Should You Connect an Outdoor Kitchen With Your Patio in Fishkill, NY?

When you start to design your dream outdoor kitchen, the idea at the front of your mind should be how you want to define spaces in your backyard according to the desired ambiance and activity levels. In some cases, fully integrating all design elements into a single patio has its advantages, in creating one space for all outdoor activities that is surrounded by the beauty of nature. However, clearly separating these spaces using landscape features as physical barriers can have its own advantages as well. It’s time to ask the question: should you connect an outdoor kitchen with your patio in Fishkill, NY?

Related: 5 Patio Design Ideas for Wappinger Falls NY Lakeside Homes

How Will You Actually Use the Space?

Consider how often you want to be using the outdoor kitchen, whether its main purpose is entertaining guests or family meals. If you envision just you and your loved ones enjoying meals outdoors, there’s little reason to separate the outdoor kitchen and patio. However, if you plan on hosting bombastic summer cookouts with the whole neighborhood, then you definitely want to create some space so the chefs and bartenders can be undisturbed in their work while still giving everyone plenty of space to mingle: in this case, a separate kitchen could be the ideal solution.

Everything In Its Right Place

One of the core beliefs of many chefs is the French idea of “mise en place,” or “everything in its right place.” It’s a practice that demands everything you might need is just within reach and easy to find. This goes for the relationship between the outdoor kitchen and the dining/lounging areas as well.

Draw a rough plan with circles around each zone: the kitchen, dining space, and seating space(s) Envision how the level of activity in each zone (kitchens and dining spaces are high-activity and seating areas are low-activity) will affect the others.

Some homeowners may prefer an open plan that melds the outdoor kitchen, dining, and seating spaces together. However, those that want quieter, more intimate experiences with friends and family (the idea of retiring to the “living room” after a meal) could opt for separating these areas.

Walls Aren’t Necessary

You can use landscape features to accomplish the task of a wall to separate connected patios, without a closed-in feeling boulders, shrubs, trees, vine-covered trellises, water features, and planter beds can make a verdant boundary that keeps the backyard lively. If plenty of space is available, consider setting the outdoor kitchen/dining area and seating area at a short distance away from each other, connected by a walkway.

Shelter

Be sure to consider the unique challenges of outdoor dining. The weather makes all the difference. Nothing sends a party indoors faster than rain. When the skies open up with drenching rain, you want to have the option of shelter: a pavilion (with open sides and a solid roof) is the best choice for sheltering outdoor dining areas.  

A pergola, with its open sides and open roof, is designed to provide shelter from the sun. Some homeowners will add a clear polycarbonate roof to the structure to maintain the look and add weather protection.

The size of a shelter structure is also something to consider: do you want it close to the home, or do you prefer that it is a focal point within the landscape?

Related: How To Create an Outdoor Kitchen That Will Satisfy the Passionate Cook in Poughkeepsie, NY