Outdoor kitchen design, decisions and tips...
Discussion
Planning an outdoor kitchen as part of a complete makeover of both inside and outside at home.
Bit of context - we live in a three bed detached bungalow by the sea, in a sleepy fishing village on the South Coast. Proper retirementville, but with great schools for our 9 & 7 year old kids.
For the last few years, the Weber One Touch 57cm has been a big part of our summer, and still used a decent amount during winter. Mainly for low and slow pork and beef, with the occasional chicken or hot grilled steak/sausages.
We're renovating the house, and changing the layout to make it even better as a family home, and the outside spaces are being done too - with the back garden getting a big patio and raised beds for veg (plus a decent space for the kids to mess around).
I've managed to get permission for an outdoor kitchen...
Thinking fairly simple - two big slate paving slabs as worktops either side of a 'cooker', with an outdoor power socket, and open spaces under the worktops for storage of coal/wood/etc.
Sound decent? Any tips for layout/things I may not have considered?
Now the big question - what 'cooker'? Have considered getting a Weber Smoky Mountain, to go with my One Touch. Both living in shed, one being pulled out for use, with one sitting on the patio if doing a big party cook.
Second option is a ceramic kamado, with the Primo Oval XL being the favourite. Economical on fuel, great for long slow cooks at a constant temperature, easy to fire right up to stupid temps for grilling.
Lastly, a wood fired oven. Great for pizza, pretty damn good for chilli/casserole, steaks etc. Not sure if low and slow really works on one though? Looks good and adds a nice ambience in the evening with the embers glowing away.
We're here for a long time, no plans at all to move until the kids have at least flown the nest, so building something in is not an issue.
Budget is a max of 2k, and I'm happy to do some work myself, such as rendering etc. Brickwork is not my forte, but is my BiL's...
Space is I suppose a max of 3.5m long by 1.5m deep, in a straight line.
Tl:dr - any ideas for outdoor kitchen layout/contents? WSM vs Kamado vs Wood fired oven - what say you?
Bit of context - we live in a three bed detached bungalow by the sea, in a sleepy fishing village on the South Coast. Proper retirementville, but with great schools for our 9 & 7 year old kids.
For the last few years, the Weber One Touch 57cm has been a big part of our summer, and still used a decent amount during winter. Mainly for low and slow pork and beef, with the occasional chicken or hot grilled steak/sausages.
We're renovating the house, and changing the layout to make it even better as a family home, and the outside spaces are being done too - with the back garden getting a big patio and raised beds for veg (plus a decent space for the kids to mess around).
I've managed to get permission for an outdoor kitchen...
Thinking fairly simple - two big slate paving slabs as worktops either side of a 'cooker', with an outdoor power socket, and open spaces under the worktops for storage of coal/wood/etc.
Sound decent? Any tips for layout/things I may not have considered?
Now the big question - what 'cooker'? Have considered getting a Weber Smoky Mountain, to go with my One Touch. Both living in shed, one being pulled out for use, with one sitting on the patio if doing a big party cook.
Second option is a ceramic kamado, with the Primo Oval XL being the favourite. Economical on fuel, great for long slow cooks at a constant temperature, easy to fire right up to stupid temps for grilling.
Lastly, a wood fired oven. Great for pizza, pretty damn good for chilli/casserole, steaks etc. Not sure if low and slow really works on one though? Looks good and adds a nice ambience in the evening with the embers glowing away.
We're here for a long time, no plans at all to move until the kids have at least flown the nest, so building something in is not an issue.
Budget is a max of 2k, and I'm happy to do some work myself, such as rendering etc. Brickwork is not my forte, but is my BiL's...
Space is I suppose a max of 3.5m long by 1.5m deep, in a straight line.
Tl:dr - any ideas for outdoor kitchen layout/contents? WSM vs Kamado vs Wood fired oven - what say you?
We did ours in a horse shoe shape (3m x 3m) to create a breakfast bar type set up at the front with a charcoal bbq one side and a gas bbq the other. Not sure you could achieve this if you are limiting yourself to 1.5m on one side.
We went for integrated 'cookers' and built them into a worktop with waterproof cupboards (slightly off the ground) underneath so we could leave stuff out there in the winter. We also fitted a glass front fridge & a ice machine, both are not as expensive as you might think. To keep costs down, you could pick up one of those glass fronted beer fridges from Argos or whatever. Ice machine was around £300 and is a great addition on a hot day.
I didn't bother with a pizza oven as I felt this would be a gimmick that would only be used a few times and most of our outdoor cooking would be in the summer when we'd want more BBQ food.
Tips from me:-
Make it functional, having a fridge and basin saves you having to keep going back into the house
Waterproof cupboards mean you can leave your summer stuff stored all year round
Gazebo over the top means a longer usage during marginal days (we also have a winter cover to protect it when the gazebo get put away in October time)
Make sure you have more than 1 plug socket - Sonos / sound system plus we have light fed off another one
A gas hob ring is an extravagance but again saves cooking stuff inside (can be powered from calor gas)
Personally I'd try to make it a social experience - so have some bar stools around the 'kitchen' area so people can sit there whilst you cook
I'll go and take some pics when I get home later to post
Go for it, it's amazing how much more time you spend outside when you have something like this
We went for integrated 'cookers' and built them into a worktop with waterproof cupboards (slightly off the ground) underneath so we could leave stuff out there in the winter. We also fitted a glass front fridge & a ice machine, both are not as expensive as you might think. To keep costs down, you could pick up one of those glass fronted beer fridges from Argos or whatever. Ice machine was around £300 and is a great addition on a hot day.
I didn't bother with a pizza oven as I felt this would be a gimmick that would only be used a few times and most of our outdoor cooking would be in the summer when we'd want more BBQ food.
Tips from me:-
Make it functional, having a fridge and basin saves you having to keep going back into the house
Waterproof cupboards mean you can leave your summer stuff stored all year round
Gazebo over the top means a longer usage during marginal days (we also have a winter cover to protect it when the gazebo get put away in October time)
Make sure you have more than 1 plug socket - Sonos / sound system plus we have light fed off another one
A gas hob ring is an extravagance but again saves cooking stuff inside (can be powered from calor gas)
Personally I'd try to make it a social experience - so have some bar stools around the 'kitchen' area so people can sit there whilst you cook
I'll go and take some pics when I get home later to post
Go for it, it's amazing how much more time you spend outside when you have something like this
That is lovely, and thanks for your advice - duly noted.
The reason for the 1.5m depth is that it's going along one side of the garden, against the fence, adjacent to the patio - we haven't the space to have wide kitchen, patio seating and kids play space!
Where did you get your waterproof cupboards - that wasn't something I'd considered.
The reason for the 1.5m depth is that it's going along one side of the garden, against the fence, adjacent to the patio - we haven't the space to have wide kitchen, patio seating and kids play space!
Where did you get your waterproof cupboards - that wasn't something I'd considered.
scottri said:
That's ace. 100+ man points.
Thanks, funnily enough whenever we have a party, it's always the men that congregate around the BBQ (probably as it's closest to the source of beer and meat!)Sway said:
That is lovely, and thanks for your advice - duly noted.
The reason for the 1.5m depth is that it's going along one side of the garden, against the fence, adjacent to the patio - we haven't the space to have wide kitchen, patio seating and kids play space!
Where did you get your waterproof cupboards - that wasn't something I'd considered.
Sorry, we had a contractor do ours so I can't tell you as they sourced them, however when we were looking we did find somewhere that sold different units you could piece together which may suit your needs. Have a look here:-The reason for the 1.5m depth is that it's going along one side of the garden, against the fence, adjacent to the patio - we haven't the space to have wide kitchen, patio seating and kids play space!
Where did you get your waterproof cupboards - that wasn't something I'd considered.
http://www.internetgardener.co.uk/product/outdoor-...
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