Outside grill station concepts: 10 methods to raise summer season BBQs
The best outside grill station concepts can flip a so-so yard into your loved ones’s favourite heat climate gathering spot.
Past simply putting in the very best grill on the patio, a grill station provides added conveniences that uplevel your complete barbecue expertise. Assume outside kitchen concepts, however purely devoted to grilling: meals prep areas, built-in sinks, additional electrical retailers to plug in small home equipment, and even shelter from solar and rain.
Outside grill station concepts
From planning an out of doors kitchen devoted to grilling to buying souped-up standalone barbecues, these grilling stations span a variety of value factors, types and yard sizes.
1. Discover the proper spot on your grill station
(Picture credit score: Subzero Wolf)
Some of the vital issues to contemplate when planning an out of doors grilling station is the place to place it so it really works greatest on your life-style, says Russ Faulk, Chief Designer and Head of Product at Kalamazoo, a luxurious outside kitchen supplier.
‘As a year-round griller within the Midwest, I like to verify my grill is near my kitchen door and positioned such that I can regulate the lid thermometer via the kitchen window,’ he says. ‘Inside that context, you could consider utility places. Is the gasoline and electrical already in a great place, or do you have to put money into shifting it to your ideally suited location?’
2. Add a rotisserie
(Picture credit score: Kate Anne Designs)
If there was an award for the very best grill station upgrades, this Los Angeles unfold can be onerous to beat.
‘This explicit shopper was a real grill grasp and often grills for his household a number of instances per week,’ says Kate Gross, whose agency Kate Anne Designs created this outside kitchen. ‘We included a correct Argentine grill that raises and lowers over burning logs, a smoker to infuse and sluggish prepare dinner meats, and a grill to sear meats earlier than they’re slow-cooked, in order to protect the juices contained in the meat.
‘The grill additionally has a rotisserie characteristic for rotisserie rooster, for instance, but it surely’s additionally nice for cooking up sizzling canine and hamburgers on a leisurely pool day. We even have a prep sink, twin refrigerated drawers to retailer substances, a drink fridge, and a “Sonic” ice machine for completely crunchy ice, similar to you used to get at Sonic as a child.’
Observe how backyard bar concepts are integrated into the grilling station structure.
3. Use a pergola to accommodate your grill station
(Picture credit score: Little Greene)
A pergola can elevate the common outside grilling station in a couple of methods.
For one, it provides shade from the solar on a sizzling day, which is very welcome whereas standing over a fiery barbecue. Relying on the kind of pergola concepts you select, it may additionally create floor space for making a small bar or serving station. And, you should utilize your grilling station so as to add atmosphere to your entire yard by outfitting the pergola with string lights.
4. Set up a brick encompass
(Picture credit score: Chris Loves Julia)
A built-in grill station is a sophisticated method to create a prepare dinner house outside, particularly when it is lined in brick, just like the one above by bloggers Chris Loves Julia. The designing duo DIY-ed this beautiful brick encompass, however should you’re not fairly as helpful, faucet a panorama architect, contractor, or outside kitchen firm to create one thing related.
5. Plan for the weather
(Picture credit score: The Outside Kitchen Collective)
Since your outside grill station is, nicely, outdoors, there are a selection of things to contemplate when planning for it. ‘Issues comparable to photo voltaic orientation, view, and canopy for climate (solar/rain relying) are points which are particular to outside kitchen design,’ says Matt Baran of Baran Studio Structure.
6. Create a freestanding grill station
(Picture credit score: Frontgate)
An out of doors kitchen does not should be hardscaped into your yard. If a built-in grill station is not in your timeline or finances this yr, search for freestanding outside kitchen carts, islands or cupboards to create your personal customized grill space.
7. Add a pizza oven
(Picture credit score: Sandtex)
Take into account your self a real grilling fanatic? Then you definately’ll want greater than only a grill.
‘People who smoke and pizza ovens add their specialty cooking prowess to your repertoire,’ says Faulk. ‘Refrigeration could make entertaining extra fluid. And a sink is a essential aspect for laundry your fingers throughout meals preparation.’
8. Get the fundamentals proper
(Picture credit score: Kalamazoo Outside Connoisseur / Matt Vacca)
Not all grill stations should be excessive. Even a fundamental grill station could be a profitable yard thought should you get the fundamentals proper.
‘An important aspect of a grill station is a grill that has the temperature vary and flexibility wanted to help the cooking methods you take pleasure in most’ says Faulk. ‘Past that, you could make it a useful house. Meaning counter-height work areas with sufficient room to deal with platters, reducing boards, and substances; a little bit little bit of cupboard space for instruments to wash your grill and your charcoal and wooden (if relevant); and job lighting so you’ll be able to see what you’re doing after sundown.’
On this Saddlebrook Ranch, Ariz. mission, designer Kathryn Prideaux designed the outside entertaining house across the Kalamazoo grill, from each a useful and aesthetic standpoint. It was sited particularly to reap the benefits of the desert views past the property.
9. Construct a bar close by
(Picture credit score: Lundhs)
Serving because the default grill grasp is much more enjoyable whenever you’re surrounded by family and friends. Convey the occasion to you with an island or bar space adjoining to your grilling station, which may double as a simple spot for serving up your greatest BBQ.
10. Add lights to your outside grill station
(Picture credit score: Kalamazoo Outside Connoisseur)
In case your al fresco dinners are inclined to stretch late into the evenings, make sure to add a lightweight supply to your grilling station so you’ll be able to successfully flip your burgers after the solar goes down. In case your grill space is adjoining to your lounge seating or a gathering spot, select job lighting that may add to the atmosphere, too.
How do you construct an out of doors grilling station?
First off, it is vital to notice that your native constructing codes will govern issues like whether or not or not you’ll be able to construct an out of doors grilling station in your property, the place it may be positioned, the way it’s constructed, what surrounds it, and extra. So, your first cease ought to all the time be to examine along with your native constructing division or zoning fee, or to seek the advice of an space builder who’s aware of codes.
As soon as you’ve got ensured you are abiding by the security guidelines, the best method to construct a grill station is to make use of premade outside furnishings choices to trend a structure that fits your wants. For instance, inserting a rolling outside kitchen cart subsequent to your grill can create prep house and a spot for serving meals. Or, take into account buying a prebuilt gazebo or pergola designed to double as an out of doors kitchen space.
In the event you’re in search of a hardscape grill station, your greatest guess is to rent a neighborhood contractor or panorama architect to deal with the job.
