Decks, porches, and other outdoor spaces have long been a major focus for home improvement projects. One major trend that more DC Metro and Virginia homeowners are chasing is having an outdoor cooking space. It’s true that outdoor kitchens are perfect for entertaining family and friends, since they give you the advantage of not having to be inside to cook.

The tools are available now to cook a full chef’s kitchen quality meal on your deck! There are actually quite a few advantages to outdoor kitchens, and not just as a perfect entertaining space for the summer.

Having an outdoor kitchen is actually good for your cooling costs, as well. Especially during the hotter months, having the natural ventilation of an outdoor kitchen means you’re not heating up the interior of your home with cooking. This can save you hundreds of dollars, or even more if you’re a regular cook, in cooling costs. So now, you don’t just have to grill barbecued meals. With a proper outdoor kitchen with concrete or natural stone counters, you can cook any meal that you like since you can have the prep space. Many propane grills can act just like stoves. You can bake many things on your grill, too. One of the main reasons people eat out in the hotter months is because it’s simply too hot to cook. This greatly relieves you from having to prepare a meal in what feels like the middle of a volcano. It can save you from eating out and saving you hundreds, if not thousands of dollars, in the summer.

Another great thing is that there are entire outdoor kitchen appliance lines available today. They aren’t even all that expensive when compared to typical kitchen appliances. You can have the same quality of kitchen outdoors that you already have indoors. You can have an outdoor kitchen equipped with as little as a grill and fridge to covered patio or deck areas with multilevel islands including stoves and ranges.

While outdoor kitchens in the DC Metro and Virginia areas can be certainly built to be very expensive, they don’t have to be. You may have seen some outdoor kitchens are equipped with pizza ovens, which can be very pricey. But there exist things called “pizza fire pits” that can be purchased for around $100. There are also pizza oven conversion kits available for $100-200. There are pizza stones for the grill that work well, too. Tuck one of these away in your outdoor kitchen and never have to order out for pizza again.

As outdoor living spaces become more popular, the need for convenient access to refreshments and quickly prepared meals is more important than ever. No more having to run back in the house for a beverage and no longer a need for as big a cooler or huge bags of ice. Then again, beverages from an ice-cold cooler have their own appeal, don’t they? Still, having an outdoor fridge is definitely handy. That way you don’t run out of room in your regular fridge for food items that you need to get refrigerated before cooking.

City Renovations is a well established and respected DC Remodeling and Home Improvement firm. Thinking about a project? Contact City Renovations Today!