SPACES: Expert advice on adding an outdoor kitchen

Your Complete Guide to Adding an Outdoor

By Michael Jacobs-Bonnett Photos Courtesy of Qualcraft Construction Inc.

It’s summertime and if there’s one thing that says summer, it’s outdoor barbecues. August seems to be the peak of outdoor festivities and barbecues whether it’s “Back To School” (this year more than ever) or a simple get together for family and friends to soak in the Coronado sunshine over a home-cooked meal. Many of our clients want to elevate their outdoor space and the time spent there by adding an outdoor kitchen. With how increasingly popular this type of addition has become, we decided to share the knowledge we have on everything Outdoor Kitchen.

Considerations Before You Start Planning

• Focus on function: What is the main reason you are building your outdoor kitchen? Are you looking for it to be the entertainment hub for family and friends when Summertime rolls around? Or maybe your goal is to create a more relaxing, quaint space to enjoy wine-infused sunsets with your significant other. Whatever your intention may be, each outdoor kitchen is unique and endless in possibilities. In order to build the outdoor kitchen you can’t wait to get home to, consider the following:

Soapstone firepit in outdoor living space built by QualCraft Construction

Layout

You will define the function of your outdoor kitchen through its layout. Important considerations may be spatial relationships to the main house, countertop space for food prep, or the most e cient way to lay out a kitchen so that EVERYONE can see the TV during the Superbowl Game no matter where they are sitting. Every family has unique needs for how they plan to spend their time in their outdoor kitchen so take those specific, personal needs to your design/construction team when you enter the planning stages. **Pro Tip: Bigger isn’t always better. While it feels natural to want the biggest, baddest outdoor kitchen in the neighborhood, we tend to find that the kitchens we build that are more intimate, are the ones homeowners find most enjoyable. What is important is that the space is utilized e ectively to create an easy flow, both with the layout and with the conversation.

Outdoor kitchen at the Coronado Cays built by QualCraft Construction.

Material Selection

Building an outdoor space means your material selection is crucial. Your outdoor haven will need to withstand the elements so coming to your contractor/design team with ideas for materials that are favorable to that not-so-ideal weather (luckily a rare thing on the island!) will be helpful.

Things to consider when making outdoor material selections: • Durability: example from a previous project? • Heat Resistance-There are sunny days ahead of us. While we love to soak in that Coronado sunshine, it’s important we find materials that do not. • Cleanability: When building outdoor kitchens, our main goal is for our clients to spend less time maintaining the space and more time enjoying it. For example, maybe you plan to incorporate a pizza oven into your outdoor kitchen. You will want to ensure you choose a countertop material that that allows you to spend time with your kids splashing on that marinara sauce WORRY-FREE.

Pro Tip: Buyers beware. With the overwhelming amount of synthetic materials on the market, we always advise our clients to make sure they are making selections for their outdoor kitchen that are outdoor-rated. Most manufactured materials do not hold up in outdoor environments. Ensure you are making informed decisions when it comes to purchasing so your outdoor kitchen provides you and your family longevity.

Appliances

The jewels of the outdoor kitchen. Selecting appliances for the outdoor kitchen tends to be our clients’ favorite part. Whether it’s finally having the grill you’ve always dreamed of or having the ability to chill your favorite wines from Napa Valley, your appliances will complete your kitchen while also giving you the ability to customize the way you enjoy your meals in your outdoor kitchen.

Pro Tip: When selecting appliances, consider utility lines that you will need to tap into. Where you plan to place your appliances can have a major impact on the work that will need to be done in order to feed the appropriate utility line to your appliances.

Some of our favorite selections for outdoor kitchens:

1. Soapstone: Soapstone has high heat retention, making it the perfect stonetop for your outdoor kitchen’s firepit. It is also highly rated for its cleanability and is nonporous, making clean-up time a breeze. 2. Storage space for outdoor kitchens can sometimes come as an afterthought. We find it crucial to include su cient

Dining space outside of home on Adella Ave. designed and built by QualCraft Construction.

storage for cleaning utensils in your outdoor kitchen. One of our favorite products is this storage product from the Aspire line by Hestan. The entire line of products has eyecatching colors and most importantly, it will withstand the elements. This color, Bora Bora, we feel brings a Coronado cool element to any outdoor kitchen. 3: One of our favorite appliances for outdoor kitchens is a 15-inch under-the-counter ice maker. It can produce 80 pounds of ice nuggets a day. If you are a fan of Sonic crushed ice, this ice maker is a must have in your outdoor kitchen. Our clients request Sonic’s famous “nugget ice” often, and when they do, this ice maker is first on our list.

Pro Tip: Expect long lead times. Production times in almost any industry have become lengthier in the past year. If you are prepared for these lead times, you won’t find yourself at the end of your project waiting for any missing pieces.

• Michael Jacobs-Bonnett, an expert in his field, who lives on-island with his wife and children is owner & founder of Qualcraft Construction, a trusted local design-build firm.