Design a bar and outdoor kitchen for your house in Costa Rica.

Design a bar and outdoor kitchen for your house in Costa Rica

Now, I’m not trying to turn you into an alcoholic, actually quite the opposite. If you have a cool bar in your backyard, you’ll want to invite some friends to come over once in a while and have a good time together, instead of having to drink on your own all the time or wait for someone to invite you.

Costa Rica is famous for its year round weather conditions, so for sure you will do a lot more outdoor living than you ever did in your previous life. That’s why you moved to Costa Rica, right?

This makes your outdoor space even more important than the indoors.

You already have a pool and an awesome view? There are many ways to do a cool bar even if you have no pool.  If you already have a huge covered terrace, you can take advantage of al that space to build a bar, which for easy use should stay as close as you can to the kitchen.

It doesn’t necessarily have to be a bar that you only get drunk at. You can easily include a cool grill and other features without spending a lot of money. Check out your options of designing a bar or outdoor kitchen for your house in Costa Rica:

Features 
Before you start building, you’d first want to decide what kind of features you’d like to include:

• Do you want a roof over the bar? It rains in Costa Rica and you’d

   like to use the bar during the rainy season too.

• Do you want a thatched roof, maybe a pergola or a tiled roof, one that matches your house or quite the contrary?
•  Would you like a pergola over your bar in Costa Rica?
• Do you want your bar above ground or in the ground so it can

   be part of your swimming pool?

• You’re going to need a sink? A single or double bowl sink?

• Include a barbecue and grill. 
• Beverage and glassware storage.
• A refrigerator.

• A smoker.

• A wine cooler or beer cooler.

• Ice storage or ice machine.
• A flat screen TV

Design tips for your bar
Think well about the following details before you start building your bar:
•    Combine your bar and cooking area in such way that you can attend both without having to hire a crew to entertain your guests.
•    Bar dimensions are 42 inches tall with 30-inch bar stools.
•    Ladies like to sit, guys like to stand or hang.
•    Spend time and effort on creating the right ambiance.
•    Consult a contractor to design the electrical and plumbing.
•    Choose building and finishing materials that stand up to all the elements.
•    If you’d like to integrate your bar with the pool area, you need to bring your pool up to a certain level to make it functional, ask your contractor.

Design tips for your outdoor kitchen
A good design of an outdoor kitchen needs a lot of thought and planning:
•    Find the best location for your outdoor kitchen. You don’t want the smoke to blow into your house.
•    Build it as close as you can to the kitchen.
•    Don’t block the views from your living room and master bedroom by building your new outdoor kitchen.
•    Think about the weather conditions you can have at any given time and where wind and rain will be coming from.
•    The best outdoor kitchens are as functional as an indoor kitchen, as welcoming as a living room, and as entertaining as a family room.Think about the weather conditions before you build your outdoor kitchen
•    The same working triangle used in your home kitchen should be applied to your outdoor kitchen. The ideal working triangle places the sink, cooktop and refrigerator in a triangle setting. Keep the legs of the triangle no less than 4 feet and no longer than 9 feet. A good rule of thumb for distances around appliances is 36” for every person in the kitchen.
•    Appliances will determine the kitchen size so decide first which appliances you’d like to include.
•    Traditional 36” high counters are perfect for standing pre work and cooking, 30” high surfaces are ideal for sitting and eating, and 42” high bar tables are great for standing or resting food and beverages.
•    Design sufficient counter space for a buffet and drinks.
•    Blend your design theme into the surrounding area, don’t make it stick out.
•    Think well about the countertop materials and flooring materials for easy cleaning.
•    Create enough walking space between back and front for several people attending at the same time.
•    Consult a contractor to design the electrical and plumbing.
•    Design lighting for having smaller and larger crowds. Spend time and effort on creating the right ambiance.
•    Choose building and finishing materials that stand up to all the elements.

Rancho or gazebo
If your house in Costa Rica does not have a large covered terrace but you have a lot of outdoor space, you might elect to build a gazebo or rancho as we call them in Costa Rica. The advantage of a rancho is that you can not only build a nice kitchen and bar but can also add a toilet, so you can keep your guests outside the house.

Once your bar is built, send out party invitations to break in your new bar!