As I write this, my “Beach House” Pinterest board has exactly 1,323 images saved in 44 different sections. There is a whole folder reserved for “kitchen equipment”. Another one called “vibes???” that’s exactly what it sounds like. Six years of planning and permitting for our beach house renovation gives you LOTS of time to make decisions, then redo those decisions as you discover new ideas and your tastes inevitably evolve.
But despite all this obsessive research, there was one area where my picture was pretty blank: the outdoor kitchen.
I knew what I saw when I imagined it: an organic, earthy space where we would circulate between the prep area, the grill and the pizza oven. Where the materials told a story: teak weathered by the salt air, terracotta tiles that seemed to have been there for decades, stucco walls that connected everything to the landscape. Where the inspiration was equal parts Majorcan cuisine and a long weekend in Oaxaca.
What did my research reveal? The complete opposite of that. So many outdoor kitchens that looked like a carbon copy of the previous one: stainless steel appliances, polished concrete and brick that was just a little too perfect. Many of them were pretty, but styled within an inch of their life (in a way that made it look like the grill had never been lit).
SO…Adam and I did what we always do when designing a space. We turned to our camera roll to start drawing from inspiration photos we had taken on our travels.
Our visual references
We’ve gone through years of iPhone photos from travels. There were meals eaten at long wooden tables in dusty courtyards, kitchens tiled in patterns we had photographed through restaurant windows, and pizza ovens glowing orange at dusk. We drew lines on napkins. We put together a reference file that was half travel notebook, half mood board, and gave it to our landscape architect, Michael Fiorewho received it immediately.
What’s taking shape is a space unlike anything I’ve seen before (which is always the goal).
So what are we actually building?
The outdoor kitchen will feature three main structures working together: a full workspace housing our grill, a separate station for the pizza oven, and a central bar-height teak table that brings the entire space together. This table does a lot of work in this design. It’s the gathering place, the extra prep surface, the build-your-own-pizza station during the holidays, and, honestly, probably the place where everyone will end up sitting with a glass of wine while Adam grills.
One of my favorite details that you can see in the renderings: the Clay Imports terracotta brick underfoot, laid in a herringbone pattern that gives the whole space a warm, sunny feel. There’s nothing like terracotta to make a space feel lived in and loved from day one.
The kitchen will also be connected directly to the interior kitchen via a huge sliding glass window, meaning there will be an exterior counter serving as a walk-through. I keep imagining serving trays passing through the window, or simply posted on a bar stool with a drink while the pizza comes out of the oven. The line between inside and outside is going to be beautifully, intentionally blurred.
The grill we chose (and why)
We install a Powerful double flame grilland I will just say that it is without a doubt the prettiest grill I have ever seen. German-designed infrared technology, individual cooking and heating zones, which is truly essential when you’re trying to grill an entire meal at once. (Basically what we do every weekend.) The built-in gas grill will be fully integrated into the countertop design to give it a truly personalized look. Which, if you’ve been following along, you know is exactly the vibe we’re going for.
The tile that started it all
When we were in Mexico a few years ago, I took a photo of this small restaurant kitchen whose counter and backsplash were covered in terra cotta tiles. It was one of those moments where I stood there absorbing every detail so I wouldn’t forget it. I have referenced this photo more times than I can count when planning this space.
So for the backsplash behind the grill, we’re working with our friends at Clay Imports to use their Antique matte terracotta tiles 2.5×8. They have this gorgeous warmth and slight texture that you can see even in renderings, catching the light differently throughout the day, making the whole wall feel handmade in the best way possible. This is the element which, in my opinion, will give the kitchen its true signature.
The pizza oven situation
Okay, This is the part I’ve been dreaming about since we started talking about this house. We ordered a DIY kit from Forno Piombo to build a large custom wood fired pizza oven, large enough to cook 3 or 4 pizzas simultaneously. (Read: real pizza evenings occur.) We will install it on the counter and build a dome with a smooth stucco roof for that rustic Italian farmhouse look. You can already see it in the renderings: that glowing arch, right there, like it belongs in the Italian countryside.
The detail that will do everything
In the center of the space we plant a large ornamental olive tree. It’s the thing I’ll look at from my kitchen window every morning. Just a perfect, gnarled, ancient olive tree in the middle of a Mediterranean garden, with lavender drifting around the edges and terracotta pots of herbs and small citrus fruits scattered everywhere, so I can literally grab a handful of rosemary or squeeze a lemon straight from the tree while I cook.
Looking at these renderings, the table set under that canopy of branches, the bowl of lemons sitting there, the lavender in full bloom in the foreground, it already looks like the space I’ve been trying to find on Pinterest for six years. Turns out it didn’t exist yet, so we’re making it happen.
Construction is progressing quickly and we plan to complete it in June. Which means we have a big outdoor kitchen coming up this summer! More soon.
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