5 Landscaping Ideas to Accentuate Your Outdoor Kitchen in Pleasant Valley, NY
Once you’ve built an outdoor kitchen or you are in the process of designing one, you’ve made the choice to elevate your outdoor living experience. An outdoor kitchen, whether simple or extravagant, allows you to make some truly unforgettable meals with loved ones right in your backyard with a few niche additions. Here are five landscaping ideas to accentuate your outdoor kitchen in Pleasant Valley, NY.
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A Sturdy Roof Over Your Head
While it may seem counterintuitive to spending time outside getting fresh air and sunshine, a pavilion is a perfect addition to any outdoor kitchen for a multitude of reasons. It provides necessary shelter for the unexpected rain that may interrupt the party. Instead of sending everyone inside, you can continue enjoying each other’s company outdoors. Pavilions offer a sturdy roof, but their open wall design lets the cool breezes circulate, making the cooking experience more pleasant. Since there’s no limit to pavilion sizes, it could shelter your outdoor kitchen as well as a dining area and even a seating area. We recommend adding a ceiling fan within the pavilion to help remove the hot air generated by cooking; and an outdoor fireplace to warm things up if you want to extend your entertaining season into the cooler months.
A Place to Cook Under the Vines
While pavilions provide shelter from the sun and rain, you might just want protection from the sun. A pergola is a classic structure that provides wonderful options for cooking and relaxing in the cooling shade. Pergolas have an open roof (just a series of beams to block the sun as it travels across the sky) which means heat from your grill or cooktop will escape, keeping your outdoor kitchen much cooler. You can also plant climbing vines like grapes or hops that soften the look and bring nature closer. Like a pavilion, a pergola could shelter just the cooking area, or also the dining and seating spaces.
A Personal Herb Garden
Nothing wows friends and family like a home-cooked meal using fresh and delicious vegetables and culinary herbs from your garden. While vegetable gardens sometimes require large amounts of space, small “essential vegetable” and herb gardens can be located conveniently to the outdoor kitchen in a raised masonry bed. Or if you’re short on space, opt for a vertical herb garden mounted to a privacy fence, retaining wall, or a trellis along one side of your pavilion or pergola.
A Consistent Source of Warmth and Ambience
While fire features such as fire pits, fire tables, and outdoor fireplaces are always essential parts of an outdoor living space, outdoor fireplaces make wonderful companions for any outdoor kitchen. These grand masonry structures can be built in various settings and they’re much more elegant than a fire pit and produce more heat than a fire table. An attached outdoor fireplace is part of a great cooking experience - especially if you integrate a wood-fired pizza oven into your outdoor fireplace design, giving out that wonderful warmth as well as the irresistible aromas of freshly-baked delicious, bubbly pizzas.
A Comfortable Place to Relax and Watch the Action
Part of any outdoor cooking experience is watching all the cooking action happen. Bar seating or a seat wall along the edge of the outdoor kitchen can offer a place for friends and family to interact where the action is.
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