Why I Love Our Outdoor Cooking Station

With the warmer weather of spring, now is the perfect time to get everything ready outside for our outdoor cooking station and entertaining.

Most of you know how much I love to cook. (Although I should admit that I enjoy entertaining more than just cooking.) About ten years ago, I talked my husband into adding an outdoor cooking station to our backyard. It’s one of my favorite “rooms” in our home, as I enjoy outdoor cooking. We already had the barbecue and smoker, so adding the outdoor kitchen involved adding the island with the counter and a few kitchen items.

Outdoor Kitchen Station

We added this island, and what a difference! The island has two different counter heights. One for seating (or without the chairs, it makes a perfect bar height) and one counter for prep. I also added storage space, an ice maker, and a refrigerator.

Usually, it doesn’t have so many plants, but I couldn’t resist when I styled it today!

Outdoor Cooking

This is the side of our outdoor kitchen that already existed with our green egg and 48″ DCS grill. I call it our outdoor grill station. I just had the grill’s inside redone because many of the parts had deteriorated in the last twenty years. Now I have everything I need for outdoor cooking, which looks almost brand new!

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I added the two burners to the side of the BBQ when we built the kitchen island. In hindsight, I don’t think I needed these, but they seemed like a good thing to do then. It is nice to have the burners to saute veggies, but often, I end up grilling almost everything for the meal! I am happy as long as I can spend my entire time outdoors cooking.

As we planned the outdoor kitchen expansion, I searched for the stainless drawers and cabinets. I looked everywhere and found the best prices on Amazon. You can shop here to see what I mean.

The bricks are original to our house from a hundred years ago. When we remodeled in 2000, we found a brick chimney in the middle of our home, and we used the brick for our outdoor fireplace and patio. We had some leftover bricks, and I am so happy we kept them so we could use them for our outdoor kitchen addition.

The slate on the island is from when we also did our remodel in 2000. I put a slate floor in the mudroom, bath, and craft room, and I saved the extra slate, which we used on the island.

The counter perfectly seats four. I often serve appetizers here to attract family members and dinner guests who can relax and entertain me while cooking.

You may recognize the clay pots that I “aged.” You can find them at How to Make Vintage Garden Pots.

Outdoor Entertaining

If I can set a table anywhere, you know I will! I created a small dinner setting on the backside of the island. Below are the links for the rattan placemats, cream wood chargers, green wine glasses, clear water glasses, black and white plates, and napkins.

If you consider installing an outdoor kitchen, a prep sink is a great addition. Ours is small but works perfectly. Our island is 9′ long, and the back barbecue island is 8′ long. The eating counter is 20″ wide, and the prep counter is 24″ wide.

I love styling the outdoor kitchen island with items from inside our home. Why not bring the indoors outside when you entertain?

If you don’t have an outdoor kitchen, add an outdoor island or a vintage piece and create your own! Even vintage potting sheds make perfect outdoor kitchens.

Why not set up an outdoor kitchen bar, too?

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I will call some friends and have a little dinner party outside, as the weather is warming up this week.

I would love to know what you think of our outdoor kitchen. It is very well-used, and I am so happy with its look and style.

My Favorite Outdoor Entertaining Must Haves!

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I will be sharing a fun California barbecue dinner soon! If you have any great barbecue recipes, please share them with me!

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