In creating the perfect outdoor living space, you’ve likely had a vision of loved ones gathering on your patio, having fun, and sharing the perfect meal under the summer evening light. The best way to achieve this vision would be a customized outdoor kitchen, a space that will become an anchor feature that will dictate how you plan other parts of your landscape. Here’s how to think about your landscaping when adding an outdoor kitchen in Bedford and Milford, NH.
Location
A modern trend for outdoor living is to create individual zones for each activity. Whether this is on one large patio or a series of smaller interconnected patios, it’s an opportunity to either tuck your outdoor kitchen into a cozy nook for an intimate cooking/dining experience surrounded by natural landscaping; or place it centrally to become an attention-grabbing focal point.
Partially this depends on the available space. In most cases, you’ll want the outdoor kitchen conveniently located close to the home; but it’s not a given that this is where it must be located. Placing your outdoor kitchen off to the side in a secluded nook means it will coyly entice folks to go investigate what’s going on, creating a destination. If space is more limited, your outdoor kitchen could work gloriously as a central attention grabber, indicating that it is the place to be. This means that seating areas and other quieter areas would be more on the periphery of the patio, closer to natural elements.
Shelter
With New England, you can never be too sure about what the weather will decide to do. Rain can seriously put a damper on cooking as well as outdoor dining. The solution is to plan your outdoor kitchen inside a gorgeous pavilion that will act as a rain and sun shelter. Pavilions have closed roofs and open sides, which will protect what’s inside from precipitation while letting the fresh air circulate. You can feature a gas-fueled grill in your pavilion design, but charcoal grills will need to be outside of the structure. If your outdoor kitchen features bar seating, you’ll have all the bases covered: the cook and the guests will all be sheltered no matter what nature decides to do.
The Right Lighting
Outdoor lighting is essential for safety around an outdoor kitchen, and the best way to dazzle your guests. The most important part of your outdoor kitchen that needs to be illuminated is the ground and work surfaces. You can use vertical surfaces such as the walls of your outdoor kitchen to embed landscape lighting and project light downward. This will avoid direct eye contact with bright lights and focus the energy where it’s needed. Similarly, use small fixtures of LED lights on the counter surfaces to show off the beautiful spread of food while avoiding contrasting shadows. When it comes to the landscape, be sure to use a layered approach where you place random, lights to subtly illuminate key landscape features from above and below to add dimension and reduce scary dark areas.
Special Features
If your focus is on the outdoor kitchen, this doesn’t mean the rest of your landscape is an afterthought. Think about the kitchen as the hub of a wheel, with “spokes” radiating outward to quieter, less active areas. Make each one a desirable destination (again, whether you’re using just one larger patio or taking the approach of having several interconnected patios.
