Cooking has always been one of my favorite things to do for my family. And what makes cooking even more fun? When you’re cooking outside. That’s why when we designed our outdoor kitchen, I wanted it to be a place where I could create the most tasty meals using all of my favorite tools and have everything available for entertaining as well.
I’ve recently gotten some questions about what would I do differently in our outdoor kitchen, now that I’ve used it for a little over a year. It usually takes a bit of time in a place to realize what’s working and what’s not working. Honestly, there really isn’t much I would change. But here are a few things that I think would make a difference for the function of the space.
The Ice Maker
Unfortunately the ice maker never really worked. I think it gets too hot out, and the door doesn’t really seal properly. Most of the time, people grab cans of pop or water in the drink fridge next to it, and they’re cold enough they don’t need the ice. So instead of a drink fridge and an ice maker I would have done a drink fridge and a freezer. The kids would love to have easy access to popsicles during the summer after the pool. I may change it out, actually, because I love that idea.
The Warming Drawer
It seemed like a helpful thing to add, but I really don’t use the warming drawer all that much. I tend to pace my cooking with the end goal of having all the dishes ready at the same time anyway. It’s habit at this point, so I just don’t have much need for a warming drawer. This would have been better used for more storage. You can never have enough storage for kitchen tools, am I right?
The Pergola
This is probably the biggest change I would make — the covering for the outdoor kitchen. The look of the open pergola is great, but I would have made the covering solid. I’m totally happy grilling out in the rain if I’m under a cover of some sort, and it would be nice to have the sun fully blocked in the hottest months of the year. Hopefully, I can find a solution for that at some point.
(Spoiler: We added a pergola cover that has made a massive difference.)
And really? That’s it. Everything else I absolutely love. Even with those small things, this outdoor kitchen is still a dream, and it’s so fun cooking up smashburgers or grilling kebabs out there.
Curious as to what specific granite did you go with?
It looks like black mist in a polished finish? Could you confirm as we love your countertops!
Any consideration for honed or leathered finish?
We’re also looking at a covered outdoor kitchen countertop but concerned with the heat of black vs Dekton.
We went with black mist honed granite. The countertops are sealed, and get resealed two times a year to keep up with the outdoor elements! I talk more about the heat in this post, but really, it’s not bad with the sun we get there.
I’ve seen sturdy fabric panels woven through pergolas as sun and rain protection.
I have seen what looks like some sort of acrylic or thick plastic that has what looks to be a corrugated texture that you can attach to the top of a pergola. The light still comes through and it doesn’t look cheap at all!
I love your backyard, and I’m waiting for your cookbook! 💚
We use a sunshade for our pergola. It works wonders and is a very affordable option!
I always wondered about the lack of a roof. I’d want one for sun or rain.