No matter how small and cramped a western home is, it always has a kitchen. It might just be a little sink in the corner, with some counter-space for your Weber Baby Q BBQ, but no Aussie home can be sold without a designated area for preparing meals. If you’re lucky enough to buy in the suburbs, you might have an outdoor cooking option too. It could just be a patio, deck or indoor-outdoor section that stretches towards the pool.
But you may look at that space and realise it’s ideal for entertaining. So while you may consider putting in a bar and some benches, you might also go all out and insert an in-built outdoor kitchen unit like the Axis wood fireplace series. Or you could get an outdoor kitchen module from the Sustainapod series – both are available at Home Heat and BBQ. Here are some of our favourite reasons to go alfresco.
1. Easy clean-up
Having friends and family over is fun. Clearing up after they leave is not. Some guests will stay and help you wash up. Outdoor kitchens help because guests can access the area without going into the main house. There’s usually a bathroom in or near your alfresco as well, so you can attend to guests while keeping them out of your house. When they leave, there’s just one area to clean. You won’t have to wonder if they snooped through your things, or do a military sweep of your rooms to see what they messed up.
2. Pizza parties
Home-baked pizza may be more cumbersome than ordering in, but it can be a fun activity to do together. And you have a lot more flexibility with toppings. Install an outdoor pizza oven with benches and cushions sprinkled round it. Perfect for movie night, or for a pizza picnic. And because the cooking area is within the eye-line of your fellow diners, you can keep your conversations going, watch the kids, and bond while you cook.
3. Swim and snack
For houses with pools, there are lots of little annoyances. Your residents (and guests) will keep running into the house, leaving their water-logged, possibly dusty footprints all over your floor, and creating damp puddles on your seat cushions. Resolve this with an outdoor kitchen furnished with water-proof, outdoor seating options. That way, swimmers don’t have to shower and dress up every time they get peckish. They’ll just pounce on their meal, bathing suit and all, and dive back in the water when they’re done.
4. Romantic date nights
When you’re looking for something more intimate, you could invest in a firetable and enjoy cosy dinners as you watch the dancing flames that make the table’s centrepiece. You can also install an outdoor fireplace with your chosen burning medium. Invest in a bug zapper too.
5. Limiting screen time
If you’re trying to break bad screen habits, an outdoor kitchen is the perfect place for game nights and family hangouts. Install a no-cell-phones rule and settle in for a board game, or something a little more analogue. Charades is still a hit, or anything with playing cards.
To find the right outdoor kitchen for your needs, call Home Heat and BBQ today on 02 9838 1300.
