Outdoor kitchen design & feature suggestions (pic heavy)

DeltaNu1142

We're putting together our plans to build a small pool and outdoor kitchen this year. I've met with a couple of pool contractors for the pool & screened enclosure, and last week I visited the Outdoor Kitchen Store in Tampa (love these guys) to help with kitchen design. We've got some ideas put together, and I've searched these forums thoroughly, I think, but I know enough to know I don't know everything.

An overview of the outdoor area; I figure it's relevant, but if it's boring, just skip to the kitchen stuff. I promise won't be in the least bit offended...!

The Pool

The pool will need to come first, to put down the extended slab and the screened enclosure. Here's a rendering we received from the pool guy:


Top is west. The covered area in the top of the rendering is where we want the kitchen. Water, NG, and electrical are all along that west exterior wall of the house (facing away), so that's fortunate.

Here's the existing floor plan; west is left:



Red shows the existing slab and enclosure. Green shows the new slab and enclosure. The pool is, uh, blue, and one idea for the countertops is shown in a darker blue. All of that area shown in red is under an existing roof as shown in the rendering. Here's another idea for the countertops, just a variation that pushes the fixed seating out further for better view of the pool:



The area between the red & green lines will be under the screened enclosure, but otherwise unprotected. It's on the north side of our 2-story house and doesn't get much sun.

The Kitchen

Here are the basic features I'm looking for in a kitchen:

• XL BGE (upgrade from my existing Large)
• Sink with french drain
• NG grill... or possibly a griddle?
• Refrigerator/kegerator combo
• Ice tray (not ice maker, probably)
• Storage for: trash, lump, grates, platesetter, maybe a shop vac

For an actual photo of the location--where my existing BGE table sits--click the link in my signature. Nothing added to the floor plan above is to scale... just doodles, until we meet with the kitchen contractor. And none of the placements are set in stone, either, just what we're thinking now. The BGE position is at the suggestion of the store, and I trust their input. Some other considerations:

• Cable management for probes, fan power, and pit controller (maybe PVC tubes between lower sections)
• Coverable opening above a trash for dumping waste
• TV on the south wall

TL;DR: I'm looking for any input from anyone who has gone down this road and has a great outdoor kitchen feature that they love, or hate, or some combination. Suggestions on anything I've mentioned or anything I haven't are welcome! We have lots of time, and we don't even have a date yet to begin pool construction. Thanks in advance!

Eggcelsior

I like the bumped out countertop in case of situations where little kids are swimming. The adult can still have "adult time" while watching the cherubs. It also makes the area feel a bit more open. If shade cover is an issue, you could always do a retractable awning.

Thatgrimguy

I have my xl egg in a corner like that and love it. 

badinfluence

If it were me spending the amount you are fixing to by golly there WOULD be a brick oven for pizza and bread. I don't know what you like to cook though, so I'm just saying that would be on my wish list.

DeltaNu1142

badinfluence said:

If it were me spending the amount you are fixing to by golly there WOULD be a brick oven for pizza and bread. I don't know what you like to cook though, so I'm just saying that would be on my wish list.

If I thought I'd use it a lot, I probably would, but I really don't cook pizza enough... only twice in almost two years of Egg ownership. I can't justify the extra cost and space. Good thought, though.

DeltaNu1142

Maybe this...