Outdoor Kitchen Buying Guide

Outdoor cooking, barbecues, and alfresco dining are a great way to spend time with loved ones, no matter what season. Imagine backyard cricket and a sausage sizzle during the Australian summer, or a weekend wind-down with a glass of wine in the winter; your outdoor kitchen is not only an extension but a central part of your home. A thoughtfully designed outdoor area also adds value to your home, while offering large and growing families additional space to cook, eat, and relax in.

Figuring out what you need for your outdoor space can be tricky so we’ve made it easy to shop at Appliances Online by highlighting outdoor kitchen essentials and offering tips to make your alfresco dining area and outdoor BBQ the best in the neighbourhood.

You can transform a portion of your patio or backyard into an outdoor kitchen to offer a convenient solution for those who love to entertain and barbecue. An outdoor kitchen has similar features you’ll find in an indoor kitchen such as a place to cook and wash. But instead of a cooktop, you have a barbecue and instead of a regular refrigerator, you can have an outdoor beverage centre that is more suited for entertaining.

These appliances are also designed to withstand the great outdoors so they’re built with corrosion-resistant materials such as stainless steel. The main function of an appliance is also augmented for the outside environment such as a rangehood with a powerful exhaust or a patio heater to warm you up quickly during winter nights.

You can begin to design your dream outdoor space with kitchen modules. These may include a sink, cabinet, metal drawer, side burner, outdoor benchtop, and even a built-in barbecue or beverage fridge. These can come together or separately so you can mix and match and configure your kitchen based on your preferences and the available space you have. 

You can shop our range of outdoor kitchen modules and get ready to entertain or serve up your next family feast al fresco.

The heart and soul of the outdoor kitchen is the BBQ. The barbecue space is where people gather, socialise, and put the skills of the chef on display. Grill masters can experiment with new recipes and cooking methods, or cook up beloved classics. Whether you are after a built-in unit, freestanding unit, or something completely different like a charcoal kamado or smoker, the BBQ is sure to be the centrepiece of any outdoor kitchen.

If you want a more traditional style of BBQ or grill, it's a good idea to take note of how many burners a particular model utilises. Essentially the burners divide your grill into separate cooking zones, for precise heat control. If you tend to cook for more people or an abundance of different foods, you may want to look for a BBQ with more burners, such as the Beefeater Signature 5 Burner BBQ.

It's also important to ensure you pick up a proper BBQ cover for your BBQ, whether it's a charcoal BBQ or built-in BBQ. Even though your new outdoor kitchen may be undercover, it can still be subjected to the elements. 

One of the best things about the temperate Australian winter is that you can still enjoy alfresco dining and barbecues during the cooler months. All you need is an outdoor heater to keep your alfresco area warm and cosy.

A gas-fuelled outdoor patio heater warms up your space with radiant heat. This makes it an ideal option for alfresco areas as it focuses the heat in a specific area so you and your loved ones can snuggle up. However, you need to consider height restrictions to ensure a freestanding patio heater fits nicely in your home. Another option that brings people together is the fire pit. You can gather friends and family around as you enjoy a beverage or a meal. A gas outdoor fire pit also provides frolicking flames to create a warm and inviting ambience.

For an in-depth look at our range of heating solutions, you can read our Outdoor Heating Buying Guide.

Installing a rangehood in your outdoor kitchen is a practical way to keep your cooking area free from excess smoke, grease, and smell. These rangehoods are built with a powerful exhaust, designed specifically for outdoor use. This appliance prevents cooking vapours from drifting indoors and enables breezy entertaining. They also keep your neighbours happy as it stops smoke from going into their backyard.

The style of your outdoor rangehood should complement your grilling setup and kitchen configuration.

You can read more about the different outdoor rangehoods we have on offer and how to choose the best one for your outdoor kitchen in our Outdoor BBQ Rangehood Buying Guide.

Having a well-designed outdoor kitchen or alfresco dining area is no use when you let it run down. But cleaning and maintaining your patio and outdoor space doesn’t have to be time-consuming or labour-intensive. With the right equipment, you can keep your space spick and span with ease and efficiency.

We have petrol and electric pressure washers to blast away grease after a barbecue or to freshen up your garden features before a big gathering. Leaf blowers and vacuums can keep your patio spotless. And handy helpers like whipper snippers and hedge trimmers will help you maintain an immaculate backyard or alfresco area.

At Appliances Online, we provide a total solution for all your outdoor and alfresco area needs. Shop our extensive range of home maintenance tools to ensure your outdoor space is ready all year round.

Creating the outdoor kitchen of your dreams will be a rewarding experience when it is completed, however, it is important to remember about building requirements and long-term costs such as utilities. One main thing you need to remember in the costing phase is installation. Having the alfresco area may look nice down the back near your favourite tree, or up against the side wall, but you need to consider the cost of connecting your main utilities to that area. As a general rule, the closer you build to your main dwelling or existing utility point, the cheaper the installation will cost.