Outdoor Kitchen Planning

I recently posted a link in a different sub trying to get feedback from anyone that has invested in an outdoor kitchen or cook outside a lot. A member of that sub recommended I post in this group as well to get feedback from People Who Cook Outside with Fire All the Time.

Our original plan was to put the outdoor kitchen where the current set of stainless steel cabinets is sitting. We recently relocated our spa equipment to make this space available. We also added a few more items to the yard for the kids and installed our own decorative fire pit seating area / wall. We did a lot of the work ourselves but called in pros when it was a gas or electrical thing or required a digging machine.

We are a big family (6) and will soon have the in-laws move in with us. We wanted to maximize the yard use without spending $200K on an ADU. We live in a year round climate so an outdoor kitchen is at the top of our list.

I drew up a few kitchen layouts that are all next to the spa equipment. In the photos you can see where we set up the cabinets to mimic being in that area – an area that I now realized is a bit of a wind tunnel and it gets sunlight all damn day.

My wife doesn’t want any overhead structures so she can keep it open to star gazing and sun bathing.

Then it sort of dawned on me – could we put the kitchen at the other end of the other patio and build a cold bar / sink area off the back of the house kitchen. The area where the bikes are is always in the shade and is adjacent to the patio area that’s covered, has heat, fans and a TV.

I liked the idea of having the kitchen near the pool table and large fire pit but those areas don’t seem to get used as often as the covered areas on the back porch. ‘m really torn here on which way to go. I’ve also considered just doing a smaller single galley version of the kitchen near the spa equipment and calling it a day.

I’ve been dwelling on this for a few months now. I plan to tackle the build myself. All the appliances will be purchased second hand when available. I have a 39″ banged up Traeger that I got off CL for $100. Still works OK. When it dies I’ll add a yoder. I have a 42″ Lynx and a 30″ Le Griddle.

Thanks for your input.

🍻

by Omnis_vir_lupis