With the summer quickly approaching as spring warms up, people are spending their free time outside, from going on walks to visiting the local park. More than anything, people just want to be out of the house, even if that just means sitting on their porch or patio. As the days grow longer and the evenings stretch out in blue twilights, there’s almost nothing more relaxing than sitting outside on your patio with friends and family.
In the last decade, advances in construction and technology have taken this experience to the next level, allowing customers to create their dream backyard complete not only with a pool and/or hot tub, but also with a patio built exactly how they want and need it. One of the more popular updates is the addition of an outdoor kitchen or kitchenette, allowing you to cook a meal for loved ones while everyone sits outside enjoying the beautiful weather. Here are some of the best parts of having an outdoor kitchen.
Entertain Your Guests
One of the almost magical qualities of spending time outside on your patio or porch is that it’s one of the only settings in which people aren’t constantly searching for something to do. Many times when friends spend time together, there’s some event or activity – a sporting matchup or a board game – that keeps them occupied and stops them staring at their phones.
But somehow, sitting outside together seems to fill the space between friends and family, facilitating conversation, making quality time. As the weather grows warmer, it’s easy to spend hours just sitting and talking, happy to not need wool pants or a jacket. Having an outdoor kitchen only makes it better, allowing you to actually feed your guests casually while you’re spending time with them without going through the more proper motions of setting a table and preparing utensils and plates.
Staying Together
Again, eating dinner outside is a wonderful part of spring and summer, but it often means that one or two people cook the meal inside then bring it out for the whole group to enjoy. This divide is even more extreme in the height of summer, when the kids, relatives, and friends are enjoying sitting by the pool or playing in the water while one person cooks. This is one reason why grilling is such a popular method for the warmer months.
However, having an outdoor kitchen means you don’t have to have it one way or the other. The chef can do his work outside while enjoying the gorgeous weather and lively conversations. Grilling can also be a good time for friends to talk and hang out, as long as the grill is situated in the right spot, which it will be if you’ve designed your own backyard of course.
Homemade Pizza
Everyone has always loved pizza but in the last few years it’s gone to the extreme – people really do love pizza. With the rise of online resources, it’s also become popular to make your own dough or crust, then bake your own pies in the oven or on the grill. These are both great options, but for the true pizza connoisseur and outdoorsman, nothing beats a brick oven.
Brick ovens were once too large and expensive an item for the everyday customer, but they’ve become far more practical. Many people now have them in their outdoor kitchens right next to the grill or even sitting area. A brick oven offers a wonderful change of pace from burgers and hot dogs (not that those aren’t fantastic as well), plus, with a brick oven, you get to show off to your friends that you can cook pizza.
Increase Your Value
Okay, an outdoor kitchen on the patio doesn’t increase your value; you’re great no matter what. But it does increase the overall value of your home. A swimming pool and patio are not quite monetary investments, as they don’t yield any financial profit, but they can help you get a much higher asking price when valuing your home in the future.
Even if you’re not considering selling your home now or ever, an outdoor kitchen is a great choice, creating value not just for your friends and family but your home itself. While it isn’t a money machine in the present, it does add value when it comes to activities and events hosted at your home. And let’s face it, who doesn’t want their loved ones to want to visit?
Lower Your Bills
Paying for your dream backyard will cost money – we won’t try to tell you it won’t. However, having an outdoor kitchen can decrease your utility bills in the summer, specifically your power bills. Everyone knows your electric bill goes up in the summer, and most of us know why: it takes a lot of juice to power your air conditioning units.
What you may not know, however, is that your air conditioner works overtime virtually every single time you cook inside the house. Whether you’re frying, roasting or broiling, the temperature in your house is impacted when you cook and the air conditioner has to work hard to keep it cool. Using your outdoor kitchen alleviates this.
Keep the House Fresh
Smells linger. We all know it and we all know there’s not much you can do about it. While you’re cooking, the smell of food is great, increasing your appetite and excitement for the upcoming meal or snack or treat. But after dinner? You want that smell gone and it can take a while.
With an outdoor kitchen, you’ll still get the delicious smell of burgers and brats as you fire up the grill, but you don’t have to worry about being reminded of them while you’re brushing your teeth before bed. An outdoor kitchen keeps those smells outside where they belong.
Expand Your Home
One of the greatest benefits of an outdoor kitchen as well as a custom pool or patio is that it increases the usable space of your home. We’ve mentioned summertime a lot in this blog post, but an outdoor kitchen is useful almost year-round.
From grilling chicken breasts in the early fall to cooking those same pizzas on a warm winter’s day, an outdoor kitchen gives you space to unwind. Furthermore, with an outdoor kitchen and patio, you can cozy up outside when it’s colder, using your kitchen for s’mores or just classic marshmallows.
Learn More
In the end, an outdoor kitchen is a great investment for yielding quality time with your loved ones while giving you the ability to cook delicious, thoughtful meals for your friends and family. To learn more about the near limitless options available in your dream backyard, contact us today at 405.364.1912. And if you’re thinking of designing your own pool for the summer, download our free guide to learn the top ten things to consider when building!
