Outdoor kitchen design built for Cornish coastal weather, near Truro

Design comes first, as with every Studio Seven project. We survey the garden or terrace - orientation, prevailing wind, levels, existing services, the route from the indoor kitchen - then model the scheme in Winner in three dimensions so you can see the layout, the working heights and the relationship to seating before anything is ordered.

Design and supply are always sold together, and installation is usually included. Because outdoor kitchens involve groundwork, drainage, electrics and often shelter, the sequencing matters as much as the cabinetry: which is why we coordinate it rather than dropping units onto a slab someone else laid.

The failure pattern for coastal outdoor kitchens is predictable. Fixings not specified for marine exposure bleed rust down a worktop. Carcases built from materials intended for indoor use swell and delaminate once water gets into a cut edge. Hinges and runners seize. Worktops absorb oil and stain permanently. Two winters is usually enough, and the second one does the visible damage.

Water is the other recurring problem, and it is nearly always a groundwork issue. A terrace laid with the fall running back towards the house, or a base with no drainage under the run, leaves standing water at the plinth line: soaking cabinet bases from below, where no amount of good cabinetry helps. This is decided before the units arrive, which is why the base must be part of the design.

Then there are the practical failures: no landing space next to a grill, so hot food travels across the garden; a run placed where the prevailing wind pushes smoke onto the seating; power for a fridge left out of the first fix, meaning a cable across a path; and gas appliances placed without the clearances and ventilation they require. All of them are drawing-stage decisions and all of them are expensive to change once a terrace is laid.

The same five stages as every Studio Seven project, with survey weighted towards orientation, exposure and groundwork.

Design consultation and site survey. We survey the outdoor space: orientation, prevailing wind, shelter, levels and falls, existing electrical and water supplies, the route from the indoor kitchen, and where people actually sit. Enquire about a design consultation and we will arrange a visit.

Layout, specification and 3D visualisation. The scheme is modelled in Winner in three dimensions, and specified for exposure: carcase construction, worktop material, fixing grade, appliance selection, ventilation, clearances and shelter. You receive a written specification naming every item before anything is ordered.

Services, groundwork and sign-off. We coordinate what has to happen in the base - drainage, falls, ducts, electrical and water first fix, and any structure for shelter - so those are built in rather than added around the finished kitchen. Sign-off covers the drawing and specification together.

Supply, installation and commissioning. Cabinetry, appliances and worktops are delivered and installed to the surveyed dimensions, with worktops templated on site, appliances installed to the required clearances and ventilation, and services connected and tested by the appropriate trades.

Handover, care and seasonal guidance. We hand over manufacturer documents and go through cleaning, covering and winter care for the materials specified.

Each benefit below is a specification decision, not a marketing claim.

Built for salt air and rain. Carcase construction, worktop material and fixing grade specified for coastal exposure, the three choices that decide whether the run is sound after several Cornish winters.

Water taken away from the run. Falls, drainage and plinth detailing designed into the base, so water does not stand where the cabinets meet the terrace.

A layout that works while cooking. Landing space either side of the heat source, preparation area under shelter, cold storage within reach and the grill positioned so smoke leaves the seating area rather than crossing it.

Services designed in, not trailed across. Power, water and drainage set at first fix in the drawn positions, with no extension leads across a path and no hose run from the house.

Suited to a property left empty. Materials, covers and shut-down guidance chosen with second homes and holiday lets in mind, where a kitchen may stand unused for months at a time.

Outdoor kitchens are a materials problem before they are a design problem. This is the detail we set during specification.

Carcases, fixings and finishes

Carcases are specified for permanent outdoor use, with attention to how the material behaves at cut edges and fixing points, since that is where water enters first. Fasteners, hinges, runners and handles are specified by corrosion resistance appropriate to the distance from the coast: a garden two miles inland and a clifftop terrace are not the same environment, and using one specification for both guarantees failure in the second.

Fronts and finishes are chosen for UV stability and cleanability as well as appearance, because a finish that chalks or fades looks worse than one that was never intended to match the indoor kitchen exactly. Where a client wants continuity with the interior, we coordinate tone and handle style rather than pretending an indoor door will survive outside.

Worktops and surfaces

Worktop choice outdoors is governed by staining, thermal movement, frost and UV, not by pattern. Porcelain and dense engineered surfaces perform well; some natural stones are porous enough to stain permanently from oil and wine; timber can be used where the client accepts an annual maintenance cycle and understands it will silver.

Overhangs, edge profiles and support are detailed for outdoor loading, and joints are positioned so water cannot sit in them. Worktops are templated after cabinetry is installed, exactly as they are indoors, because a garden wall is rarely as straight as the drawing suggests.

Appliances, fuel and ventilation

Fuel choice changes the design. Gas requires clearances, ventilation and safe supply routing; charcoal and wood need more space, heat clearance to adjacent materials and somewhere to deal safely with ash; electric induction and plancha units need protected power and shelter from driven rain. Ceramic and pizza ovens add weight, which the base has to carry.

Refrigeration must be rated for outdoor use: an indoor undercounter fridge will fail in a cold, damp garden. Extraction is only useful where the kitchen sits under a canopy or structure; in open air, position relative to prevailing wind does the work instead, which is why orientation is recorded at survey.

Shelter, structure and groundwork

Partial shelter transforms how much an outdoor kitchen is used in Cornwall. A canopy, pergola, garden room overhang or recessed alcove keeps preparation dry and extends the season considerably, and it also reduces the weather load on cabinetry and appliances.

Groundwork is part of the specification: a level, drained base capable of carrying the weight of masonry, ovens and worktops, with falls running away from the house and duct routes set for services. Where landscapers or builders are already engaged, we coordinate the requirements with them rather than working around finished hard landscaping.

Variations of the service

Outdoor schemes usually take one of these forms.

Residential and commercial specification

In private gardens the design follows how the household entertains: numbers, seating position, whether cooking is the event or a side activity, and how much of the year the space is used.

For hospitality and commercial contractors, durability, cleanability and continuous use drive specification, along with documentation to support handover and maintenance.

Where we work

The studio is at Truro, and our Truro studio opens early 2027. Until then, schemes are presented from the Winner 3D model with physical samples of surfaces and finishes.

We design and install outdoor kitchens across Cornwall and Devon, and for clients in London and the Home Counties with Cornish property, where The Complete Service adds project management, a foreman on the ground and weekly Google Meet progress updates: useful when groundwork, landscaping and installation have to be sequenced without you present.

• Weather-rated carcase construction with protected cut edges
• Corrosion-resistant fixings, hinges and runners specified by exposure
• UV-stable, cleanable finishes appropriate to salt-laden air
• Plinth and base detailing designed to keep cabinet bases clear of standing water
• Covers and closures specified for properties left unoccupied
• Porcelain, engineered and natural surfaces assessed for frost, UV and staining
• Timber options where a maintenance cycle is accepted
• Joint positions and edge details set so water drains rather than sits
• Integrated sinks with drainage designed to a suitable outfall
• Templating on site after cabinetry installation
• Gas, charcoal, wood-fired and electric cooking options with correct clearances
• Outdoor-rated refrigeration, ice makers and beverage units
• Sinks, taps and water supply designed for winter isolation and draining down
• Ventilation and canopy extraction where the run sits under a structure
• Task and ambient lighting rated for external use
• Compact terrace run with grill, preparation space and cold storage
• Full outdoor kitchen with sink, refrigeration, cooking and covered preparation
• Sheltered outdoor kitchen within a garden room, loggia or canopy structure
• Poolside and hot tub serveries with drinks storage
• Outdoor kitchens for holiday-let properties, specified for heavy seasonal use
• Outdoor cooking areas for developers, hospitality and commercial contractors