The Best Outdoor Kitchen Designs For Entertaining at Home

Perfect for entertaining guests on a warm summer night, outdoor kitchens are a must-have for expanding your outdoor living area into a stylish and practical alfresco dining experience. What at first glance may appear to be a luxury, outdoor kitchens have become an incredibly affordable addition to add some flair, value, and appeal to your outdoor living space.

Below we have compiled a list of the 15 best outdoor kitchen designs to help shape your backyard entertaining spaces into something functional, practical, and ultimately prestigious. 

1. Stacked Stone Kitchen

If you’re looking for a timeless design that maintains a clean, sharp look with real visual appeal, you can’t surpass a stacked stone kitchen design for your outdoor kitchen and living space. Stacked stone looks great with a BBQ cooktop and stone bench tops, exuding style and quality. Whether positioned alongside a deck or outdoor entertainment area or placed neatly in its corner – a stacked stone kitchen complements backyard entertainment spaces that are both classic and modern.

2. Rustic Outdoor Kitchen With Pizza Oven

When it comes to a rustic finish for your outdoor kitchen, you can’t go past a traditional pizza oven to complete the design. An outdoor kitchen layout with this special feature does appeal to the masses. It can look extra special with the addition of festoon lighting, touches of timber, and black finishes on appliances. Create a warm, outdoor kitchen space that feels extra nostalgic with details like wood paneling and timber benches. For the materials used on your pizza oven, anything that contrasts nicely against your custom outdoor kitchen, whether stone or concrete, will fit well.

3. A Built-In Grill and Compact Kitchen Combination

Have a small area to work with? To maximize space, a built-in grill with a dedicated bench, sink, and oven will easily combine everything you need to cook outside. With these foundational elements of an outdoor kitchen, you can take the cooking, eating, and clean-up outside for a less messy, no-stress night of entertaining your guests. For those with more room, adding an outdoor fridge to eliminate the need for going in and out of the house will make hosting your guests and continuing the conversation while grilling their dinner effortless.

4. Combined Outdoor Kitchen and Living Space

If you’ve got more room to work with, you can’t go past a combined outdoor kitchen and living space. A beautiful way to eat, dine, and then recline, you can equip your space with a dining area and a comfy, cozy lounge with the added benefit of unrestricted garden views and the constant flow of fresh air. Add as many luxuries as you desire, including a TV or pool table if covered. Remember, the options are endless for curating the best backyard entertaining spaces to suit your lifestyle, family, and needs. 

5. Outdoor Patio Kitchen With Vertical Garden

This design best suits a patio angled with a nice brick or exterior wall. A small concrete patio would suit nicely alongside a concrete outdoor kitchen with darker appliances and enough space for food preparation. A splashback can be replaced with your own vertical garden to save time picking herbs from the garden. For example, this can be steel mesh holstering various plants, herbs, and spices. The rich green plants will add a nice visual contrast to the minimal concrete design and are ideal for those with a small backyard but still wish to have both a veggie garden and outdoor entertainment space.

6. Straight Concrete With Double Grill and Storage

Keeping in tune with the options available when considering a concrete design, a double grill with concrete shelving is a brilliant addition to your outdoor entertainment space. We recommend this idea for larger areas. Remember, the concrete benches that host the double grill are the main attraction and will make cooking outside feel like a luxury, thanks to the stunning finish. If you’re willing to go all out, add a red brick outdoor pizza oven that would look stunning against the concrete grey. In regards to practicality, the purpose of this double grill is to be able to cook large quantities of food. Therefore large benches and storage space are equally encouraged!

7. A Covered Outdoor Kitchen

A covered patio with a sink, bar, and grill is all you need, especially during the hotter months. Acting as an extension to your home, the classic patio is usually paved or surfaced with concrete, brick, or stone and furnished with chairs, tables, and other outdoor furniture to provide a comfortable area for relaxing, entertaining, or enjoying meals or drinks outdoors. With enough shelter to protect the setup, an outdoor patio makes for a year-round kitchen and entertainment space that can be used no matter the weather!

8. Pool and Kitchen for a Quick’ Dip and Dine’

Backyard entertainment spaces don’t get much more appealing than a poolside kitchen. After a day of cooling off from the sweltering heat, you can save going in and out of the house dripping wet by simply wandering over to your outdoor kitchen for a quick meal. These spaces are specially done well when the kitchen is within the same area as the pool but either elevated or lowered in position to define the kitchen space as its own. The good news is a pool and kitchen combo doesn’t have to be large. It can be as simple as some added shelving and storage alongside a BBQ grill with comfy outdoor couches to sit back and enjoy your feed after a long day in the pool. Remember, hiring an experienced expert to help you is key to working within your budget and constraints.

9. Outdoor Decking With Country Chic Dining

A nice glossy merbau deck would be a perfect fit for your country chic kitchen. A covered outdoor kitchen is great for the whole family all year round when placed neatly on your deck and complemented nicely with a country chic kitchen design. When designing this style of outdoor kitchen, opt for wooden cabinetry, storage, and paneling. The country chic kitchen can add splashes of white and black alongside the timber finishes and looks great with a large built-in grill, oven, and chopping boards to complete the total design.

10. Bar Stool Seating Underneath the Pergola

This is a great design style if you’re on a budget but still want an area to entertain or have a few quiet drinks with friends on a Sunday afternoon. Perfect for the “at home” style bar, you can make the most out of your pergola and undercover area by elevating a TV near your bar stools, placing these stools underneath a large bench top, and having your own makeshift sports bar. These bar stools look great with black framing and wooden seating underneath a large and long benchtop. An excellent choice for relaxing and watching baseball with a few pals on a warm summer’s day. 

11. Built-In Countertop With Concrete Finish

This will require a fair amount of time and money but will provide the ultimate payoff when finished. Building a countertop with a smooth concrete finish allows you to maximize the space in your outdoor kitchen. It opens up plenty of storage or seating space options underneath your built-in countertop. These countertops look stunning alongside a finished kitchen or portable BBQ grill. We have also created a few designs that have placed a wood heater below to provide some much-needed warmth in the cooler months.

12. Clay Pizza Oven

Doubling down on the Tuscany feel, a clay pizza oven is an excellent addition to a rustic or brick-designed outdoor entertainment space. Nestled alongside a DIY wooden food preparation station, it is a great place to prepare and cook pizzas at the next big social gathering. A clay pizza oven is a hit for the whole family and can work nicely into a few different outdoor kitchen styles or make for a neat addition to your entertainment space for a tasty sit-down pizza.

13. BBQ Grill and Prep Station Under the Stars

Most outdoor BBQ grills and prep stations are under lovely decking or pergolas, but there is something for everyone when you take your grill under the stars. Garden lights can help light the way around, but a BBQ grill placed inside a compact food-prepping station is all you need in your backyard as you look up at the sky and admire the view. Simple, easy, and affordable, this outdoor kitchen style won’t break the budget but will still make a lifetime of memories.

14. Retractable Windows for Selective Dining

Closing in your kitchen space with retractable windows is an excellent idea when things get chilly. It also makes for a great way of turning your indoor kitchen into a multi-functioning outdoor kitchen. Retractable windows will give greater access to outdoor spaces and provide more serving options from your indoor kitchen. If limited on outdoor space, the retractable window allows for a makeshift benchtop where you can serve food from inside your kitchen to your dining space. These retractable windows come at a price, but if you have the time and resources, we highly recommend considering these as an option to shake up your current kitchen space and optimize the way you blend indoor and outdoor living.

15. Beach Chic With Reclaimed Wood Grill and Food-Prepping Station

With this design, you can evoke a sense of coastal living bliss with the beachy feel of a reclaimed wood grill and neatly curated food prepping station with Hamptons or modern coastal details. Beach chic style is all about whites and coastal blue colors. These work well next to your reclaimed wood grill that can be built DIY if you are handy. The food prepping station will complement the grill nicely if framed in the same reclaimed wood and classic stone-white benchtops. To top off the beach chic flair, look for soft blues or greens in your appliances, adding some rattan storage baskets and light shades that beautifully complete the look.

Inspired and motivated to update your outdoor kitchen and living space but have no idea where to begin? Let us help you design and install your outdoor kitchen with the peace of mind that it will all come together seamlessly. Contact the Patio Company here.