready to host the first barbeque of the season in our new outdoor kitchen.