Need some outdoor kitchen ideas

[drew61199]

A few years ago I started building an outdoor kitchen - got as far as framing and putting up some cement board and then had a water pipe burst in the house - over 3000 gallons while we slept (bedrooms upstairs.....pipe was downstairs). We took the opportunity to do quite a few upgrades and I did all the work myself, so it's been a long and expensive process.

I'm ready to jump back to the outdoor kitchen though. Originally the plan was an L shape - coming off the house ~4' (inside measurement), then parallel to the house about 8-9'. The 4' section would have a Blackstone, my BGE at the corner, and the long side would just be counter space for seating with mini fridge & drawers / storage.

I sold my small offset a few years ago (old trusty Brinkmann Cimarron) and rely solely on my BGE now, but now want something more. My n'bor bought the Cimarron and never uses it, so I can likely pick it back up cheap or may go with something vertical as it may just "fit" better. I'm struggling to envision a way to "build in" an offset in any way that will look cohesive.

So show me your outdoor setups and share any "wish I had done this or skipped that bc it's not worth it" tips. Thanks!!

 

[02ebz06]

I didn't have water or a refrigerator in mine, didn't see the need.
As far as what I wish I had done, wish I put in a lot more lights.
Wasn't very bright at night.

 

[drew61199]

I didn't have water or a refrigerator in mine, didn't see the need.
As far as what I wish I had done, wish I put in a lot more lights.
Wasn't very bright at night.

View attachment 724106

Beautiful. Yeah, originally I thought about running water - even tee'd off from a pipe in the house to the outside, but then would have needed a French drain for drainage (unsure legality), if I wanted hot water that meant an on-demand at that faucet, etc, etc, so think I'm gonna skip it. My inside kitchen is only 40' away. Ha

I see pizza oven is vented out the top and I know that's likely due to heat....no issues with smoker? I assume smoke just rolls out, but get a lot of soot build-up?

 

[02ebz06]

Beautiful. Yeah, originally I thought about running water - even tee'd off from a pipe in the house to the outside, but then would have needed a French drain for drainage (unsure legality), if I wanted hot water that meant an on-demand at that faucet, etc, etc, so think I'm gonna skip it. My inside kitchen is only 40' away. Ha

I see pizza oven is vented out the top and I know that's likely due to heat....no issues with smoker? I assume smoke just rolls out, but get a lot of soot build-up?

I had a Camp Chef vertical pellet smoker and a Memphis Elite built-in pellet grill.
No smoke issues with them, tall enough ceiling and enough breeze.

 

[forktender]

I didn't have water or a refrigerator in mine, didn't see the need.
As far as what I wish I had done, wish I put in a lot more lights.
Wasn't very bright at night.

View attachment 724106

Damn, that is gorgeous!!!
It's hard to tell, is that a ceiling fan? For sure, I'd have a couple of kick a$$ ceiling fans, and a Kegorator with two taps, one with Shiner Bock, the second with my wife's white wine our summer temps are often over 100* here in NorCal, so for sure a few ceiling fans.
Great looking set up.
Dan.

 

[02ebz06]

Damn, that is gorgeous!!!
It's hard to tell, is that a ceiling fan? For sure, I'd have a couple of kick a$$ ceiling fans, and a Kegorator with two taps, one with Shiner Bock, the second with my wife's white wine our summer temps are often over 100* here in NorCal, so for sure a few ceiling fans.
Great looking set up.
Dan.

Yes a ceiling fan. It had WIFI. Haha

If it was bigger and we could put a table and chairs in it, might have been a different story for adding water and a refrigerator and TV.

 

[Jonahind]

I finally set up an outdoor kitchen last summer and my biggest tip is to plan for more seating than you think. Ours became the hangout spot and the big counter with stools was more used than the fridge or smoker. Also think about some shelter if you want to use it in bad weather. If you want your seating or patio to look good and handle weather, you can check out https://wickerpark.ca/ . They have lots of layout ideas and their furniture is built for our climate.

 

[in. pred]

I didn't have water or a refrigerator in mine, didn't see the need.
As far as what I wish I had done, wish I put in a lot more lights.
Wasn't very bright at night.

is that a rocket stove powered pizza oven? very nice build!!

 

[in. pred]

cant give you any input on your project. i been kickin this idea around awhile and still not made up my mind on layout. lol

 

[MarcR]

Sorry to hear about your water damage. I was a plumber for 10 years, that's no fun. I built a little outdoor storage area for my smokers and cookers. Started as a sketch on a notebook. I have a mini fridge, and I did tap into the plumbing on the back wall of my house (my master bath double vanity is back there). I plumbed my house, so I knew where everything was located in the walls. Worked out great. So glad I put a sink out there! I could not imagine not having one now. I agree with a previous poster about needing more lights. Thats the one thing I wished I had more of, but it's in the works. I hope perhaps you find a little inspiration from one of these. Happy Holidays!

 

[drew61199]

cant give you any input on your project. i been kickin this idea around awhile and still not made up my mind on layout. lol

The struggle is real! Ha. The last few months have been focused on the holidays (we have 5 kids), so will be tackling this in a few weeks. I'm in FL, so no threat of winter weather.

I was at a buddy's the other night for a Christmas party and it reminded me how nice his setup is. It's U-shaped, so tons of counter space, but also VERY "wide"....eg - we had 30 of us inside the U for a group picture.....so I think that's something I took away from it. The layout I started was maybe only 6' whereas his is likely 10'. Sadly I can't do a U bc my back wall of my house is 3 windows, but I can go "wider"....just have to extend my pavers (it's only $$$$.....)

I also like the setup above with two sides of seating. We have an outside table next to it that seats 8, but my current plan would only allow 4 at the bar...rest would be standing room. So I think modifying it for the extra width will allow me to add a "leg" on the end for at least 2 more seats.

I already planned on a fan bc I'm putting a tin roof on the pergola.....will add more lights as recommended bc only planned on 4 and yeah.....I can see where more is better..... especially since LED is dimmable, etc

Thanks and you guys have some awesome looking setups!!