The Great Canadian Backyard Series: Sherwood Outdoor Kitchens builds outdoor space worthy of entertaining an entire little league
Tags: Cosentino, Cosentino Canada, Dekton, Dekton by Cosentino | 4 years ago | Written by: Cosentino
This week on our Great Canadian Backyard Series, we head to Fort Langley, BC where Matt Herbert, Founder and General Manager of Sherwood Outdoor Kitchens was tasked with building a huge outdoor living space for a family of seven. From the largest outdoor grill available on the market to industrial chic countertops, this backyard living space is truly something special.
Tell us a bit about the inspiration behind the design.
We were tasked to design a flexible outdoor kitchen for our client who has a large family of seven. With a garden that is often used for private family gatherings and parties ranging from birthdays to Superbowl Sundays, they wanted a huge flexible kitchen that could handle just about any event.
It was important to tie the new kitchen design in with the existing aesthetic of the house, while also elevating the space to be a touch more modern. Surrounded by greenery, we wanted to incorporate a warmer wood tone into the design which would also fit naturally in this outdoor setting. We were able to make the space more inviting by installing warm natural cedar roofing. The custom lowered cedar lighting track added a nice visual feature and at the same time added functional task lighting across all areas of the kitchen for evening parties.
Were there any challenges in designing the space and how did you overcome them?
With a large number of appliances, work surfaces became a premium. To get around this we custom-designed an aluminum frame finished in powder-coated panels to match the doors. These removable panels also allowed easy access to the new electrical panel that had to be fitted on the back wall. This provided an easy solution for the electrical, but the gas requirements needed for this space provided more of a challenge. With all the appliances plus the two outdoor roof-mounted heaters, we had to a total of 247,000 BTUs to account for with a new gas manifold installed in the grill cabinet.
What elements did you feature to accommodate for larger gatherings?
Dekton’s Radium, part of the Industrial Collection was chosen for the countertops. Dekton was an excellent choice offering maximum durability. Dekton has a high resistance to UV rays, stains, scratches, and thermal shock – perfect for the outdoors.
We had to scale up the appliances. The 56-inch Alfresco grill is the largest on the market with almost 1000 sq. inches of cooking surface, sear zone, and two rotisseries. To complement the grill, we included both a 24-inch Versa power burner with a teppanyaki griddle to be used for both crab and sautéed veggies as well as a double side burner for more conventional cooking needs. A 24-inch wide fridge provided a cool zone for both food and beverages, and a large 31-inch wide granite sink, and commercial faucet helps with clean up.
With all of these elements, we were able to create an outdoor kitchen space that was warm and inviting enough for a family to host a summer soirée but also flexible in scale to entertain the entire little league.
For more information on Sherwood Outdoor Kitchen, visit www.sherwoodoutdoorkitchens.com.
