If you’ve never had or used an outdoor kitchen, not all of the many benefits might be obvious to you. There are many, though, and so with that in mind, here are our five top benefits of having an outdoor kitchen next summer.
An Outdoor kitchen:
- Offers a space for entertaining guests
- Saves money on your electricity bill
- Allows you to spend more time outdoors
- Keeps the smell of cooking out of your house
- Increases the value of your home
Outdoor kitchens have been a growing trend in recent years, and it’s not surprising given the incredible difference they can make to a home. Keep reading to learn more about why having an outdoor kitchen brings so many benefits.
What Usually Is in an Outdoor Kitchen?
There are many types of outdoor kitchens, and what they’re comprised of can vary a great deal. The most simple typically have a few standard elements.
- A counter-top
- Somewhere to cook – for example, a barbecue and/or pizza oven
- Cover to protect the kitchen in inclement weather
Beyond that, there’s a lot you can add — a sink, cabinetry, a refrigerator, a warming draw, a hearth — there are really no limitations on what’s available. You may also find useful the appliances put in outdoor kitchen list to make complete outdoor kitchen.
When it comes to custom fitting your outdoor kitchen there are endless options, such as integrated coffee machines all the way to teppanyaki grills. Thanks to the growing interest in outdoor kitchens, yours can be as grand as your vision (and budget) allows it to be.
How Much Do Outdoor Kitchens Cost?
Data from the Hearth, Patio & Barbecue Association, and the National Kitchen & Bath Association from recent years suggests that the typical outdoor kitchen costs between $11,300 and $13,000.
It’s worth bearing in mind, though, that every outdoor kitchen is different, and so the cost of building yours might be lower or higher depending on your specification and where you live in the country.
One example of the variation of cost is the finish for the patio areas — the choices your make can flex with your budget, both with the choice itself as well as the size of the kitchen:
| Patio Finish | Cost per square foot |
|---|---|
| Broom Finish Concrete | $6-10 |
| Brick Pavers | $5-15 |
| Stamped Concrete | $12-20 |
| Flagstone | $10-30 |
| Bluestone | $20-40 |
Similarly, considerations like whether you need utility lines for access to gas and electricity can also make a difference to the overall cost of the project as well as the location of your project on your property, relative to its main access.
With careful consideration to ensure you find the proper scope for the build that meets your needs, there’s an outdoor kitchen that will satisfy nearly all budgets.
5 Benefits of Having an Outdoor Kitchen Next Summer
1. An Amazing Place to Entertain Your Guests
There’s nothing quite like the wow factor of outdoor of a well-made outdoor kitchen. Rather than being cramped up inside or split between different rooms of the house, an outdoor space provides the perfect spot for relaxing and socializing with your guests.
With the food being prepared much closer to where your guests will enjoy it, you can spend more time catching up with them instead of running in and out of the house, moving the food from the kitchen to your outdoor dining area.
These spaces also provide the perfect location for larger gatherings of family and friends — like summer gatherings or birthday parties — allowing many guests to gather in the same place. People love to gather around the grill, making it a wonderful way of bringing people together.
2. Keeps Cooking Smells Outside
Everyone loves the anticipation of good cooking, but once the food has been eaten, it can be a drag trying to remove the lingering smell of old cooking from a home. Cooking outside solves this by keeping all the smoke and smells outside the house.
This is especially true when using ingredients that might not be to everyone’s taste or those with very strong smells — such as fish, onions, or cooking with a lot of smoke — which can be difficult to remove from the inside of a house.
3. Save Money on Your Electric Bill
Cooking the perfect meal can create a lot of heat, and during a hot summer, that means paying even more for electricity as your air conditioning works overtime to keep up. Cooking outside in an outdoor kitchen means you can keep your air conditioning costs to a minimum.
Air conditioning units having to work especially hard are also more likely to experience technical problems, which can often require expensive repair, so keeping some of that summertime cooking heat outside is a win-win.
4. Spend More Time Outdoors
Spending more time outdoors has been shown to have a significant benefit on mental and physical health. It’s human instinct to want a connection with nature, and spending time cooking and socializing outdoors helps reduce stress and improve mood.
Being outside also increases the amount of fresh air being breathed in and exposure to the sun’s rays. These have been shown, with adequate protection, to provide a host of benefits — from improving sleep quality to lowering blood pressure.
5. Increase the Value of Your Home
Building an outdoor kitchen is a surefire way to increase the value of your home, as potential homebuyers can imagine themselves making use of such a versatile feature. It’s not a cost with no return because it’s an investment in the future value of your property. This makes it even easier to enjoy the space yourself — knowing that you’ve made your home more desirable as a result of your efforts.
There’s also evidence from Zillow that homes with outdoor kitchens sell for almost 30% more than expected, so it’s clear that the appeal of an outdoor kitchen can be a significant benefit when looking to increase the value of your home.
How to Get Started on an Outdoor Kitchen in San Antonio?
If you’re in San Antonio and looking to get started on an outdoor kitchen, then it’s important to find a reliable partner with extensive experience in order to get support in building the perfect outdoor kitchen to meet your needs. Talk to the helpful folks at French’s Custom Concepts today to start the journey to an incredible outdoor kitchen of your own.
