An Outside Kitchen?
20 July 2019
AN Outside kitchen?
The kitchen is one of the major selling features of the house, so why not of the garden too?
To turn your garden into your favourite eatery, simply create a stylish dining area with ‘units’ and hot spots for cooking, so that the chief cook and bottle washer can join in the fun outdoors whilst preparing a culinary feast.
Daring designs for dinner
Until recently the ultimate garden must-have was the classic-shaped barbecue with a domed lid.
Not any more though!
Now the trend is to invest in making an impressive statement. The 'must have' built-in barbecue stove, charcoal grill and burners, a handy sink, space for a fridge and decadent counter-top to make food prep fun is the order of the day.
With new outdoor kitchen designed to cook mountains of food, the creation of the patio and the materials used to build it has never been more important.
Pavestone have you covered for just such a project and offer a range of high-quality contemporary materials that can be installed at home to create your dream outdoor kitchen.
For the walls there is Moodul Walling, a flexible system of building blocks that make constructing anything from a simple wall, raised beds, fire pit, seating and benches, to a complete outdoor room. All as easy as child’s play!
Blocks are simply arranged and quickly stacked allowing them to be moved and redesigned from season to season and to suit your growing family needs. Only when walls are built over 1m in height is it necessary to use mortar and consider reinforcing rods. Moodul walling looks sleek and modern and is the ultimate user-friendly material to bring your outdoor kitchen to life.
Pavestone’s Slate Stack wall cladding is another innovation that allows you to transform your garden and bring it bang up to date without the prohibitive cost of a massive build.
Use it to give boring old brick walls a new look. If you want to give your patio a complete makeover then partner the porcelain cladding with porcelain patio paving, which like all other Pavestone products, will stay looking as fresh and clean as the day it was installed.
If you don’t have any existing walls then don't despair, you can still create a stylish outdoor room by using a base of less expensive building blocks and then cladding them with the authentic blue/black or rusty coloured slate cladding.
Doing this will allow you to create an ‘outdoor room’ in the most convenient spot, which is usually close to the kitchen indoors taking into consideration sun exposure too. Building new walls will also allow you to create a sheltered and secluded retreat for entertaining after dark.
Crosswood porcelain paving has a contemporary rustic charm that doesn’t fade, come rain or shine. Resembling natural wood, this is actually a porcelain product so it boasts the versatility of a more resilient material. It has an anti-slip surface and the slabs are impervious to all liquids including wine when used in conjunction with the recommended easy-clean waterproof grout.
For a more modern style flooring there is the Discovery range, which are larger size pavers that come in two stone colour tones with a light textured finish. The edges are also perfectly vertical, allowing you to create a seamless paving surface over a large area. Take a tip from pro designers and choose paving slabs in a muted colour and add flowing curves using the same slabs to achieve a stylish finish.
If you prefer the riven surface of natural stone, go with ‘Brazilian Rio’ slate for a pristine and flush flooring that really makes your garden furniture and patio pots pop in contrast. Or, for a lighter hue of natural paving, turn to the sandy tones of ‘Golden Fossil’ sandstone to give a warmer feel to hard landscaping—perfect for cosy alfresco dining.
Even in the smallest garden, there’s usually room to relax so make use of air space for hanging baskets filled with ready-to-pick edible snacks such as strawberries, ‘Tumbler’ trailing tomatoes and peppery-leaved nasturtiums.
Keep bugs at bay by burning citronella candles or, if you don’t want an open flame, Nepeta cataria (catnip) is also said to deter flying insects.
Other repelling herbs to dot around your outdoor kitchen are Lavender and Tansy. Also flowering plants Marigold and Pyrethrum can also be planted up near to the seating areas as these will also help to keep the area clear from pests and to leave you and your guest less stressed and ready to party!
David Domoney's Garden & Landscaping Tips & Pavestone's news articles are posted regularly, every few days, in the News & Blogs section of the Pavestone website. Follow David's tips and the hot news from Britain's favourite landscaping brand by following us on Facebook and Twitter.
