Most outdoor kitchen regrets come down to planning, not budget. Here's what we work through before any bench gets poured.
Start with thinking about how you'll use it and put thought into the people that visit your home. Four people on a weeknight or twenty at Christmas? Just a BBQ, or a sink, fridge and pizza oven too? Your appliances will change the whole layout and thought needs to be given to this early.
Pick the spot. Stand there on a breezy day to make sure its manageable. Smoke blowing into the seating area is not a vibe. Think about shade, how far it is from the house, and whether the cook can still see the garden and the kids or even needs/wants too.
Check the BBQ manufacturer's clearances and your council rules before you commit.
Think in three zones. Hot (the BBQ), cold (fridge and drinks) and prep (bench space, and a sink if you can fit one). Keep them close together and leave bench space on both sides of the BBQ. You need somewhere to put the tray down and somewhere to rest the cooked food.
Choose a benchtop that can cope. Outdoor benches get sun, rain, grease and spilled drinks. Concrete handles it well and we apply a good food-safe sealer before leaving the shed. Use a trivet under hot pans when coming straight off the grill. Warm water and mild soap are all a concrete bench needs for cleaning.
Sort power, water and lighting early. It's much cheaper and easier to coordinate this before the slab or benchtop goes in. Gas, electrical and plumbing all need a licensed tradie and factor in these costs early. We recommend touching base with all of them to make sure your ideas can be real life.
Don't forget storage. Use materials made for outdoors, ventilate the gas bottle properly, and give the bin, tongs and BBQ cover a home. In our view drawers beat doors for practicality.
The mistakes we see most: not enough bench next to the BBQ, putting it in the windiest corner where no one wants to be, not factoring in the views and buying the BBQ first then designing around it.
We've put all of this into a free one-page checklist you can download [link below to download]. If you're thinking about a concrete outdoor kitchen or benchtop, send us a photo of your space and we are happy to talk it through.
