Outdoor Kitchens

Increasing Your Home’s Value

Resale value is on the mind of many homeowners, especially when considering putting money into major renovations. Not all upgrades will see a solid return on investment in the future. Outdoor kitchens, however, are an excellent selling point.

Potential buyers will have plenty of options when attending open houses and searching for their dream home. What sets your home apart from the rest? Having extra amenities like perfect landscaping and stunning hardscaping, including an outdoor kitchen, can easily put your home at the top of any buyer’s list.

Offering a Second Space for Cooking

There are some cooking tasks that are easier, or just more fun, to do outdoors. While many homeowners have a grill for making burgers, why not upgrade and bring the whole kitchen outside? Your outdoor kitchen area can include everything from a grill to a refrigerator to an ice maker, making it easy to whip up a meal while enjoying the fresh air.

Cooking outside has plenty of benefits. One of the most obvious is keeping smoke and smells out of the house. Whether you’re making barbecue or seafood, there are some times when you may not want the smells of your dinner wafting throughout your entire home. Outdoor cooking can prevent that.

You’ll be especially thankful for an outdoor kitchen during holidays, birthdays, and other big events. When cooking for a crowd, the extra space will be a life saver. Cooking outdoors while entertaining also means that you’ll be able to spend more time with guests outside while you work.

Expanding Your Living Space

The kitchen is the heart of the home and tends to be the spot where family gathers. A small kitchen may be cozy, but it also makes it difficult to get a group together. An outdoor kitchen expands your living space, to give your friends, family, and guests more room to spread out.

With the features and amenities that can be added to your kitchen, you may find that your family is even more comfortable spending time outside than in. Start with the essentials, like appliances and seating, then add extras like lights, a patio cover, and a fire pit, to enjoy your space all year and during any time of day.

Getting Healthy

Can an outdoor kitchen help your family develop a healthier lifestyle? Absolutely. Taking your cooking outdoors offers more opportunity to make healthy food. Food cooked on a grill requires less oil for cooking and less fat for flavor.

When your outdoor space is so luxurious and comfortable, you’ll find yourselves staying home more often, rather than going out to eat. Instead of ordering takeout, you’ll be more likely to start up the grill. Cooking at home can mean healthier dinner options, along with time spent together as a family.

Space Planning

When designing your outdoor kitchen, your team will take your cooking needs, home design, and personal style into account. Your cooking space should blend with the rest of your home and your landscape to create a cohesive look that will work for your day to day life.

The outdoor kitchen should be located as close to the indoor kitchen as possible. This helps the area to be cohesive, while making things more convenient for whomever is cooking. If you leave supplies or ingredients inside, they’ll be more accessible when you’re near the kitchen.

As you design you’ll be looking at a variety of materials. Choose materials that are sturdy and will hold up outdoors. Outdoor kitchens often include materials like stone, stainless steel, and weather resistant fabrics that will stand up to the elements and last for years to come. As outdoor living spaces gain popularity, the options for outdoor friendly materials continues to grow. You’re sure to find colors and styles that you’ll love.

Keep things comfortable for guests. Just because you’ll be dining outdoors doesn’t mean you’ll need to sit on stiff chairs or sacrifice the comfort of eating around a dining room table. Consider covering the area, to protect against the elements and to provide shade on sunnier days. Use comfortable seating options. Use a patio heater to keep warm when temperatures lower. There are plenty of ways to bring the comfort of the indoors outside.

Comfort is important, but utility is what makes an outdoor kitchen a place you’ll keep coming back to. Be sure to include plenty of work space and storage space in your design. Add electrical outlets for all of your appliances, as well as for lights, a radio, and any other electronics you’ll need outside. Planning ahead will ensure that you’ll make the most of your kitchen.

A Centerpiece for Your Gathering Space

When designing the right outdoor kitchen for your home, there are a few factors to consider:

• Durability
• Traffic, weather and maintenance
• Location
• Optimal placement for an outdoor kitchen in your yard
• Appliances
• Grill, sink, refrigerator or other appliances
• Other features
• Fire pit, storage, lighting, pizza oven, counter seating, bar, or patio cover
• Materials
• Stone, pavers, concrete

Circle D Construction can help you design a custom outdoor kitchen. Our experienced team will take into account your design or vision, and be able to work around any limitations or space issues. Circle D Construction is ready to help you get the most out of your outdoor living space.