Nine times out of ten, your patio addition will raise your home’s value. But with outdoor kitchens on the rise – up 8% from last year – we’ve seen a couple Dos and Don’ts in patio design. So when you’re ready to invest in an outdoor living project, keep the following tips in mind to get the best value out of your backyard addition.

Style to Blend In

• Choose a style that’s compatible with the rest of your house. Your outdoor kitchen and patio should blend into your home – not look like an afterthought. This means that you’ll need stone or wood that complements the exterior of your home. (Need some style ideas?  Check out this gallery from HGTV.)
• Use high quality building materials, like stainless steel, stone, and finished wood. Cheap materials will quickly go downhill, which will end up lowering your home value.
• Invest in a great patio cover. You’ll need one that not only looks great with the rest of your home’s exterior, but that protects your outdoor kitchen from the elements.

Create a Functional Extra Room

• An outdoor living project should be on the same scale as the home – if you have a small home, don’t build a patio that takes up the entire yard! If your outdoor kitchen and patio cover look out of place with the rest of the house, then your resale value can actually go down.
• Does your home have a great view? Then make sure you position your outdoor kitchen’s seating area to take in the best angles.
• Think about how you’ll be using your outdoor kitchen. Will you need more than one grilling area? A pizza oven? A separate bar area? The more functional your kitchen is, the more likely that someone else will want to take it over some day.
• Add a kitchen island! An island adds extra space for preparing food, pouring drinks, and eating. It’s multi-functional and one of the least costly items in an outdoor kitchen.

Share your outdoor kitchen photos and ideas with us on Facebook or in the comments. Happy grilling!