These outdoor kitchen ideas provide the perfect spot to prep, cook and enjoy a meal or an aperitif during the warm season, whether you are planning your next lunch in the sun or a moonlit dinner.
The outdoor kitchens reimagine gardens and terraces as an extension of our homes, bringing the party outside with a plethora of innovative solutions, cutting edge materials and design compositions to suit any space.
Outdoor kitchen ideas: the Wallpaper* edit
Small outdoor kitchens
In keeping with its mission to enhance outdoor living, Ethimo’s latest launch is a new outdoor kitchen and barbecue created in collaboration with Gordon Guillaumier. The newly launched Phil kitchen aims at simplifying the art of outdoor cooking, with a round design imagined to be nomadic and emphasising a modern approach to entertaining within different outside spaces.
Key Features: The small cylinder only measures 95cm in height and 75cm in diameter, making it ideal to fit in smaller balconies and patios as well as larger gardens. The metal structure is available in olive green and sepia black, and can be configured as a barbecue, induction hob or sink (with the possibility of combining them in a more complete outdoor kitchen offering). Guillaumier’s design combines all main kitchen elements within a small, ergonomic structure, with a soft design that is functional yet sturdy and portable.
Italian brand Very Simple Kitchen has over the years perfected a single kitchen design that, as the brand name suggests, is based on a minimal, flexible design. Made of stainless steel and based on lightweight modular elements, each kitchen can be tailored to suit specific needs and space limitations. The brand has now expanded its offering to include outdoor kitchens, based on the same efficient design and featuring a series of outdoor-appropriate accessories, including a corrugated metal canopy.
Key Features: Like all of the brand’s modules, the outdoor kitchens can be customised with colourful surfaces and accessorised with barbeques, hotplates, folding sinks, and even wheels.
Based on the Isle of Wight, enamel specialist Vlaze have launched the Adapt outdoor kitchen collection, aimed at outdoor entertaining and featuring modular elements clad in the brand's signature materials.
Key Features: Freestanding and on wheels, the Adapt outdoor kitchens can be configured to suit different cooking and entertaining styles, from drinks trolley and prep area for pizza ovens to barbecue grills, with a larger module imagined for group entertaining.
Modular outdoor kitchens for cooking and entertaining
A modular aluminium outdoor kitchen, Emily by Emu features a stoneware countertop and comprises different elements that can be used individually or combined into a bespoke functional solution.
Key Features: Each module can be configured to be used as a cooking, washing, barbecuing station, as well as a single countertop, and its design can adapt to be open or closed, featuring shelves or storage containers. The outdoor kitchen design is raised from the ground with a lighter appearance thanks to the slim legs, while the rounded edges give it a soft shape.
A kitchen and cooking specialist, Boffi has taken its savoir faire to the outdoors with the AH01 outdoor kitchen. Inspired by light and healthy Mediterranean cuisine, the outdoor kitchen features practical details and a nimble design.
Key Features: The kitchen includes a wide cooking panel that's inclined for easy cleaning, or the stainless steel sink, expanding its functionality. Modular cooking and storage surfaces allows this kitchen to adapt to different spaces, as well as cooking and serving styles, making it a perfect destination for preparing and hosting in the warmer months.
Making its first foray into the outdoors, Scavolini presents the Formalia collection, featuring 19 elements that can be combined with existing appliances to create a bespoke outdoor kitchen area.
Key Features: Based on an aluminium structure, the range can be expanded with elements in three finishes – rust, black and titanium – with doors and worktops available in steel or high-performance treated wood.
Outdoor kitchens for cooking pros
Rodolfo Dordoni’s ‘Norma’ outdoor kitchen for Roda, developed in collaboration with Italian appliance manufacturer Ilve is a modular system, comprising two freestanding modules – one with an extendable table – with tops made from sintered Lapitec stone. It’s so elegant we might get one for indoors, too.
Key Features: The freestanding island in features an AISI 304 stainless steel sink unit while the space below can be equipped with a fridge. The outdoor kitchen can be adapted to include a five-burner gas hob (with a central double-crown burner and advanced Dual technology, complemented by two compact burners at the front and two medium-sized burners at the back), a barbecue module with three grills. The kitchen can have either fixed feet or castors for extra flexibility, with extra storage options under the island’s work area.
The Helios outdoor kitchen is part of Molteni & C’s debut into outdoor furniture, an expansive collection led by creative director Vincent Van Duysen and launched in spring 2023.
Key Features: The Helios outdooir kitchen combines the company’s rigorous approach to design and its all-encompassing approach to the art of living, combining innovative technology with traditional Italian craftsmanship. The monolithic design is created to be a discreet presence in an outdoor space, and the kitchen’s wide selection of material and finishes makes it a perfect companion to Molteni & C’s outdoor furniture offering.
Outdoor furniture company OiSide presents OiCook, a modular collection of outdoor kitchens inspired by traditional indoor models, featuring an aluminium structure and a selection of four porcelain worktops.
Key Features: The collection comprises integrated fridge, stove and sink, and its four different models can be combined in a myriad of compositions, both wall-hung and island with a bar-style cantilevered worktop.
Best outdoor kitchens for grilling and barbecuing
Italian kitchen and living specialist Modulnova is taking its expertise outside the home with their outdoor kitchen. Designed by Andrea Bassanello, the new piece follows Modulnova’s modus operandi: rigorous lines, a rational composition and a design that enriches the outdoor space.
Key Features: The kitchen’s materials, from steel to stone, have been specially selected and treated to withstand the elements and convey the stark aesthetic the brand is known for. Functionality and performance are at the core of the design, which features a classic BBQ, a wood-fired oven, a fryer, a teppanyaki grill and an induction grill. Further spaces have been created for watching and cooling, including an ice machine.
Outdoor furniture specialist Kettal has branched out into different areas of design, including modular office structures and hydroponics indoor gardens. Among its all-encompassing offering is an outdoor kitchen that comprises a grill and barbecue option and is equipped with a sink, storage and a preparation area.
Key Features: The kitchen features an aluminium frame that can be customised with a series of colours that range from neutrals to bold (think lilac, terracotta, jade and cobalt among many others), a stone worktop in ceppo di gre and the option to swap the aluminium for teak on the doors.
Stainless steel outdoor living specialists Brown Jordan Outdoor Kitchens have collaborated with designer Luca Nichetto on Cube, a new modular kitchen concept available in late 2024, bringing architecturally-inspired design and colour to the brand's offering.
Key Features: The kitchen modules feature sharply drawn outlines and a distinctive range of bold hues. Contrasting colours, including on surfaces resembling wood slats, create a modern juxtaposition in the individual pieces. Each kitchen can be equipped with the Brown Jordan's range of cooking appliances, from stovetops to grills and barbecues.
