10 Outdoor Kitchen Mistakes to Avoid
Picture this: you've invested time and money into building your dream outdoor kitchen, only to overlook important details. There’s nothing more frustrating than completing a project and realizing later that something crucial is missing. To help you avoid making these kinds of mistakes in your own project, we surveyed outdoor kitchen customers to find out their biggest “Why didn’t I think of that?” realizations. These projects almost always have many moving parts, and it’s easy to lose sight of the finer points. Once you're aware of the most common omissions, you’ll be glad you took the time to learn from others.
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Not Budgeting Enough to Fully Fund the Project
Building outdoor kitchens can be thrilling, but they often come with unexpected expenses that can quickly escalate. From materials to labor and permits, costs can pile up and exceed your initial budget. To avoid this, we recommend you read How Much Does an Outdoor Kitchen Cost?, gather estimates for your build, and then pad your budget with a little extra for potential surprise expenses.
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Not Including Enough Space
Some customers came away from their outdoor kitchen construction experience only to discover there wasn’t enough space once they started using it. This means making the tough choice of either making do with a cramped and crowded cooking area or spending extra money to fix it. Read over the Considerations When Designing Your Outdoor Kitchen, then think about the kinds of events you plan on hosting and how many guests you might expect to come. If you don’t have the square footage for a grand outdoor kitchen, make it as efficient and comfortable as possible.
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Not Waiting for Products Before Making Cutouts
While we understand you’re eager to start building, it’s important not to rush. The old saying, “measure twice, cut once” is good advice, which is why you should wait until your appliances are delivered before making cutouts. For one thing, you can’t measure what you don’t have, and we promise the headache of improperly sized island openings isn’t worth any amount of time saved trying to get ahead of the game. In fact, redoing cutouts will only cost you more time and money. Patience and proper planning will serve you better in the long run.
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Not Including Enough Counter Space
This is one of the most inconvenient oversights. Counter space is a precious resource—all that chopping, marinating, and plating needs to happen somewhere—and cooking outdoors becomes much less enjoyable when you don’t have room to operate. To ensure you’re planning for enough counter space, consider your typical prep work and how your Outdoor Kitchen Zones will be laid out. Adding more after the fact isn’t always easy, and your budget won’t be happy either.
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Not Including Electrical Outlets
Think of everything in your dream outdoor kitchen that would need an electrical supply: outdoor refrigeration units, rotisserie kits, household appliances like blenders, electric carving knives, string lights, and more. It’s important to plan ahead or the follow-up for electrical costs, deconstruction, and installation can add up quickly. This is why it’s important to decide where you’ll need outlets before breaking ground. Make sure at least a few of those stations have USB ports for charging devices, and that all outdoor outlets are GFCI outlets as required by the National Electrical Code.
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No (or Not Enough) Guest Seating
If you plan to host friends and family in your outdoor kitchen, then you simply can’t overlook having patio furniture nearby. Besides avoiding guests crowding around you while you’re grilling, it will make you and your company more comfortable. Whether you want to go for deep seating, a full dining experience, or a bar set, don’t consider your outdoor kitchen complete until your guests have a place to rest their feet.
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Lack of Counter Seating
Counter seating allows you to visit with guests while keeping your cooking area clear of foot traffic. People already tend to gravitate toward the kitchen as the enticing scent of a smoking grill lures them to see what’s cooking, so a set of outdoor bar stools will bring friends and family close to the action while you entertain. It also helps create a seamless space whether you’re showing off what’s on the grill or serving drinks from your outdoor bar center.
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No Shade for Guests & Components
The joy of outdoor living is getting to do what you normally enjoy, only in the fresh air and warm sunlight. The outdoors can be unpredictable though so it’s your duty as host to give everyone a haven from heat, rain, and other elements that threaten to ruin the good times in your backyard. Shade structures like sun shades, awnings, and roofs get the job done for large crowds. Just as important, coverings protect your outdoor kitchen equipment from the damaging effects of weather and keep outdoor refrigeration units running for years.
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Neglecting Drainage Needs
Outdoor ice makers, refrigerators, and beverage coolers are incredible outdoor kitchen additions, but without drainage in place, you could find yourself with ruined refrigeration. Same goes for outdoor sinks, which are important to keeping your operation flowing as smoothly as water from the tap. Once you’ve settled on the location of floor drains, try to group your appliances that need drainage in a single “wet zone,” then plan how you’ll connect them to the plumbing. Refer to your owner’s manual for specifics regarding types of drainage and remember to always leave plumbing to licensed professionals.
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Unmatched Outdoor Kitchen Components
While aesthetics might not seem important when trying to budget, many of the outdoor kitchen owners surveyed say they didn’t consider the impact of a cohesive aesthetic. Creating this harmonious design is typically as easy as purchasing items from the same brand or those made of the same material, usually stainless steel. High-end manufacturers like Blaze and Lynx make it a point to include matching accents across their outdoor kitchen island offerings. BBQGuys Signature outdoor kitchen storage is also made of stainless steel, with a style meant to match several designs.
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Stay on Track with Our Outdoor Kitchen Design Service & Checklist
Now that you know what common mistakes to avoid, you can continue planning a dream space of your own. BBQGuys is here to help! Our Outdoor Kitchen Checklist and Outdoor Kitchen 3D Design Service are great resources to help you plan. By working with our team of designers, you can map out the perfect plan for your backyard while getting expert advice on how to build the best outdoor kitchen.
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