If we build, they will come!
The first thing to consider is the intended use of the space.
It will really help to narrow down the number of possible options if we know how you plan on using the kitchen. Ask yourself, do you want to entertain large groups? Or will you be cooking for just your family? Do you like to smoke meats, have wood-fired pizza or other specialty foods? How far is your indoor kitchen from your outdoor dining space?
Once we know the purpose, we can now begin to estimate the size and layout of the best kitchen for you. When we have an idea of the physical size and the best layout to optimise the space you have available, we can start to look at options like cladding.
Cladding.
In between all those gorgeous cabinet doors and stainless-steel appliances in your shiny new kitchen, we have cladding which covers the framing and structure of the kitchen.
There are a several options for your outdoor kitchen cladding:
1. Stone
Stone is easily the best option for cladding when it comes to durability and easy maintenance for an outdoor kitchen.
You can choose between natural stone or manufactured stone fascia, and both are equally good choices. The look of stonework is ageless and adds beautiful textures and warm colours in contrast to the stainless steel of your outdoor kitchen appliances.
2. Brick
Brick cladding is much easier on the budget but still as solid and durable as stone.
Also, easy to maintain, brick comes in a variety of different colours and skilled artisans can create interesting and unique patterns and designs.
3. Concrete
Concrete cladding requires a little more maintenance then brick or stone, for example, it should be sealed and re-sealed annually.
Vertical concrete cladding is also a little trickier but modern additives and epoxy sealers can make it very durable and you can choose different colours or textures.
Concrete is a great way to add a sleek, modern look to your outdoor kitchen. Concrete can be heavy and may require reinforcement of the patio or pavers underneath your kitchen.
4. Stucco
Stucco cladding has lost a little bit of its popularity, but we don’t understand why.
Stucco offers a nice traditional look and its lightweight and simple to install and maintain. It can also be textured, tinted, and troweled into amazing designs and textures. You should give stucco consideration considering its versatility.
5. Tile
Tile cladding is a very versatile product available in so many different textures and patterns.
From ceramic to stone to marble, tiles are also available in a variety of materials. The biggest downfall to tiles is that they can ‘pop’ from the surface during the hot-cold seasonal shifts in Canadian weather.
6. Wood
Wood cladding is also a nice option for finishing off your outdoor kitchen.
Unfortunately, using wood also require additional fire-proofing materials and heat shields between your appliances and the wood.
Once finished and stained, wood makes a beautiful contrasting warmth to accentuate the stainless steel of your new appliances. Wood does also require extra maintenance, and depending on the exposure to water (rain, snow) or sun (UV rays) may need annual staining and sealing to maintain its looks.
Add a Kitchen Island
While we are looking at options like layout and cladding, this is a good time to discuss if you want to add an island to your outdoor kitchen.
Just like your indoor kitchen, the island is a freestanding cabinet with a countertop that matches or compliments the main part of your outdoor kitchen.
A kitchen island can also provide additional outdoor seating, extra storage access drawers or even a sink and cocktail prep area.
Speak with your Premier designer to come with an island design that augments your outdoor kitchen and adds extra functionality, additional seating, and more prep space for your gorgeous meals.
Access Drawers.
Access drawers are usually stainless steel and can be as simple as one drawer or a combination of small and large storage areas.
Our outdoor kitchen access drawers are made from the finest stainless steel, weather resistant, and pest resistant. Access drawers can be used to store anything from seasonings and spices to propane tanks. For example, the propane tank drawer can used to house a two-bin trash can drawer or just used a large capacity storage drawer.
Outdoor Cabinetry.
No outdoor kitchen would be complete without some beautiful cabinetry to help store everything else you need.
Outdoor kitchen cabinets are available in a large selection of styles and finishes. Our cabinets are designed to withstand the hottest temperatures of summer and the coldest temperatures of winter.
Since they will be left out year-round, we only use the highest quality outdoor kitchen cabinets which are also designed to keep out moisture and protect your kitchen accessories from bugs and rodents.
Cabinets give you more than enough storage space to store all your outdoor cooking tools and even dining sets and cutlery.
Pizza Ovens.
Adding a pizza oven can really take your outdoor dining experiences to a whole new level.
An outdoor wood fired or stone pizza oven makes a delicious addition and adding it to your outdoor kitchen means you won’t be heating up your entire house on a hot summer’s day.
We offer several different options for outdoor kitchen pizza ovens including standalone models and on-the-counter pizza ovens options as well.
They come in gas-fired and wood-fired models and in various sizes and with different features such as warming drawers, shelving, stone bases, and even different colours to match your design.
With so many possible options, you can sit down with your Premier designer and come up with the perfect solution for your outdoor kitchen.
Premium Outdoor Grills.
Welcome to the center piece of your outdoor kitchen, your built-in barbecue grill top. Installed directly into our cabinets and countertop, they come with dozens of options for almost any kind of outdoor cooking adventure. First, select the type of fuel you want to use for your outdoor grills. Here are some examples:
1. Natural Gas
Connected to your house supply, these built-in outdoor kitchen BBQs are the most popular choice.
Natural gas is an economical heating option, and you never have to worry about your fuel source running out in the middle of a cooking session.
2. Liquid Propane
Our outdoor kitchens have built-in propane storage areas, so you won’t need to see any unsightly tanks or hoses.
Propane is a great alternative to natural gas if your BBQ is located away from your house or located in a place that is difficult to run a line.
3. Charcoal
Charcoal grills have come a long way from the BBQs our parents used to use in the backyard.
Chefs look for that distinctive charcoal taste that just can’t be replicated with natural gas or propane. Again, our outdoor kitchens come with an abundance of storage to keep your bags of charcoal and all the accessories that go with them.
4. Pellets
Add a free-standing outdoor pellet grill to your outdoor kitchen and start mastering your pit boss skills.
Pellet grills are fueled by different flavoured wood pellets which burn efficiently and add a delicious smoky flavour to your cooking.
There is also the option to combine these different grills in one outdoor kitchen.
You can have a large, multi-burner natural gas grill as your main cook space and still add a standalone smoker or additional built-in charcoal grill giving you the best of both worlds.
Everyone of our grills is made from premium stainless steel – 18-gauge 304 stainless steel with a No. 4 finish – designed to last a lifetime. Our grills are also completely weatherproof, so you don’t have to worry about rust.
Our grills seamlessly integrate into our outdoor kitchen designs with limitless options for everything from rotisserie and griddles to side burners and infra-red searing.
You can even choose the types of grill plates such as stainless steel or cast-iron grills.
Rotisserie BBQ Kits.
Speaking of amazing add-ons for your grill, a rotisserie attachment is a great upgrade that lets you slow roast your meals on a spit.
The real beauty to a rotisserie is the deliciously juicy meat that results from slow cooking in its own juices.
Normally as you cook meat the juices escape and burn off in the grill.
With BBQ rotisserie cooking, the meat is constantly turning so the juices never get to drip out and that results in an incredibly moist cook.
Modern rotisserie BBQ attachments are very efficient, quiet to use, and can handle large cuts of meat so you are not just limited to cooking whole chickens.
Side Burners.
Another easy choice for an outdoor kitchen add-on, side burners are a necessity in any modern outdoor kitchen.
A BBQ side burner lets you boil large pots of water for corn or even pasta, but modern burners also come with additional options.
Side burners can be propane or natural gas and can be simple single burners to double burners and even larger burners that can handle full size woks.
Other cool options include Searing Zone side burners which come with special searing grills that can take your outdoor kitchen BBQ to the next level.
BBQ Flat-Top Griddle.
Flat-top griddles are large, flat cooking surfaces heated from below with gas or propane.
Sometimes people get confused between flat-top griddles which are a solid cooking surface and flat-top grills which are BBQ grills without a cover.
The large solid metal cooking surface is used for cooking foods such as eggs, bacon, pancakes, French toast, fajitas, cheese steaks, hashbrowns, taco meat, stir fry veggies, grilled cheese sandwiches and more.
Pretty much anything you would cook in a frying pan indoors, but with the ability to cook a lot of food at the same time or a larger surface.
If you add a vented dome cover for part or all your cooking surface, you can also steam, roast, and even bake food on your flat-top griddle.
Warming Units and Steam Tables.
Once you make all this delicious food, it really helps to have someplace to keep it warm while you are waiting for guests or while cooking other parts of the meal.
Outdoor kitchen warming drawers can be electric or gas powered and let you keep large amounts of wood at a consistent temperature and away from insects.
If you have latecomers to the meal, you’ll be able to offer them a hot, flavourful meal waiting for them in your outdoor kitchen’s warming drawer.
Also, you can use your warming tables to pre-heat plates and serving trays so that your food doesn’t cool down when it hits the cold surfaces.
Steam tables are slightly different in that they usually sit on top of your counter and the holding containers are usually suspended in hot water. The addition of steam vapors helps keep the food moist and because they are not exposed to the heat directly the food won’t burn or overcook.
Think of the big catering trays you would see in a buffet or the warming units for rice and beans you might see in a burrito shop. These steam tables allow you to prepare food and sides in advance and keep them warm and moist during the dinner service.
Outdoor Refrigeration.
So far, your new outdoor kitchen has a lot of options for heating and warming food, but you also need to cool or refrigerate food, ingredients, marinades and even drinks.
An outdoor refrigerator or outdoor ice chest is a convenient way to keep everything close at hand and save you running inside the house every couple of minutes when you are cooking.
Plug-in electric refrigeration units are a big upgrade over using ice because they maintain a more consistent temperature and you don’t have to deal with melted water on everything.
Built for convenience, they come packed with maximum cooking abilities to handle any outdoor dining needs.
If you’re in need of ice, you can also add a built-in ice maker which makes a great add-on to our cocktail and beverage centres.
Cocktail Station.
Cocktail station, beverage center, wet bar, and bar center are just a few of the names you’ll see for this amazing outdoor kitchen upgrade.
Combined with or without a sink or cooler, these stainless steel, drop-in or stand-alone stations, come with everything you need to store your mixology ingredients.
Available in 25-inch, 27-inch, and 30-inch models most beverage stations come with cold storage for ice and garnishes, bottle cap opener, bar towel holder, and sometimes a sink with faucet.
Some models also have stainless steel covers which can be closed to cover and protect your station when not in use.
Add a wet bar to your outdoor kitchen to really elevate your design to the next level and impress your guests. Even if no one is visiting, you’ll appreciate the ability to whip up a quick cocktail to quench your thirst when you’re grilling on a nice hot summer day.
With so many possible options, sit down with your Premier designer for outdoor kitchen bar ideas to come up with the perfect solution for your backyard oasis.
Outdoor Sinks.
If you don’t drink and you’re not adding one with your cocktail station, you might want to add a sink to your outdoor kitchen.
An outdoor sink makes preparing meals and cleaning up a lot easier and you don’t have to abandon your guests to run inside.
Like our other outdoor kitchen add-ons, our sinks come in several different options.
You can choose from undermount or overmount sinks, single or double basin sinks, cold water only or both hot and cold-water faucets.
You can opt to add in soap dispensers, dish drying racks, and other options you would commonly find in an indoor kitchen sink.
Another great add-on would be an outdoor pot filler tower which will let you fill up large pots of water and they can be installed close to your side burner, so you don’t have to carry large heavy pots between the sink and your cooking surface.
Vented Hoods.
If your kitchen is going to be covered with a roof of any kind, a vented hood is a necessity to keep your space smoke-free and reduce the discoloration of your kitchen.
Vented hoods also reduce the build-up of grease residue on surfaces from cooking, which can be potentially dangerous if they catch fire.
Like our other options, vented hoods come with a long list of customizable features.
You can pick the size of the hood, the material it is made from, the number and power of the exhaust fans, led lighting options, and finally the look the feel of the hood to match the design of your outdoor kitchen.
The more you cook, the more you will love having a ducted outdoor vent hood to protect your investment.
Outdoor Heating.
Adding outdoor heating units to your kitchen will let you extend your outdoor cooking season further into the fall months (not to mention you get to start using it earlier in the spring).
A lot of people remember to put heating for the guests, around the seating areas or near their dining space, but then forget to heat areas like their outdoor kitchen.
Modern patio heaters, powered by electric, propane or natural gas can fill a space with heat in a matter of minutes.
One of the best options is to use a natural gas-powered infrared heater and can expand your comfort zones by being strategically mounted in key areas.
If your kitchen is covered by an outdoor structure such as a pavilion, you can mount the heaters to the underside of the roof or if there is no cover they can be mounted on the top of a pole.
These heaters are safer because they are out of reach of your guests, and you are less likely to have a child or pet come in contact with the hot surfaces. On top of that you don’t need to sacrifice any floor space for the heater by mounting it overhead.
Build a Deck - Plant a Tree.
Decks by Premier plants new trees for every project we complete, even if you choose to use composite boards.
The Next Steps.
There are so many options that we can’t cover all of them, so the best option is to sit down with a Premier designer and go over what you would need.
Our outdoor kitchen experts will then be able to show you the products and options to get the results you want for your dream backyard oasis while trying to stay within your budget.
When you are investing this much time, effort, and money into your outdoor kitchen you want to trust the quality craftsmanship of Decks by Premier.
Deck Add-Ons.
While you are dreaming up ideas for your custom deck, remember to give some thought to some of our deck options which can help elevate your outdoor structure to the next level.
Railings
We have several different options available for deck railing systems:
Wood railings, aluminum glass railings, aluminum picket railings, frameless glass, composite railings, cable railings and almost any combination of those.
Privacy Screens
Premier offers a few different options when it comes to increasing your privacy.
We can add privacy using plants, walls, pergolas or other outdoor structures, a trellis, or even beautiful flowing outdoor curtains.
Deck Lighting
Deck lighting has come a long over the last couple of years, especially with the easy availability of LED lighting.
Choose from deck stair lighting, accent lighting, under-railing or under-counter lighting, recessed soffit lighting, deck post cap lights, in-floor lighting, above deck spotlights, and under-roof lighting.
Outdoor Kitchens
The array of possible options for creating a jaw dropping outdoor kitchen are almost limitless.
We tried our best to cover as much of it as we could on our site, but you’ll probably want to sit down with a Premier designer to go over these custom outdoor kitchen options: cladding, islands, drawers, cabinets, pizza ovens, premium grills, rotisserie kits, side burners, flat-top griddles, warming units, steam tables, refrigerators and freezers, cocktail stations, sinks, vented exhaust hoods, and outdoor heating.
Outdoor Structures
Outdoor structures add a lot of versatility to your deck design and let you enjoy parts of your backyard free from bugs, or while its raining.
We custom design and build pergolas, pavilions, gazebos, arbours, and more. These structures also come with a lot of individual options depending on the structure.
