When determining how you’ll build your custom outdoor kitchen, there are many things you need to consider. For instance, you need to figure out where you’ll put it, which components you need, whether or not you want to use propane, natural gas, or electricity for your grill, and how much you want to spend.
If you’re not sure where to start, it can help to look at popular trends to see what other people are doing and why. Of course, outdoor kitchen trends shouldn’t be blindly followed, but by checking out what’s popular, you can get ideas and see if they might work for you.
Here are five of those trends.
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Pizza ovens
Who doesn’t love the smell of a fresh pizza baking in the oven? An outdoor pizza oven is one of the hottest trends, especially for families who enjoy movie nights with their kids. Although pizza is tasty no matter what, it’s top-notch out of a genuine pizza oven.
People love pizza ovens for the flavor, but also the smell. Nothing beats the smell of pizza permeating your backyard while the kids play and wait for dinner. Most people would agree that just smelling pizza makes them feel good, and data backs that up.
According to a study conducted by popular pizza brand DiGiorno, people are happier when they smell a pizza baking in the oven than when they bring home takeout or get delivery. Interestingly, people are also happier when they smell the pizza baking than when actually eating the pizza.
If you want to create maximum joy in your household, you need a pizza oven in your backyard. They come in varying sizes and fuel sources, but the best is going to be wood-fired.
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Ice makers
Ice makers are popular for people who entertain guests on a regular basis. According to the data, about half of Americans entertain guests at least once a month.
Although some people don’t like ice, most people prefer their soda, club soda, cocktails, and spirits with ice. Ice is also required for chilling white wine and beer. You don’t want to serve cocktails with cheap grocery store ice. Depending on what store is in your area, you may only be able to get ice that comes in large chunks or oddly shaped chips. Neither one of these is suitable for serving drinks to guests.
With an ice maker, you can get better-looking ice by default, but there are many options. For example, some ice makers will create completely clear ice for making amazing cocktails and spirits, while others will make fancy shapes. There are even ice makers that allow you to select the size of the ice. All of these details are important for making a good impression on clients and business associates, and they also help to create a memorable experience.
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Kitchen islands
Counter space is a requirement for preparing food and offering a self-serve line of toppings, but if you don’t have a kitchen island, it’s hard to make that work. You can try to use a table, but that just creates confusion and messes when everyone reaches over each other to get what they want.
The minute you put a kitchen island in your backyard, your grilling parties will be a lot easier and more convenient for your guests. You can serve tacos or burritos and create a line of toppings, or you can put salad fixings out for people to grab on their own. Islands are great for stashing a small bucket of drinks on ice, too.
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Side burners
People love side burners when they need to cook more than a few things at a time. For example, you may want to start simmering your pasta sauce while you boil the noodles, or you might want to sauté some garlic and onions while you scramble eggs on a flat top grill.
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Storage cabinets
Having extra storage for your outdoor kitchen will be something you won’t regret. If you typically run back and forth between your grill and your indoor cupboards, you’ll be glad to have cabinets in your backyard kitchen. You can store everything you need for parties, like cups, plates, silverware, napkins, serving bowls, sauces, and more. Even stocking it right before your party will save you time and energy, and you won’t have to leave your grill unattended to grab something at the last minute.
Find the trends that work for you
These are just five popular trends to consider when building your setup. Use these trends as a starting point for ideas to create your ultimate outdoor kitchen.