What is a trend in landscape design these days? Outdoor kitchens are all the rage, because they make for a great place/way to entertain guests, as well as serve an important function: they’re a place to make meals.
We all need to eat to live, and quality food enhances the joys of life.
Reasons to Have an Outdoor Kitchen
Life is meant to be enjoyed, and one way to enjoy life more is to add an outdoor kitchen to your house. It makes for a special and unique place to entertain guests. Think about it this way: you’ve got your own personal open-air grilling area, complete with nice seating, some shady areas and some sunny ones, and an ambience that can’t be beat! Your own outdoor kitchen is your ideal slice of paradise. Now you don’t have to go out to restaurants as much as before, because you’ve got such a nice place in your own backyard.
Outdoor kitchen areas become favorite gathering spots for people outdoors. There they can smell what’s cooking. They can sit in patio furniture and chat. It’s a relaxing and comfortable place to be. Meanwhile, outdoor kitchens add value to a home. They have a high return on investment compared to other home improvement projects. After all, everybody needs to eat, so taking the kitchen concept outdoors is a no-brainer.
Appliances For Your Outdoor Kitchen
Today’s BBQ grills and outdoor appliances are tough and durable. They can withstand the weather well. Most are made from stainless steel. Having an outdoor kitchen is something to be proud of– you’ll want to show it off to friends, family and visitors.
Now one thing that’s really nice about cooking outside is that smoke can just go to the open air and drift away easily. Compare this to some of the times you’ve cooked indoors and your whole house filled with smoke! And, if you cook stuff that has a “lingering odor” indoors, such as seafood, isn’t it nice to know you can cook it outdoors instead, where the odor will virtually disappear into the breezy air? Oh, and one more thing: AC can get expensive. If it’s hot outside and you want to keep it cool indoors, with your AC blasting, you don’t want to turn on the indoor kitchen oven, right? On hot days and nights, that’s the best time to utilize your outdoor kitchen– helping lower your utility costs.
Do you want to extend the living space of your home? Why not transform your yard in such a way that you’ve got a complete outdoor kitchen in it? Not only will there be places to cook food, but you can also add built-in refrigerators, ice makers, kegerators with taps (for beer) and other components. Every decent outdoor kitchen needs at least one sink. A sink can be used to “do the dishes,” though some people even have outdoor dishwashers installed. In general, though, the focal point of the outdoor kitchen is its grill(s) and/or smoker(s).
As for healthy cooking, did you know that grilling is good for you? Not only is grilled food tasty, but it’s also less greasy and a smart cooking option. A grill’s high heat helps food retain moisture which in turn gives food a different (and many say better) flavoring than food cooked indoors. Meanwhile, cooking at home can be healthier for you because you get to choose exactly what goes into/onto your food. Rather than take what restaurants give you, loaded with butter, salt and oils, when you cook at your outdoor kitchen, you’re able to customize your meals and better control your diet!
For those of you who like to have all the bells and whistles, your outdoor kitchen could even include a cool-looking pizza oven, complete with a chimney pot, circular roof and wood storage area– now THAT would be the talk of the town.
And though no one wants to deal with it, there’s always trash to contend with, so it makes sense to add a built-in trash receptacle that closes up into a cabinet such that it’s not always on display. You can also add a recycling bin. Rather than have trash cans scattered about the patio, wouldn’t it be nice to have trash and recycling covered and tucked away?
VistaPro Landscape & Design loves designing and installing outdoor kitchens for people in and around Washington, D.C., Annapolis and Northern Virginia. Call us and discuss your ideas over the phone: 301-805-0119 (DC Metro); 410-878-2100 (Annapolis, MD); 703-652-4545 (Northern Virginia). Free consultations are available, and we’re happy to help you figure out exactly what you want and need to make an outstanding outdoor kitchen a reality on your property.