What are the Trends in Outdoor Kitchen Designs?

It’s the middle of the summer!  Already?

Have you considered installing an outside kitchen? Interest in outdoors kitchens continues to grow.  There is still time to get it together and use it now and going into the late summer and fall. As a professional interior designer in Bergen County, NJ, I am often asked how to plan for this special space.

Interest in outdoor products has been around a long time but integrating the whole kitchen concept has become a big trend.  Living outdoors has grown steadily and has become a lifestyle.  Beautiful, comfortable and environmentally friendly elements such as outdoor seating, lighting and accessories are made for this exterior design category.

Appliances, smokers, pizza ovens and grills all add to the creativity of food being prepared and the living outdoors experience. It’s no longer JUST about bar-b-que!  Hamburgers and hot dogs are great but there is so much more you can do!

What are some of the trends in setting up outdoor kitchens?

#1. Climate.

People realize they can have the outdoor kitchen they’ve always dreamed of regardless of the climate and where they are located.  If they need more warmth, there are outdoor heaters.  If it’s too hot and muggy, there are outside fans and awnings!

More and more people are grilling all year round and making the most out of their investment.

#2. Food drives the choices made.

Do you watch the bar-b-que competitions on TV and dream about having a smoker of your own?  Perhaps you like Argentinean style cooking?  How about a Neapolitan style pizza made in your own oven?

Getting hungry?  I am!

outdoor pizza oven in stainless steel

#3.  Entertaining outside.

What a great easy, fun way to entertain! This is the life.  It goes along with our less formal, relaxed and comfortable lifestyle.

#4. Aesthetics are still important. 

Instead of large structures made from stone, bricks with granite or tile on top, outdoor kitchens are now featuring sleek outdoor cabinets topped by counters that are porcelain slabs or outdoor rated composite materials.

Wood-grain looking porcelain is a great indoor/outdoor flooring material. It helps to blend your design from indoors to outdoors seamlessly and expands the look of the two spaces.

#5. The sky is the limit. 

There are many options, colors, finishes and features to choose from.  Specialty appliances are being added for outdoor kitchens like a teppanyaki cooking surface, space saving refrigeration, beer taps, and more.

Wish you had an outdoor kitchen? It’s not too late to plan it now!