In our last blog post, we looked at how thoughtfully designed outdoor kitchens can enrich your life. Specifically, we saw that custom outdoor cooking and dining spaces uniquely reflect you and your family, serve as a catalyst for making memories with family and friends, up your hosting game, and allow you to take full advantage of your backyard and all that it has to offer. In this blog post, we’ll shift from that personal perspective and take a look at some of the more practical advantages to having an outdoor kitchen. We’ll focus on why outdoor kitchens are a wise investment and how they can both make and save you money.  

A well-designed outdoor kitchen adds value to your property by yielding a considerable return on investment (ROI). 

Let’s start with the obvious. If you run an internet search on why outdoor kitchens are a good investment, many of the top hits will tell you that they increase the property value of your home. Outdoor kitchens are a smart investment because they increase your home’s square footage without requiring the addition of another room and all the costs that one entails. Moreover, estimates on the ROI begin conservatively at around 50% but can range all the way up to a whopping 200%. There are many factors that influence these numbers, but here are some key points to consider: 

• Located in the Southwest, North Texas is ideally situated for outdoor entertaining. With extended, hot summers and milder winters in comparison to other parts of the country, we Texans have ample opportunity to spend time outside cooking, eating, and entertaining. If you and your neighbors enjoy taking every opportunity to use your outdoor living spaces, odds are whoever buys your home from you will be looking to do the same. 

• Your outdoor kitchen should have broad appeal to many different personality types. As we’ve seen, outdoor kitchens provide a unique way for you to express yourself in your living space. However, your outdoor kitchen should not be so tailored to your idiosyncrasies that it will be unappealing to a potential buyer down the road. When it comes to designing your outdoor cooking space, balance is key. Worthy Outdoors can help you achieve the perfect balance between building your dream space and creating an outdoor kitchen that is appealing to your home’s next owner, even if their personality is vastly different from yours. 
• A tastefully designed outdoor kitchen makes your home more visually appealing. It all comes down to design. Does the design style you choose for your outdoor kitchen complement the overall design style of your home? Is there flow and balance between your indoor and outdoor living spaces? Is your outdoor kitchen beautiful but also practical and functional? Thoughtfully answering these questions and executing your vision for your outdoor kitchen with those answers in mind will help you create a space that makes your home more attractive when it comes time to sell. And if this seems daunting to you, know that these types of conundrums are our bread and butter. Worthy Outdoors is here to help you build an outdoor cooking, dining, and entertaining space that meets your needs now and yields a great ROI in the future. 
  
  

The right outdoor kitchen can help you save money today. 

Now that we have a good understanding of how outdoor kitchens can make you money in the long run, let’s shift our focus to how they can help you save money today. A custom-designed outdoor cooking and eating space can save you money in a variety of ways, some of which may not be immediately obvious. Here are a few examples: 

• Outdoor kitchens keep extra heat from appliances outside your home. Many of us have probably experienced the frustration of rising indoor temperatures as we labor over a hot stove while trying to get dinner on the table in the middle of the Texas summer. Not only are we a sweaty mess, but our energy bills spike as our ACs struggle to keep the temp down, doubling our frustration. By allowing you to cook outside, outdoor kitchens can help you avoid this flux in the temperature of your home, increasing its energy efficiency and decreasing the amount you pay in electricity. 

• Outdoor kitchens provide an opportunity to utilize alternative fuel sources. Another way that outdoor kitchens can save you money on your energy bills is by facilitating the use of alternative methods of cooking. For example, grills allow you to cook with wood, charcoal, propane, or natural gas instead of electricity. Depending on your cooking needs, you may even consider installing a wood-burning oven into your outdoor kitchen. By utilizing alternative fuel sources, you can lessen your dependence on electricity and, consequently, your monthly electric bill. 

• Outdoor kitchens allow you to strategically take advantage of natural light. This is particularly true in summer months, when daylight saving time extends evening daylight hours. How does this help save you money? When you’re outside and the sun is still out, you don’t have to turn on the lights. Keeping extra lights off for a couple hours may seem like an insignificant way to save, but tiny changes like this compound over time. 
  
  
• Outdoor kitchens can help you save money by keeping you at home more. If you invest in a well-designed, custom outdoor cooking, eating, and entertaining space, you will want to use it. This means more time spent enjoying your property and less time and money spent away from it. 

For example, by installing the right appliances and tools in your outdoor kitchen, you’ll have more choices when it comes to how you prepare your food, lessening the temptation to order in or eat out. Craving a homemade, wood-fired pizza? It’s a good thing you have that pizza oven! Want a mouthwatering, perfectly grilled steak? Get that grill fired up, and dinner will be ready in no time! Nostalgic for a good, old-fashioned hot dog roasted over an open fire with s’mores for dessert? That fire pit is just itching to be used! Consider what you crave and think about how an outdoor kitchen might give you the ability to prepare those meals at home. 

Another way outdoor kitchens can save you money is by allowing you to host your own parties and events. A beautiful and functional outdoor cooking, eating, and entertaining space provides an ideal setting for a variety of social situations. You’ll no longer have to spend time and money searching for and reserving the perfect venue—you can simply plan to have people over and host them in your own backyard! 

A well-designed outdoor kitchen is a wise investment that can make you money by increasing the square footage of your home and providing a significant ROI. Additionally, outdoor kitchens can save you money by lowering your monthly electric bills and allowing you the flexibility to cook and host in your own home. Worthy Outdoors can empower you to make sound decisions with your investment by establishing and working within a clear and reasonable budget as we build you the perfect outdoor cooking space for your current and future needs.