Outdoor kitchens in Naples, FL, designed and built by one team
Knaak Design Group designs and builds outdoor kitchens in Naples, FL, and across Southwest Florida as one licensed design-build team. Florida is the only climate in the country where the outdoor kitchen gets more use than the indoor one. We design and build outdoor kitchens as part of the broader landscape - every appliance, every surface, every fire feature considered as one composition.
Scope of work.
Custom-built cooking islands
Built-in grills, side burners, smokers, pizza ovens, refrigeration, ice - sized and sequenced for how the family actually entertains.
Custom millwork & cabinetry
Marine-grade cabinetry, granite or porcelain countertops, integrated storage, hand-finished detailing that holds up in salt air and humidity.
Fire features integrated
Linear gas firepits, freestanding fireplaces, fire bowls, wood-burning surrounds - all designed in relationship to the kitchen, the seating, and the view.
Bar & entertaining areas
Wet bars, kegerator stations, ice troughs, prep zones for catered events. Designed for the way Naples actually entertains.
Shaded & covered structures
The Florida sun is intense. Most of our kitchen builds include a pergola or solid-roof structure overhead - designed in the same vocabulary.
Our design-build process.
Design Consultation
We walk the property, understand how you live and entertain, and frame the budget and scope honestly before anything is drawn.
Site & Architectural Integration
The design is drawn to the architecture, the grade, the sightlines and the sun - so the kitchen and patio belong to the house.
3D Design Renderings
You see the finished space in photoreal 3D before a single paver is set - materials, layout and light resolved on screen.
Design Development
Appliances, surfaces, cabinetry and fire are specified and sequenced. Permitting, gas and electrical are engineered in.
Construction Execution
One team builds it - no contractor handoffs. Licensed gas and electrical trades are ours, on every Knaak build.
Final Reveal
We hand over a finished outdoor room, styled and ready for the first fire - and stand behind the work.
Patios, lounge zones and the space around the kitchen.
An outdoor kitchen that sits on leftover square footage never gets used. We draw the patio with the kitchen: paver and shell-stone terraces, sunken lounges, conversation areas and circulation designed around the view, so the cooking island has somewhere to belong. The kitchen, the dining zone, the lounge, the shade structure and the fire are one composition rather than five separate purchases.
Summer kitchen, outdoor kitchen, same build.
In Southwest Florida people say summer kitchen as often as outdoor kitchen, and lanai kitchen when it sits under the existing roofline. They are the same project. What changes the build is not the name but whether it lives under cover, on an open terrace, or under a structure we put up for it.
Outdoor kitchen builders in Naples: who actually builds it.
Knaak Design Group is a design-build firm, not a designer who hands a drawing to a contractor. Rob Knaak is a Registered Landscape Architect and a licensed Building Contractor, and the gas and electrical trades on a Knaak build are ours. That matters most on an outdoor kitchen, because the failure points are the seams between trades: the gas line that arrives after the masonry is set, the electrical never sized for the refrigeration, the counter cut before the appliance was specified.
One team draws it, permits it and builds it. There is no handoff where the responsibility goes missing. In practice that means a single design-build contract, marine-grade cabinetry with granite or porcelain counters specified for salt air, and a typical timeline of four to nine months from the first site walk to the final fire.
Gas, electrical and permitting.
Appliances, surfaces, cabinetry and fire are specified before construction, so gas and electrical are engineered into the drawing rather than chased afterward. Permitting is handled as part of the project. Where a property runs on propane rather than natural gas, or where the line to the kitchen is long, that is resolved at design development rather than on site.
Outdoor kitchen design.
Design is where an outdoor kitchen is won or lost. We draw the cooking line, the prep and serving runs, the bar seating and the dining zone as one plan, then model it in 3D so you see the counter heights, the sightlines from the custom pool and the shade at four in the afternoon before a single block is set. Appliances are specified in the drawing, so the refrigeration has power, the grill has gas and the counters are cut to the equipment that is actually arriving.
Outdoor kitchen contractors and installers.
Knaak Design Group is the contractor as well as the designer. Our own crews build what we draw: masonry and cabinetry, counters, the gas line hookups, the electrical, the plumbing, and the fire feature beside it. Licensed, permitted and inspected in Collier and Lee counties. There is no installer to coordinate and no showroom in the middle, because we are not a showroom. We design and build.
What an outdoor kitchen costs in Naples.
Our outdoor kitchen projects run from $30,000 to $150,000, with the number set by appliances, surfaces, cabinetry grade and the size of the patio and shade structure designed around it. Every project is priced in a written proposal after the design consultation. The full range of our work is on the project investment page.
Where we build.
Naples, Bonita Springs, Bonita Beach, Estero, Marco Island, Fort Myers and Cape Coral. Southwest Florida is a specific climate and a specific set of rules: salt air, hurricane code, HOA review, and a sun that will destroy the wrong cabinetry in two seasons. Marine-grade cabinetry, granite or porcelain counters and hand-finished detailing are not upgrades here, they are what survives.
Common questions.
Do you design the patio and the outdoor kitchen together?
Always. The kitchen, the dining zone, the lounge, the shade structure and the fire feature are drawn as one composition - so the flow, the sightlines and the shade all resolve together instead of being bolted on.
Do you do appliance specification, or do we buy the appliances?
We specify and source. We have working relationships with the high-end appliance lines (Fire Magic, Summerset, Blaze, Alfresco, Twin Eagle, Lynx) and we sequence appliance selection with the design - so the cabinetry fits the appliance, not the other way around.
How much does a custom outdoor kitchen cost in Naples?
Our outdoor kitchen projects run from $30,000 to $150,000. Appliances, surfaces, cabinetry grade and the patio and shade designed around the kitchen set the number, and every project is priced in a written proposal after the design consultation.
Do you handle the gas line hookups for an outdoor kitchen?
Yes. Gas, electrical and plumbing are engineered into the drawing and installed by our own crews under the same permit as the kitchen. Natural gas and propane are both common in Naples; long runs and propane conversions are resolved at design development, not on site.
Is Knaak Design Group an outdoor kitchen showroom?
No. We are a licensed design-build landscape architecture studio. We design the kitchen, specify and source the appliances and cabinetry, and build it with our own crews. There is no showroom markup and no handoff to a separate installer.
What surfaces hold up best in Naples?
Honed granite and large-format porcelain are our go-to surfaces for Southwest Florida - they handle UV, salt, and stain better than marble or quartz outdoor. Marine-grade cabinetry below.
Do you do gas piping and electrical?
Yes - our team includes licensed gas and electrical subcontractors who work on every Knaak build. No separate contractor handoffs.
How long does a custom outdoor kitchen take?
Typically four to nine months from site walk to final fire. Permitting in Naples can add time on gas-line work specifically.
Who builds outdoor kitchens in Naples?
Knaak Design Group designs and builds them as one firm. Rob Knaak is a Registered Landscape Architect and a licensed Building Contractor, and the gas and electrical trades are ours rather than subcontracted. On an outdoor kitchen that matters, because most of what goes wrong happens in the handoffs between trades.
Is a summer kitchen the same as an outdoor kitchen?
Yes. In Southwest Florida both terms describe the same build, and a kitchen tucked under an existing roofline is sometimes called a lanai kitchen. What changes the project is whether it sits under cover, on an open terrace, or under a structure we build for it.
Do you build the patio as well as the kitchen?
Always, and we draw them together. Paver and shell-stone terraces, sunken lounges, dining and conversation zones and the circulation between them are designed with the cooking island rather than around it. A kitchen placed on leftover square footage does not get used.
Do you handle gas lines, electrical and permitting?
Yes. Appliances, surfaces, cabinetry and fire are specified before construction so gas and electrical are engineered into the drawing rather than chased on site. Permitting is part of the project. Propane versus natural gas, and long runs to the kitchen, are resolved at design development.
What does an outdoor kitchen cost in Naples?
It depends on scope: the size of the island, the appliance package, the surfaces, whether fire features and a shade structure are included, and how much site work the patio needs. We frame the budget honestly at the design consultation before anything is drawn, rather than quoting a range that moves once the property is walked.
What materials hold up in Naples?
Marine-grade cabinetry, granite or porcelain countertops and hand-finished detailing selected for salt air and humidity. Southwest Florida is hard on the wrong specification: cabinetry chosen for a northern patio will not last two seasons here.
Do you serve Bonita Springs, Estero and Fort Myers?
Yes. Knaak Design Group builds throughout Naples, Bonita Springs, Estero, Marco Island and Fort Myers.
Our warranty.
Knaak warrants all construction work to be free of defects in material and workmanship for one year from substantial completion. If a defect appears within that year, we remedy it at no cost to you, provided the terms of your agreement have been met.
Plant material is warranted as follows: one year on trees, palms, shrubs, and ground cover; six months on perennial flowers; and thirty days on sod. Annual flowers, roses, container plantings, and existing plants relocated on site are not warranted. Warranty does not extend to damage from circumstances beyond our control, such as freezing, drought, pests, fire, wind, flood, vandalism, or governmental water-use restrictions.
Assemblies, accessories, and installed equipment carry their manufacturer's warranty, which we assign to you. We compact surface and sub-base density to meet or exceed specification, though we are not responsible for natural settling. Beyond the warranties stated here and in the Standard Pool Amenities Warranty provided with your agreement, no other warranties are expressed or implied. Full warranty terms are provided in your written agreement.
Recent outdoor kitchens.
Eleven consecutive Best of Houzz awards · 2020 HGTV People's Choice Award, Cape Coral
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