Complete Your Dream Outdoor Kitchen: Start With a Prefab Kit

This article identifies the 5 Roadblocks that prevent most people from taking immediate action on building their dream outdoor kitchen, and shows how prefab outdoor kitchen island kits can help you to overcome those obstacles.

Overcome the ONE Thing Keeping You From Building Your Outdoor Kitchen THIS Summer

Feeling a little setback, or maybe even a bit rushed to build an outdoor kitchen you've been dreaming about setting up and running?

It IS a bit dreamy…

Basking in the sunshine, surrounded by family and friends, serving them up with your best dishes and drinks, sharing laughter and good times, being seen as the ultimate host.

The mouth-watering smell of the food is in the air. You can almost taste it just thinking about it…

What do you feel is holding you back from the dream?

It's likely that one (or, possibly more) of these common roadblocks is keeping you stuck in that loop:

1. Lack of Knowledge
2. Choice Overload
3. Lack of Skill
4. Price or Budget
5. Lack of Time

In this article, I'm going to show you how each of these 5 Roadblocks is preventing you from getting started, and how a prefabricated outdoor kitchen can help you to overcome them.

I'll also point out, and link to, some important considerations you'll need to think about before installing an outdoor kitchen on your property.

Ok, let's get into why the prefab kits are a good idea…

Breaking Through the Roadblocks

Luckily for you, no matter which of these roadblocks is holding you back, prefabricated (or prefab) outdoor kitchen island kits are pre-packaged solutions that get around one or more of these five obstacles to your dream.

Let's go down the list…

1. Lack of Knowledge

This might be why you are online searching for options in the first place. You are probably excellent behind the stove and in the kitchen, but don't know the first thing about building or assembling one.

In other words, you can clearly envision the dreamy end results, but don't know how to get there. There's a lot to research.

Working backwards from the components you use regularly and are familiar with (like the grill, sink, refrigerator, etc.) you'll then find that there are sooo many options for each.

They also don't stand alone, and bring up more questions:

• Will I need to get gas to the grill? And, how?
• Do I need supporting appliances?
• What kind of materials do they need to be made of to be outside?
• Can the components I buy tolerate the rain?
• How will I get electricity to the fridge?
• What if I choose the wrong components?

The questions alone can be overwhelming, and lead you to question yourself—wondering whether or not this is a good idea.

You might end up intimidated, and pull back from the project altogether.

The Prefab Solution to Lack of Knowledge…

Prefab kits allow you to start with a vision of your finished outdoor kitchen, and provide you with everything you need to get it set up.

Grills and other cooking appliances such as side-burners or rotisseries, compact outdoor refrigerators, stainless steel cabinets, sinks, custom countertops, dining space, and more.

And, all of those components match and fit together perfectly and seamlessly—with complete instructions on how to put them together with the most basic of tools.

Several vendors provide a wide selection of these kits, and most can be delivered right to your door.

2. Choice Overload

Also known as “Overchoice,” this is the phenomenon that says, when we are presented with too many options, we get paralyzed, and end up making no decision at all.

It's like when you go to a new restaurant with a huge and detailed menu. It presents so many options that you can't decide quickly, unless you already know exactly what you want.

With outdoor kitchen components, your options come in the form of sizes of fridges and grills, storage cabinets and capacities, counter-top materials and designs, stainless steel or brick finishes… and so on.

Once you start looking at all of the options available to you to build an outdoor kitchen, you might hesitate.

And push back the decision another week…

Or another month, or another year…

Until it just never seems to get done.

The Prefab Solution to Choice Overload…

While you still have a wide variety of islands to choose from, you can now narrow your decision-making to how you want your outdoor kitchen to function.

Since the kits come with all the appliances pre-selected and pre-fitted to the chassis, you can now limit your decision to something as simple as how large a grill you want. Or, whether or not you'll need a sink or a refrigerator.

Basing your decision on overall function, look, and quality means you won't suffer from Choice Overload and can choose quickly and decisively.

3. Lack of Skill

If you're the handy, Do-It-Yourself (DIY) type, you're probably inclined to get all the parts and pieces together and start building.

However, once your start looking at all the different stages that goes into designing and building a fully-functional kitchen, you might see a gap in your skillset.

Perhaps you're good at construction, but not at designing something pretty. Or, you're great with electrical work, but running that natural gas line or water line is a little intimidating.

(Maybe it even requires licensing that you don't have.)

Once you see that gap, it feeds into a fear of failure. Which means you'll hesitate, or foresee too much time, and never get around to building your outdoor kitchen.

Lack of skill could also mean you don't have access to skilled people. That is to say, you don't know any contractors, designers, etc. that can help you with your project.

Which means you'll have to seek out, and probably have to pay, professionals (or skilled amateurs) that you can trust to do the work for you.

The Prefab Solution Lack of Skill…

Since much of the work has already been done at the factory, there isn't much left for you to do,

Depending on the kit, all the design/styling may have been taken care of. And, you won't have to do ALL the construction work yourself. You can focus on a few basic skills with tools like a screwdriver and a wrench.

Also, you can limit your need for professional contracted talent based on the components you select. (For example, a propane grill eliminates the need for a natural gas line. No sink? No plumbing needed!)

4. Lack of Money (A Low Budget)

When we don't have all the skills to design and build our outdoor kitchen from scratch, we'll have to pay others to do it… designers, contractors, builders.

And then there are all the components—grills, refrigerators, sinks, countertops, storage cabinets…

When you look at each thing one at a time—each service, each component, and delivery for each one—the costs add up.

Then you might start cutting costs to fit your budget, which means you begin to skimp on the dream.

When the dream loses its luster, you tend to give up and abandon it, and end up frustrated.

The Prefab Solution Lack of Money or Low Budget…

The predetermined the design of a prefab outdoor kitchen island makes it easier and cheaper for manufacturers to mass-produce.

And that savings is passed on to you.

Shipping is also simplified into fewer packages, and becomes significantly cost-effective.

All of this allows for vendors to offer more budget-friendly packages at several tiers of quality and function—and, allows for you to buy into the outdoor kitchen lifestyle at a better price.

5. Lack of Time

Maybe you have the skills, access to talented contractors and designers, know what you want, and have plenty of money, but you don't have the time to go through the process of starting from scratch.

Planning and building both take time.

It can take several weeks to have your outdoor kitchen designed, coordinate your contractors, have all your components delivered, area prepped, utility lines run, before actual construction even begins.

If you've only just begun to think about the process late in the season, you might miss out on taking advantage of the best weather conditions this year.

Which means you'll have to wait until next season.

The Prefab Solution to Lack of Time…

Since the design is already predetermined, much of the planning stage is unnecessary. You simply need to follow instructions, or dictate them to your contractors to follow, which saves you time.

An unfinished (or ready-to-finish) island can be taken from concept to reality in under 10 days. A finished island kit can be fully assembled the same day it arrives at your home.*

*(See more about finished and ready-to-finish islands, below.)

Here's an awesome 2-minute video from BBQGuys.com showing the simplicity of a finished prefab outdoor kitchen island kit being put together in a matter of hours:

Assembled in About 2 HOURS…

(Model shown is the Coyote Ready-To-Assemble 6′ Premium Outdoor Kitchen Grill Island, briefly mentioned here.)

Prefab Kits Let You Focus On The Dream…

The Prefab Kit's simplicity and relative ease of installation allow you to focus on the features you want in your outdoor kitchen, and the role you want that kitchen to play in your life, without having to concern yourself too much with design and construction details.

Do you have a small space, and just planning to do come cooking on the grill outside? You can choose a grill-only option.

Do you think you'll need to keep cold food or beverages handy? You might consider a kit with an outdoor refrigerator.

Maybe you want to serve drinks and do on-location food prep. Look at islands with sinks.

Or, keep your guests in close proximity with a dining counter or media center.

Do you like the simplified construction, but want to have a more customized look? Many companies offer several finishing options to choose from. OR, you can get an unfinished island and have your own way with it.

Prefab Outdoor Kitchen Island Categories

As you begin your search for the best prefab outdoor kitchen island kit for your home and situation, keep in mind that there are 3 major categories of these prefab kits:

1. A Finished Island
   Everything from shape, finishing, and appliances are pre-selected – Most convenient, Least customizable.
2. A Modular Island Kit
   Each appliance/section of the kitchen is its own finished module, which can be arranged in various configurations – Convenient, Semi-customizable.
3. A Ready-to-Finish Pre-Framed Kit
   Frame is cut and shaped to fit pre-selected appliances, but finishing and countertop not included – Most customizable, More work.

As you can see, each of these categories allows for the different levels of customization, skill, and convenience I've mentioned in the previous sections.

–> Read more about The 3 Types of Prefab Outdoor Kitchen Kits

Conclusion

Well, I hope that this article has shown you how one of the various types of prefab outdoor kitchen island kits can be the very thing you need to make that outdoor kitchen of your dreams a reality:

• Provides for fast and relatively easy installation;
• Allows you to choose from many options without overwhelm;
• Overcomes the need to have special skills or access to professionals with them;
• Get the features you want on an affordable budget;

… allowing you to focus on how your outdoor kitchen will enhance your lifestyle, and getting it up and running as quickly and completely as possible.

Thank you for reading. If you have any questions about this article, or anything to add for other readers, please add them in the comments below.

~ Scott