L Shaped Outdoor Kitchen Guide (Pros & Cons)

Kitchens mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people. For some, they see their kitchen as a safe haven and a place for them to express themselves creatively, which can boost someone's mood with the flick of an oven switch. 

For others, it means that a tasty and healthy meal is about to be laid out in front of them, which is always a good morale booster after a long and hard day at work.

Because of how much people love their kitchens and how much they love their food, kitchens can come in all sorts of shapes and sizes, with many of them facilitating different appliances and features.

Some kitchens come with an island, some in a simple shape that molds around the space available, and some even come in the shape of an L.

We're here to look at L-shaped outdoor kitchens and the pros and cons of having one of these open plans.

This way, you should be able to decide on whether you think an outdoor kitchen in the shape of an L will suit you and your cooking needs.

What Is An L-Shaped Kitchen?

If you couldn’t guess, an L-shaped kitchen is a kitchen in the shape of the capital letter L.

This means that the features and appliances in that kitchen almost bend around into a right-angle, often seeing a kitchen island in the middle of the space that is usually empty.

These kitchen spaces are ideal for those who want access to everything around them, without having to traverse up and down the same counter.

This specific design of a kitchen is perfect for functional use and will often be seen among those who want to use their kitchen for practical uses, rather than entertainment purposes.

If you have a large garden, then this sort of kitchen might limit you to one small corner, whereas, a more entertainment-orientated area might be more suitable to make the most of the large area available.

If you’re looking to implement a kitchen island into your designs, then you need around 3 or 4 feet of space around the island so that you have sufficient room to move around the kitchen.

However, kitchen islands aren’t for everyone and sometimes the space is better kept open.

Pros Of An L-Shaped Outdoor Kitchen

They’re Efficient

When most people look for a new cooking area, they’re always going to consider how efficient the kitchen is going to be.

By utilizing the different appliances in the space you have available, you can expect this kitchen to have a lot of fast results, whilst keeping things up to the highest standard expected.

Because of how small these areas can be, it means there is less time between prepping, cooking, and preparing your food as you move around a space that welcomes you to create meals in a quick and efficient fashion.

They’re Space-Friendly

Easily one of the best things about these kitchens is that they make the most of the space you have in your garden and work as well as they can to have the same effect as a large kitchen.

One thing that you have over a large kitchen is that you don’t have to waste time getting from area to area, everything is more or less within reach!

This means that L-shaped kitchens are ideal for those with smaller gardens, but still have enough room to entertain a few guests at the same time.

By prepping, cooking, and preparing your dishes in the same small space, you can make food in the blink of an eye without losing any of the quality in the final product.

They’re Popular!

This might sound irrelevant, but we can tell you that this impacts the market massively because these kitchens are so high in people’s estimations, there is plenty on the market for you to choose from.

This means that you have more choice and a better variety of different products to pick between. On top of this, big brands make their own appliances to feature!

The worst thing would be for these kitchens to be quite niche and end up being so specific that you only have a few different designs and features to choose from.

Because there is so much out there, it has never been easier to build your own space to cook in!

You Don’t Have To Commit To An L-Shape Straight Away

If you still have doubts about making your own L-shaped kitchen, then there are a few things that you can consider.

You can always start with a linear design for your outdoor kitchen and include the bare essentials like an oven, a prepping area, and enough to get you by.

From here, you can decide whether to expand or leave it in a linear shape.

After all, your kitchen needs to make you happy and make sure that you have the tools to make food and meals at a reasonable standard for you to enjoy.

When you’ve made your decision, you can then think about adding a kitchen island across from the cooking area.

Because of this versatility and flexibility, you can have a plethora of potential features to choose from like refrigerators, a pizza oven, a sink, and even some storage units for plates and utensils.

The possibilities are endless and you get to choose all of them!

Cons Of Having An L-Shaped Outdoor Kitchen

Not Suitable For Multiple Cooks

Because of the shape and the general size of these cooking areas, outdoor L-shaped kitchens aren’t typically suitable for more than one person to use at the same time.

Of course, we know that many people will want to use these kitchens on their own, which is great! But, if you like cooking as part of a team, then you might want a design that’s a bit bigger.

Understandably, this might put a few people off, however, what these kitchens lack in size and space, they more than make up for in accessibility and versatility for people wanting to do more than one thing at once.

Corner Cabinet Can Be Hard To Use

Because of the way that the kitchen is shaped and the amount of storage space that is available, the corner cabinets can be hard to reach and use.

Because pots and pans play a huge part in cooking, you need to ensure that you have a good number of them within reaching distance.

However, we understand that this might not be a deal-breaker for a lot of people, which means that this isn’t always a big problem. But, it is still definitely something to consider when looking for an outdoor L-shaped kitchen.

You Might Need An Island For Extra Storage

Because of how limited these kitchens can be in terms of space, you might need to invest in a kitchen island for extra storage.

However, this isn't always necessary if you have some storage cupboards just inside of the back door. If you don’t mind traveling inside to get some plates or a few extra utensils, then this isn’t that big of a deal.

However, if you feel like you want to have all of the things that you need within grabbing distance, then you might want to consider that you will be spending the extra money to install an island as part of your outdoor kitchen.

This might limit the amount of space that you have to cook and move around.

Spacing Might Be An Issue For Some

Although we mentioned that these kitchens can be great because of their ability to function properly in a smaller space, some people might be looking for something a bit bigger.

This means that L-shaped outdoor kitchens might not be suitable for everyone looking to expand their cooking spaces outdoors.

After all, we are all suited to different types of kitchens and different sizes, especially, when it comes to how big we are and how big are houses are.

The bigger the person, the bigger the space they are going to want to have. If someone has a bigger home, then they might want to install a kitchen that is larger than an L-shaped outdoor cooking space.

Tips For Buying An Outdoor Kitchen

Set Yourself A Budget

When it comes to buying anything, let alone a brand new kitchen, you need to make sure that you set yourself a budget.

This ensures that you don't spend too much money and we'll have enough left for things like new utensils, plates, and anything else you might need.

If you have a budget and you end up spending over the odds, then you might not be as happy with the final result as you would want to be.

Find Some Designs You Like

We always recommend doing your research first and finding a few different designs that you might see in your potential new cooking space.

By having something in front of you to visualize what you want, you will have an easier time buying a new outdoor kitchen area. After all, it might not be as easy as you think when trying to find a new L-shaped kitchen.

Know Your Limits

We all have a dream kitchen that we would want to have in our home, or in our garden. However, you need to make sure that what you have in mind is realistic.

There's no point getting your hopes up for a potential kitchen area that might be too big or too expensive for what you want. Knowing when to stop will make sure that you're happy with the end product.

Conclusion

That's the end of our guide. Hopefully, by following the pros and cons that we have outlined and ensuring that you follow the instructions at the end of our guide, you will be one step closer to finding your perfect kitchen area.

L-shaped outdoor kitchen areas are great for lots of different reasons, but they do also have their limitations.

Make sure that you know what you want before buying anything to ensure that you end up with an outdoor kitchen that suits you best.