Stunning Outdoor Kitchen with Pergola Ideas for Your Backyard Retreat
What is an Outdoor Kitchen Pergola?
Outdoor kitchens have certainly taken outdoor backyards by storm over the last several years. With its popularity growing, more people are asking the questions when looking into an outdoor renovation "What is an outdoor kitchen pergola" and "Why do I need one?" Outdoor kitchen pergolas are really what the name infers. A pergola specifically designed to protect your kitchen hardware from the outdoor elements, but also withstand the heat and smoke that outdoor kitchens can create!
Why do you need one?
Well, do you like getting rained on while cooking in our non-pergola-covered outdoor kitchen? Never rains there? Then it must be sunny and hot often. A pergola is another great way to protect yourself from the barren heat that our wonderful star in the sky can make. Now what do you think? Interested still? Not convinced? Well let's dive into the benefits some more shall we?
Benefits of an Outdoor Kitchen Pergola
Outdoor Kitchens themselves bring a tremendous upgrade to the usability of an outdoor space. Giving you more room to prepare meals, store meals, and serve meals for guests! When adding an outdoor shade structure to the space, you need to think of how that cover benefits the area. If you really want the best bang for your buck, I highly recommend seeking a louvered pergola as your outdoor structure.
Rain or shine you are in control
With a louvered pergola, you don't have to check the weather to make sure it won't rain on your parade when grilling up and preparing a meal for the ages with your family. No, you can simply plan your ingredients and spices and focus on your meal. Because if that rain were to come, you will be living comfortably knowing you can at a press of a button close the water tight louvers and allow that water to channel into your drainage post and wash away those fears. (did I say drainage post? we will touch on that later.) Let's assume you want that sunlight to come in, it's a beautiful day out and you hear the birds chirping. You don't want to be hidden in the shade, open those louvers and feel that tremendous updraft keep you nice and cool underneath the space while you make the best meal anyone on your street has ever made.
Design Considerations for an Outdoor Kitchen Pergola
Size and Scale
Determining the size of the pergola you are putting in first requires us to understand the size of the space we have to work with. When looking at the space the pergola will go into, we should also consider what we will be using the space for. If this pergola space will be an outdoor kitchen we should consider having room to move around in and prepare the meals that will be cooked.
No one wants to be cramped carrying hot food!
Depending on how much space you are working with, you may be able to look into a super pergola design with a split bay for a table or lounging while the other side is intended more for the chef! Consider colors for the frame and louvers when you're inspecting your space. Do you want to match house colors? Or maybe match your house trim, which is another popular consideration.
Materials and Durability
Are you wanting to put this up once and be done? or are you potentially looking to remodel again in 10 years? This is something to consider when investing in wood, or vinyl pergolas. Aluminum is a more durable, longer-lasting material. I would consider the permanence of a Luxury Pergola product.
More durable materials directly can translate into longer-lasting structures.
Which is why most people chose aluminum. At The Luxury Pergola, all of our pergolas will be aluminum both with the frame and the louvers giving you peace at mind with the longevity of your next outdoor structure.
Color Choices
Think about how proud and solid this structure would be. Do you want a nice solid profile all with one color? Maybe all black, white, or bronze. Or you could consider giving the louvers (roof) a different color, creating a beautiful blend from frame to louvers with a lighter color ceiling. Considering the maintenance and upkeep of the materials, you will find that aluminum is much easier to maintain and keep pristine than alternatives. Vinyl has a tendency to fade color over time.
Outdoor Kitchen Pergola Styles and Ideas
Pergolas can be built in various different styles or materials, including vinyl, traditional wood, or timber frame alternatively from aluminum. If you are considering a low-budget product, you may lean towards a vinyl design. However, if you are looking to entirely transform the use and appeal of your outdoor space. It is hard to beat aluminum.
Budget-friendly or not
This decision does come down to a budget question, followed by how long you intend to use this space. This is arguably the most important part of the decision process. The longer-lasting, and cost-effective option would hands down be aluminum. When considering upkeep for wood to make it last longer than 10 years, upkeep is costly both with time and money. Vinyl is next to impossible to fix after issues arise.
The cost of wood after the fact
Wood does have the tendency to rot. Unfortunately with winter to summer temperatures, this is something that can lead to cracking in the frame due to water getting into the wood and expanding. So waterproofing and sealing your wooden pergola will need to be a consistent upkeep task to maintain the lifespan of this type of pergola in wood.
The cost of aluminum
With aluminum, this will not be the case. This is one reason of the popular choice being aluminum. You have little to no maintenance. At most, if dust or dirt were to get on the frame or louvers you can take a hose or damp rag and clean off most easily and within minutes have a pristine good as new pergola for your enjoyment with friends and family!
Creating the Perfect Outdoor Space
You are clearly off to a good start if you're this far into the reading here. Making the right decision does have its research tied into an outdoor kitchen for sure. But with the right planning, considerations, and questions asked to pergola professionals you will be sitting under your next proud purchase in no time!
What else is going in the space?
Have you considered adding furniture to the space? Earlier we brought up the idea that if you have enough space for more than just a pergola over your cooking area, maybe you can include a lounge space or a dining table. This would enhance the already amazing space even more! Think about the style and functionality you want to achieve. Do you believe adding a table and chairs for the whole party to sit at while you cook and serve dinner is an upgrade?
Outdoor Kitchen Pergola Construction Options
Let us think on the installation of this pergola for your space. Now that we have settled on a design we need to have a plan on how it will be built! You ultimately have two options for this part. Build it yourself, or hire a professional. Let's consider the difficulty here. Below is a link to our installation video giving you great insight on what goes into installing these shade structures.
Install Video
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Do you consider yourself handy? This may be a project you can take on with some help from friends or family. We do recommend having at least 2 people when installing our pergola kit. Maybe you aren't as handy as need be, or maybe you don't have time. While both mean you may need to seek some assistance with this install process! You are always welcome to reach out to us here and we would be able to find you a local installer than can help build your dream backyard space.
Outdoor Kitchen Pergola Maintenance and Upkeep
Regular maintenance will be needed. You will have just your typical maintenance for a kitchen. Cleaning the counter space, grill station, maybe even the pizza oven. Aside from the common cleaning, which will be a majority of the cleaning as the pergola itself is very low maintenance.
Outdoor Kitchen Pergola Safety Considerations
Follow the installation guide for your structure. Ensuring that you install according to proven methods will result in a successful installation at a great pace! Properly fastening the pergola down to the required footings will allow your pergola to achieve its maximum wind load capabilities!
Shocking truths about the electrical!
Consider your electrical outlet that you are powering the pergola with. Make sure this is a safe, well grounded connection that has the correct amperage to support the pergola. consider local building codes with this as well. The good new is that our pergolas do not require any special attention with the electrical. We make things easy for you here at The Luxury Pergola.
We take a step out for you
By pre-building an electrical box with all the complicated stuff, all you will need to do is connect the motor to the electrical box and plug it right into a standard 120v outlet. Consider the shared connections on that line. Our motor runs 3 amps at peak!
Budgeting and Planning for an Outdoor Kitchen Pergola
Let's talk about budgeting for this project. Determine the budget you are comfortable spending on this project. Consider if there are any other things you will want done aside from just the pergola. (landscaping, new electrical, maybe a new paver patio)After building out the total cost of the projects and the space you have to work with you can now begin to determine the validity of what you are looking to do within the budget. Next, we need to consider the cost of labor. If you are installing this yourself, you just saved a great chunk of change!
DIY Outdoor Kitchen Pergola Projects
Considering The Luxury Pergola would be considering a DIY pergola kit. These styles of pergolas are available in a wide variety online. You are already slashing costs by being a pre-cut pergola as the install side of things moves much quicker without having to measure every peace to cut before installing. If you were to go with a traditional wood build, you would need to consider that concept in the time it takes to build compared to a pre-cut kit.
Professional Installation of an Outdoor Kitchen Pergola
Hiring a professional team for a custom design and installation can get quite costly quickly. When considering the materials, labor, and overhead that they will be passing to you. This is where a kit cuts most of its cost. If you buy a kit, the cost of materials and labor are greatly reduced. Giving you more money to spread out around other parts of the project. Get multiple quotes and compare prices with contractors when considering an installer for your kit.
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