An outdoor kitchen built to outlast the next storm
A covered outdoor kitchen and dining porch, engineered for salt air and hurricane-season wind, that reads as an extension of the house rather than a bolt-on grill station.
- Location
- Kiawah Island, SC
- Scope
- Outdoor kitchen, covered dining porch, pergola
- Duration
- 11 weeks construction
- Investment range
- $78,000 – $110,000
The project · Kiawah Island · 2023
Outdoor kitchen, covered dining porch, pergola. 11 weeks construction.
Kiawah's building code is unforgiving for good reason, and most outdoor kitchens on the island are engineered for a storm they'll never see rather than the one they will. We built this one to the same wind-load standard as the main house, tied into the same foundation system, so it isn't the thing that fails first.
The counters are a dense, UV-stable quartzite that won't pit or discolor after a season of salt spray, set over marine-grade stainless cabinetry rather than the outdoor-rated wood that looks good for exactly one summer.
A cedar pergola, stained rather than painted so it can be refreshed in a weekend rather than fully repainted, ties the structure visually to the house's existing porch rail without duplicating it. The dining table seats ten under cover, which was the whole point: this family entertains, and needed a room, not a grill.
Two named storms have passed over the island since the crew left. The structure hasn't needed a single repair.
What it’s made of
Choose a sample
Sample 01 of 03
UV-stable quartzite
Counters, salt-air and sun rated.