Outdoor Kitchen - Part II

I met with my outdoor kitchen client last weekend, and presented my design for her new outdoor kitchen!  I also was able to see the landscape plan, which was completed by RedTree Landscape Design out of Fort Mill, SC.  It was amazing.  I was in awe of all of the beautiful plantings, trees, and hardscaping that the designer has planned for the yard, which is now just a green grassy expanse.  The elements and principles of design are basically the same between interior design and landscape design (consideration of scale, proportion, balance, space, texture, color, etc.), but it's the execution and the tools that differ significantly.  Regardless, I have little experience with landscape design and am so appreciative of their talent and abilities!

Photo courtesy of RedTree Landscape Design

 Now onto the kitchen!  For those of you who are spatially oriented, the first drawing shows the floorplan of the space.

The space divides up nicely into entertaining areas (bars), lounging areas, and grilling/food prep areas.  In the landscape plan, the designers proposed some raised beds and climbing vines along this bottom corner, adjacent to the grill area.   Supposedly there are some shade-loving plants that will thrive in that space, as long as they are well-irrigated.  They also proposed a water feature against the blank wall that is to the left of the daybed.  Brillant ideas! I think it will really break up all of the hard surfaces and sharp edges in this space and better integrate it into the overall landscape.  

In last weeks post, I mentioned that I wanted to replace the brick pillars with columns and add symmetrical bar areas on either side of the fireplace.  Here's a sketch illustrating my idea, which shows an elevation of the bar area as seen from the pool:

The client desired a 'lush, Charleston-inspired garden' that also incorporates some Asian sculpture and art that she had collected on her travels.  With those 2 themes in mind, I kept the lines clean and simple (alas, my hallmark) with some lowcountry elements like the louvered panels and replica gas lanterns above the bar area.  Here's a picture of the lights from Lowcountry Lighting Originals, which I love for their simplicity and great design:

Photo courtesy of Lowcountry Lighting Originals

Here's the same elevation, but from the porch.  Notice that the bar area on the left will be primarily for serving, whereas the bar area on the right I foresee as being more of the 'working' bar, with the sink and beverage center:

The grill area is off in an area on it's own, which is perfect, since you don't want to be a) dodging guests with a steaming hot tenderloin or b) worried about smoking the guests as well as the meat.  

 You may notice in the upper right hand corner of this last sketch, that I added an interesting antique architectural corbel.  Since I did not want to replicate the louvered panels over the grill (since we need all the venilation we can get), I thought a soft, curved line to juxtapose all of the angular lines would add some visual interest. 

Lastly, my client requested a prep area and serving area like an island, but 'a little quirky'.  I designed this  table, which is inspired by all of those beautiful red wooden bridges that are so common in traditional japanese gardens:

 The tabletop is wrapped in copper, which is a food-grade material (think antique french copper pots) and it will patina to a finish that only grows more beautiful with use and age.  

I hope you enjoyed reading about my outdoor kitchen project.  I hope that by the end of the summer I'll be able to share photographs of the finished product.

Thanks for reading,

Bronwyn