In the Northeast Ohio and Erie, Pennsylvania summers we try to spend as much time as possible enjoying the outdoors. If you are lucky enough to have an outdoor kitchen to utilize, now is the time when you are probably maximizing its use. Not only can an outdoor kitchen help make your backyard more desirable than you imagined, it can serve great benefits when entertaining, and help you keep the inside of your home cool (with less cooking devices on and fewer in and out trips).
As we said above, having an outdoor kitchen is fabulous, but do you have all the things you need to be able to completely embrace the space? We are going to review some things your outdoor kitchen could be missing to help you make the space even more enjoyable.
What is an Outdoor Kitchen?
To put this simply, an outdoor kitchen is a place on the outside of your Northeast Ohio or Erie, PA home where you can cook, prepare a meal, host a gathering, and easily clean up afterwards. In an outdoor kitchen, there is some type of heating element in the area; these may include: a stove, cook-top, grill, smoker, or even a pizza oven. When you were creating the outdoor kitchen of your dreams you may have been overwhelmed and forgotten some things that can help enhance the space. We are here to help.
Things Your Outdoor Kitchen Could be Missing
While you may love your outdoor kitchen, do you sometimes find yourself wishing you had something else added to it? What are some things your outdoor kitchen could be missing that could make it even more useful for you and your family and guests?
- Food Preparation Items: Do you have ample space and the tools you need to prepare all the food in your outdoor kitchen? Do you have a sink with running water, cutting boards, trash bins, storage, knives and other prep utensils, and everything else you need in the space? If you keep having to run indoors to grab items or to wash something, you could be missing time with your guests and losing some of the benefits of your outdoor oasis. You can add shelving in the lower half of your kitchen, use rolling storage, install hanging storage, amongst many other creative storage solutions, and then simply purchase the outdoor cooking and prep tools you need to limit your trips inside. If you don’t have an outdoor sink, and have access to outdoor water, adding one can really boost the space.
- Cooking Elements: When you created your outdoor kitchen, you likely kept in mind how much you were going to use it when entertaining. Did that amount hold true? Do you find yourself hosting more than you intended and running out of cooking space on the grill, stove, or whatever other device you have? If so, it may be time for an upgrade. When it comes to things your outdoor kitchen could be missing, the things you need to use to cook are perhaps the most important, since that is the main purpose of the space. If you don’t have a big enough cooking area or are missing a specific cooking device, it can really limit your use of your outdoor kitchen. Grills, ovens, griddles, fryers, smokers, stove tops, and more can all be added or upgraded to your space to ensure you can cook all you need when you want to.
- Serving Area and Items: Much like with food preparation, once the food is ready to go, you need space and an area to be able to either display the food for people to plate on their own, or for you to plate for them. Do you have that space? What about a warming drawer or other type of food warmers to keep the food hot? Do you have designated serving utensils and trays available in your outdoor kitchen? If not, these are all things you may want to add to the space.
- Entertainment Area: If you plan to use your outdoor kitchen for entertaining purposes, you likely want to include an area for seating and enjoying meals. If you don’t have this additional space, that is something your outdoor kitchen may be missing. While you can prepare, cook, and serve all the food in your outdoor kitchen, if your family or guests have nowhere to eat it, it’s not really serving its whole purpose. Along with seating, think about adding lighting, speakers for music, TVs, etc. You can also add a blender, ice machine, bar area, wine fridge, and really anything else to customize the space and make it the entertainment area you’ve been hoping for.
We know, creating the outdoor kitchen of your dreams is exciting, but if there are things your outdoor kitchen is missing, adding them can make the space even more gratifying and make you want to use it more.
There are a lot of options when it comes to an outdoor kitchen. At Litehouse Pools & Spas we inspire to create an outdoor kitchen of your dreams for your Northeast Ohio or Erie, PA home. We bring you the most creative designs in complete outdoor kitchens. We are passionate about designs, quality, service, and proving the best value to our customers.
Schedule a free consultation today to start creating an outdoor kitchen that can be the centerpiece of your outdoor living space.