The interiors edit: Bring al fresco dining to a whole new level with your own outdoor kitchen

Outdoor kitchens were one of the biggest interiors trends to emerge from lockdown. These are no secondary cooking spaces but lavish kitchens with wine fridges, pizza ovens and prep areas that will make even the most amateur chef feel like Gordon Ramsay. Of course, it doesn’t help when your daily scroll through Instagram throws up images of David and Victoria Beckham cooking pizza in their gourmet garden kitchen in the Cotswolds.

The good news is they aren’t just a status symbol for the super-rich, with architects and builders finding ways to work a modest outdoor space into the standard home improvement project, somewhere between installing a new kitchen and replacing the roof, while still giving a whiff of an enviable lifestyle. When you don’t have to go inside to get a wine opener or ice (despite it being six steps away), it makes the whole dining outside experience that bit more luxurious.

But before you start sizing up your garden and wondering how you’ll squeeze it in between the trampoline and the compost bin, consider the fact that it works best if you have a roomy outdoor area. You can include a modest model in a small space but if it’s shouldering up right next to your indoor kitchen, it sort of loses its value.

It’s also worth noting that what makes a great outdoor kitchen is what makes a great restaurant — a space that can slide easily from day to night without much fuss, which has modularity and flexibility to it. Think multi-purpose rooms, even if your space is small: countertop, furniture, bar area, planting, prep area, storage, cooking area and aesthetic displays.

As with any installation, the cost varies wildly between a pared-back Grillskar design from Ikea (always one to jump on a trend) for €1,000 to €5,000 for a more premium model from Urban Outdoor Design.

Bespoke designs from Outdoor Scene and A Room Outside will buy you a luxurious cooking space with bar area, marble counter, sink, fridge, barbecue and LED lighting. Or look to Dutch brand Wwoo, which tips itself as the ultimate low-maintenance outdoor kitchen, with plenty of style to boot and you can customise it easily to suit your needs and style.

If you aren’t in a position to stretch to the full gamut of kitchen ranges, there’s always the Charlie Oven — a pizza oven, barbecue, smoker and griller in one — available from Urban Outdoor Design, which comes in a great selection of peppy colours including oregano green and honeycomb yellow.

When it comes to outdoor entertaining, the trick is to limit the schlep indoors every time you need something, so the first investment should be a good kitchen trolley — especially if counter space is limited.

There are plenty of affordable choices from Ikea, Sklum and Jysk, which won’t break the bank but look simple and sleek.

A set of wooden chopping boards that look equally good leaning (House Doctor, Industry& Co) and some colourful tea towels (Hay, H&M) for displaying will instantly add some style value, as will a colourful backsplash tile and stone serving platters and boards from File Under Pop, whose collection of colourful lava stone boards feel right at home in an outdoor kitchen.

A good set of barbecue utensils (TK Maxx, Ikea) and colourful outdoor tableware (LNH Edit, The Kitchen Whisk, Oriana B) and you’re dining al fresco ready.