The outdoor kitchen was probably invented not long after people realized they could live in caves. Cavemen didn’t need high school educations to appreciate the advantages of grilling mastodon steaks outside, which kept their caves cooler and significantly less smoky.
Now that we live in proper houses, we can expect even more benefits from our outdoor kitchens. Here are five reasons why you should add a countertop and a few other permanent features to your current grilling area!
Lower Energy Bills
The more heat you generate inside your home, the harder your air conditioning system must work in order to compensate for it. In fairness, the savings you can expect by switching to an outdoor kitchen aren’t enormous: approximately $20 to $50 per month, depending on how frequently you cook outside. Still, that means you can reasonably expect to save about $150 a year if you only cook outside during the summer months!
Cooking outdoors will also reduce your family’s exposure to harmful pollutants. Natural gas produces carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide and formaldehyde during combustion. Although electric stoves don’t emit noxious gasses on their own, burning any amount of fat will expose you to fumes that aren’t conducive to good health.
More Living and Entertaining Space
We are certain you have a lovely home in which you can take refuge from the world. But is there such a thing as too much of a good thing? Possibly, but more living space is not one of them. Additional square footage for rest and relaxation means you’ll enjoy more varied quality time with your family!
And don’t forget the hospitality element of outdoor kitchens. Your guests will love kicking back on your deck or patio while you fix them up a delicious feed in your outdoor kitchen. It’s a much more hospitable way to cater a summer gathering.
Increased Home Value
You’re not the only one who will appreciate your outdoor kitchen. The next people who own your home will love it, too! An outdoor kitchen can easily have a 100% return on investment. That means you can reasonably expect to recoup all of the money you spend on an outdoor kitchen should you ever decide to sell your home. You may even make a profit!
Note that not all outdoor kitchen features represent equal investments. Adding surfaces on which you can prepare food – especially durable and aesthetically pleasing granite or quartz countertops – is a rock-solid move. So too is adding a firepit, sink and outdoor refrigerator. But niche outdoor kitchen features such as wood-burning pizza ovens aren’t likely to appeal to a large number of potential homebuyers.
Tastier and Healthier Food
Grilled food is scientifically proven to taste better. When food is seared to temperatures between 280 and 330 °F, the Maillard reaction takes place. It is the chemical reaction between amino acids and sugars that makes food taste and smell great – the reason why barbecue stands supreme among all culinary disciplines.
But grilled foods don’t just taste amazing. They are also lower in fat and calories than foods that were prepared with cooking oil, which makes them easier on the waistline as well!
More Time Outdoors
It doesn’t take a poet to convince you that the great outdoors are precisely that – great. Beautiful days in Minnesota and Wisconsin are far too few to be squandered inside. When you have an outdoor kitchen, you’ll be able to enjoy the natural beauty of your backyard even while you’re performing the routine chore of cooking!
And let us not overlook the health benefits of enjoying time outside. Spending time outdoors can improve anyone’s overall health and wellness (even if a mosquito or two tries to interfere with the experience). Studies have shown that being outdoors reduces stress, cortisol levels, heart rate and muscle tension – each a risk factor for heart disease.
Are you designing an outdoor kitchen in the greater Hudson, WI area? Contact Gallery 77 today! We’ll make sure your project starts off on the right foot by recommending the best countertops for outdoor kitchens, and we’ll fabricate and install those countertops so they fit perfectly into your new little piece of backyard paradise.
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