Three Beautiful Outdoor Countertop Options
During the pandemic, homeowners reevaluated their outdoor spaces as they looked for ways to spread out, visit with close friends and family and make the best of a challenging situation. They expanded their living space into the outdoors, setting up outdoor seating areas around the fire pit, creating play spaces for outdoor games like corn hole and spike ball, and installing outdoor kitchens – making the outdoor living spaces more versatile.
This repurposed space allowed families to entertain safely and it provided families more livable space while everyone was confined at home.
As Covid-19 shifts to become part of life moving forward, and we are again free to visit and travel, homeowners are still loving their expanded outdoor spaces and more homeowners are embracing the creation of practical, functional and fun outdoor spaces.
Outdoor kitchens continue to grow in popularity, in 2022 Americans spent over 21 billion dollars on outdoor kitchens, up almost 7% from 2021.
As you think about installing an outdoor kitchen, you need to decide what amenities to include. Depending on how much you will use it and on your budget, an outdoor kitchen might include any or all of these:
- A grill (possibly built in)
- A side burner
- A pizza oven
- An outdoor refrigerator
- Trash and storage areas
- A dishwasher
- Outdoor lighting
- A sink
- A work area/counter space
One important consideration for your outdoor kitchen is that not every countertop surface is suited to the outdoors. The sun’s ultraviolet rays will cause fading on many natural and manufactured stones, and the New England winter is unkind to many surfaces.
Fortunately, we offer three beautiful surface options that are excellent for outdoor kitchens.
- If you love natural stone, some types of granite, marble, quartzite and soapstone fare very well in the outdoors and weather well, becoming more beautiful as time passes. Visit our showrooms, and we can assist you in determining which natural stones may be suitable for your outdoor kitchen.
- Laminam porcelain is excellent indoors and out and works very well as a countertop surface for an outdoor kitchen (and as a beautiful pool surround).
- Terrazzo by COMPAC is the newest addition to our outdoor kitchen surfaces. Terrazzo is a technological innovation that reinvents traditional terrazzo, bringing enhanced strength, aesthetics and versatility to both indoor and outdoor surfaces.
If you are planning to add an outdoor kitchen, we invite you to visit one of our showrooms, in Haverhill, MA or West Bridgewater, MA, to see the beautiful surface options available to you that will last and be admired outdoors for years to come.
We look forward to seeing you. Happy Spring!