With average temperatures around 80°F, Hamilton, ON allows for plenty of opportunities for enjoying quality time with friends and family outdoors. Adding an outdoor kitchen to your landscape increases the beauty and functionality of your backyard, while serving as an extension of your home.
Start your project by listing all your must haves. Keep in mind that outdoor kitchens can be as complex and functional as indoor ones, or as simple as a grill and a countertop. Visualize your cooking style and design your outdoor space to meet your needs. These can range from the basics such as a grill, prep space and sink, to extras like a cooking island, gas top, pizza oven, dining space and bar. Below are some ideas to help you decide which is best for your project.
Integrated Kitchens
Depending on how your indoor kitchen is designed, you may be able to connect it to your outdoor cooking area. The integration itself is generally done through a large pass through window or sliding door. This option allows you to create two spaces that are functionally connected. You can have a countertop built by the window on the outside, serving both as serving space and prep top. Architextures Wall is a great stone alternative for vertical structures, such as islands and sitting walls, in integrated kitchens, offering a modern feel that brings the indoors out.
Related Read: 4 Concrete Blocks for Vertical Elements in Modern ON Outdoor Kitchens
Double Function
Consider incorporating more than one outdoor space into your landscape. A kitchen connected to a fire pit is a great idea for spring and autumn barbecues. You can extend the time spent outside, moving naturally from one space to the other. Start from the foundation and give both spaces the same paving material for a unified design. Beacon Hill Flagstone and Thornbury are paver options that work well for any patio design and provide the warmth and comfort needed for an inviting space. As for the grill area and fire pit itself, Rivercrest Wall or Lineo Dimensional Stone can be used to create a sense of continuity and unification.
Pizza Place
Barbecuing is the first thing that comes to people’s minds when thinking of cooking outdoors, but you can go far beyond the simple BBQ. Building a wood burning oven allows you to have pizza night in the open air. Brussels Dimensional Stone is a perfect option for incorporating into the structure of your pizza oven. A pizza oven is a surefire way to get even more use out of your outdoor kitchen and add a new dimension to your outdoor cooking repertoire.
Kitchen & Bar
Adding a bar to your kitchen design makes your outdoor kitchen even more practical and allows it to become a space for entertaining even when there is no cooking going on. For the vertical surface of the structure, go for wallstones such as Pisa2 or Rivercrest Wall to create an outdoor bar with a sense of warmth and sophistication. These verticals allow plenty of room for the addition of cabinets, sinks and storage for a convenient, multi-purpose wet bar and kitchen area.
The title image features an outdoor grill counter built from Lineo Dimensional Stone, complemented by an Artline patio.
