For many homeowners, what completes the outdoor kitchen experience is your guests. Building a guest area takes some planning, though. We can help you with that.

Here are five things to consider when planning for guests in your outdoor kitchen.

Take advantage of great views and choose a functional space.

Determine which direction offers the best views. Straight from your house, to the left, to the right? Whatever direction you choose, keep the area open so guests can take in the beautiful view. 

If the best view is blocked by a wall or structure, is there another location that works well? Most outdoor kitchens are close to your home, but some can be further into your yard if you have a lot of land. Cover the kitchen with a gazebo or other structure and take advantage of the rest of your backyard. Your guests will have a lot of room to move around and enjoy the scenery.

Don’t block any views with your kitchen island and grill, a fridge, or other large appliances. Keep in mind that you don’t need to necessarily see the view from your cooking area. What’s more important is that your guests can see it from the entertaining area. That’s where most of the traffic will be.

The location of your kitchen should be practical too. Do you want easy access to your indoor kitchen? What about other areas of your home or yard? Maybe you want to be able to watch your kids from the kitchen as they play in the backyard. Or maybe you’d like to be close to an outdoor faucet.

Think about how many people your space will need to accommodate.

You don’t want your guests to feel cramped in your outdoor kitchen. Typically, outdoor food prep areas don’t take up as much space as the entertaining area. It might help to lay out furniture on your patio to get a good idea of how many guests you can accommodate.

Don’t forget to account for appliances too. Your guests won’t have every square inch of your outdoor space to move around.

Create a separate space for your guests to move around and enjoy each other’s company while you are cooking.

Ideally, you have a completely separate area for your guests. It’ll have furniture, maybe a couple of tables, and a TV. Some bar-and-grill style kitchens have exactly that: a bar and grill. It’s a great setup to accommodate several guests.

You’ll want some room for guest furniture. It’ll make the space look more furnished and less empty. Instead of an area that your guests can walk around in, they’ll actually be able to relax and converse.

Consider buying a TV or setting up a sound system for great entertainment.

Great music and entertainment are nice finishing touches to an outdoor kitchen. They give you some flexibility if you want to do a late-night barbecue for example. You might not be able to enjoy great weather, or maybe your guests aren’t in the mood for conversation. So just pick a movie or turn up the music and your evening will be off to a great start.

If you want to go for a sports bar vibe, a TV and sound system are must-haves.

For those in cold climates: to prepare for the next outdoor season…

Make sure you have a space to store your furniture during the colder months.

As you wrap up the outdoor season, store your furniture in a shed or other enclosed area so it stays in great condition. There are quite a few ways you can make your outdoor furniture last during and after the outdoor season. Learn more about them in this article!

Did this help you plan for your guests? Hopefully we gave you some great inspiration to build the perfect outdoor space for you. Thanks for reading! To learn more about outdoor kitchens, check out the links below.

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