Outdoor kitchens are a fabulous addition to your home. Just like your indoor kitchen is a gathering place for family and friends, an outdoor entertaining space is even more attractive—you have the benefits of being in the great outdoors while you are entertaining. And, you can spend more time with your guests when you’re all outside together. When you decide to install an outdoor kitchen, you need professional assistance in designing and building your new space. ALD is the premier design/build outdoor kitchen contractor in the Minneapolis metro area.
If you’re not entirely sure what turns a backyard patio and grill into an outdoor kitchen, it’s really pretty simple. An outdoor kitchen is an outside place, usually in your backyard, where you can entertain and prepare meals at the same time. It becomes the focal point of your backyard, expanding your living space to include additional seating or a place for dining, or just a place where you can go to relax or meditate.
Even in Minneapolis, an outdoor kitchen can be an all-season entertaining space just add a fireplace and heaters.
Here at ALD, we focus on helping every customer design and build their dream outdoor kitchen. As we move through the process, we keep your inspiration and budget top of mind from our initial consultation to the last landscape plant going in.
We start with a consultation the first step in turning your dream into a reality. Our kitchen designers are experts, and since our entire team is part of ALD, you can be sure that designers and contractors are aligned in their goals for your new kitchen. This teamwork guarantees a result that you will enjoy for years to come.
Even if you don’t really grill, you’ll still enjoy an extended outdoor living space. Some of our projects begin with a blank slate of a yard, and start from scratch with the design and build. Most of the time, we work with the existing structure of the house such as with a sliding glass door that leads to a patio.
That door can be the entry point for an outdoor living room. Our team will design features that enhance your patio and yard, perhaps a stone wall to create a terrace, or a pergola with a seating area, or landscaped paths out to a firepit. We’ll incorporate additional landscaping elements maybe a fountain, a fireplace, or a fish pond and some creative lighting so that your outdoor space is as comfortable as indoors.
Indoors, everyone congregates in the kitchen. An outside bar has that same magnetic pull as a gathering point, either as part of the outdoor kitchen or as a stand-alone addition. ALD designs bars as simple as a stone countertop, or as complex as a full bar with beer on tap.
Our outdoor kitchen designers are great at incorporating these features into outdoor bars:
A countertop height bar can double as a workspace, or you can opt for the standard bar height for better mingling. Just let our builder know which you prefer, or they’ll be happy to offer advice.
The grill is the mainstay of the outdoor kitchen. ALD outdoor kitchen contractors typically start with the type of grill you want to be installed, determine the best placement, and design the kitchen around that.
A wall closest to the door is the default location since it’s the best route for good flow, but if you’re completely redesigning your backyard, then our team can help you decide where to put the grill for maximum efficiency and aesthetics.
One of the most important things a professional outdoor kitchen builder can do is ensure that the grill is built into an area that is far enough from the house that it’s not a fire hazard.
When you’re investing in an outdoor kitchen, the quality of the grill is paramount. We encourage homeowners to install premium or luxury grade grills, meaning they are built with at least 304-grade commercial stainless steel. Top-of-the-line grills are capable of more precise temperature control and cooking hotter than a lower-grade option. They basically cook like a premium range or oven.
Finally, a premium or luxury grill is safer to use. Most households in the Twin Cities metro area use natural gas in their homes, so running a line out to the grill is easy. Natural gas is cheaper and more energy-efficient than refillable propane tanks.
A lifetime warranty is fairly standard with this type of grill, so keep that in mind when you’re grill shopping. This warranty is handy when it comes to resale since the highest quality grill is right up there with a Meile stove or a Sub-Zero refrigerator.Here are the more popular features that many owners opt to install in their grills.
Pizza lovers, ALD outdoor kitchen builders have several options for an outdoor pizza oven. The best-kept secret about pizza ovens is that they are great for baking and roasting so much more than pizza—bread bakers swear by them, as do home chefs who use theirs to roast meats and veggies.
Our builders at ALD offer these options for a pizza oven:
If you’re concerned that you can only use an outdoor kitchen or living room in the warmer months, ALD outdoor kitchen contractors have some options for heating the space. Patio heaters are a tried and true solution, but if you put a roof over the kitchen, we can build heaters into the ceiling. With a big wood-burning fireplace, you can be cozy outside in all but the most frigid temperatures.
We can make your dreams of an outdoor kitchen come to life, whether you’re installing a living room, a pool, or updating your hardscape and landscaping. Our passion for design and building comes together to ensure you’re getting the best of both in one company.
When you choose ALD for your project, you’ll work with our outdoor kitchen contractors, builders, and designers to determine the configuration, materials, appliances, and finishes. We’re here to make your vision a reality, but we are also realists and will make sure your project is cohesive—that it fits in well with the design of your home and that the landscaping complements the overall appearance. Please contact us to discuss your dreams and options for expanded outdoor living.
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