Outdoor kitchens around St. Louis take backyard fun to the next level

Outdoor kitchens can include any combination of amenities, from built-in grills and cooktops to outdoor sinks, refrigerators, pizza ovens, wet bars, and more. According to Bob Lovatt, owner and chief operating officer of Pointer Landscape in Ballwin, it all depends on your budget and how you plan to use the space. He works with local clients to incorporate outdoor kitchens into their backyard entertainment areas.

“What I ask is, 'Is this a grilling space Monday through Friday, or do you want to surround the space and spend the weekend with your buddies?'” That helps determine positioning on the patio. ” he says. “When we design these, we want them to be as close to the indoor kitchen as possible.”

If your goal is to grill with your family during the week, Lovat says, outdoor kitchens tend to be closer, more convenient, and smaller. If you're hosting a large group over the weekend, proximity to an indoor kitchen is more important than providing space for both cooking and gathering.

“When you have company, Lovatt says, it's like sitting around a kitchen island indoors.” “People tend to congregate in the kitchen.” You can create the same thing anywhere it makes sense for your project, including on attached structures. ”

When Anna and Matt Buchstaber were building their custom Radue home in 2021, they wanted to spend as much time outdoors as possible with their three young children. In addition to a large swimming pool, it also included an outdoor living/dining room with a retractable screen wall to keep out bugs and an adjacent outdoor kitchen.

“We love grilling, so we wanted to install a large grill that could fit a lot of things at once and cook quickly, easily and effectively,” says Anna. “We also love making side dishes, so we set up a double skillet that can hold two frying pans on one side, and the other side of the grill has two rings, one inside and one outside, for woks or larger pots. We have a mechanism in place. If we had soup, we could have soup, garnishes, sauces, and all the meat on the grill.”

To prepare full-fledged meals, the Buchstabels added a sink and plenty of counter space, as well as a small built-in refrigerator under the grill to store meats, vegetables, and additional beverages.

“If the kids are going swimming and we're hanging out outside, I'll cook outside and Matt will grill outside,” says Anna. “In the summer, we always use the pool, so we like to cook in that room, watch people swim in the pool, play music, and feel the fresh air outside. It's very nice. Cooking indoors changes the scenery. ”

When it comes to built-in grills, Lovatt says Pointer primarily installs 32- to 34-inch models, as well as slightly more on-trend smokers and flat-top griddles. If budget is not an issue, he says some people may choose to incorporate other more luxurious elements, such as a pizza oven, a granite countertop fire table, or a covered structure.

When Andy Arnold returned to his hometown of St. Louis in 2016 after living in Los Angeles for 15 years, he purchased a historic Italian villa-style home in the Central West End. In updating his original indoor kitchen, he kept its square footage small and built a gorgeous full outdoor kitchen and living room poolside in the spacious backyard that spans two properties.

“I wanted to expand on the traditional kitchen I had in my old house. I always serve food outside, but when I'm alone I just grill and eat outside,” Arnold says. “Coming from California, everyone enjoys being outside. I try to be outside in every capacity.”

His outdoor kitchen includes a built-in pizza oven with gas ignition, built-in grill with storage underneath, sink with garbage disposal, refrigerator, and ice maker. He bridged the outdoor kitchen and covered the outdoor living room with a built-in stone fire pit with a gas igniter. The cohesive outdoor spaces are finished with stone and tiles in varying shades of gray.

Although Arnold's outdoor kitchens are more of a luxury, Lovatt says budgets for outdoor kitchens can vary widely depending on electricity and water needs, equipment and materials used. “You probably can't build an outdoor kitchen for less than $8,000 to $10,000. We built it for $40,000 to $50,000,” he says.

Those on a budget but with the skills may consider a DIY approach. Frequent rehabbers Tamara and Kevin McCarthy recently completed a rustic outdoor kitchen and living area connected to his 1890s carriage house in the backyard of their Southwest Gardens home.

The carriage house, which is now a garage, has an addition and was previously closed off, filled with wood and used as a workshop by its previous owners. They began by covering the roof of the carriage house and opening it up on both sides, leaving the exterior brick exposed. After pouring a concrete floor, Kevin created a covered outdoor living room by handcrafting furniture, including a low sofa and large dining table, using wood salvaged from the building.

Adding an outdoor kitchen was the second phase. Designer Tamara, who hunts for second-hand items and bargains, scored a vintage concrete utility sink on Facebook Marketplace. The McCarthys installed a sink, a concrete countertop and a bar around which the family can sit. Another open shelf made from salvaged boards holds vintage ceramic bowls that belonged to Tamara's grandmother, as well as tableware and glassware used outdoors on a daily basis.

On the shelf, Tamara made a DIY hanging project by combining a steel-framed globe she found at the Habitat for Humanity Restore with a regular steel bird feeder hook attached to a brick wall. I made a hanging lantern fixture. Kevin wired them with rope cord to complete the look.

“I love mixing rustic, vintage and modern,” Tamara says of her signature style.

After much discussion, the McCarthys chose a flat-top griddle over a traditional grill, allowing them to create a variety of dishes from smash burgers to chicken, fajitas, pizza, and even breakfast pancakes. I did. “We cook everything here,” Kevin says.

A hot tub and wall-mounted TV were installed in the corner between the kitchen and living area to create a luxurious feel. Families spend most of their free time enjoying the space together or with friends.

“It's a dream come true,” Tamara said.