Outdoor kitchens in Miami, built for salt air and sun

Miami's houses cover many styles. Morningside, a City of Miami historic district since 1984, is lined with Mediterranean Revival, Art Deco and vernacular houses. Along Biscayne Boulevard, the MiMo Historic District protects buildings in the Miami Modern style. Many newer homes on the water pair white walls, glass and flat roofs. The kitchen takes on the character of the house through color and stone: choose from standard colors in fine texture, with nearly all RAL colors available on request, and from natural stone worktops in Nero Assoluto, Anthracite Black, Taj Mahal and Calacatta Brazil. See the color library and the countertops.

The city's eastern neighborhoods, from Coconut Grove to Morningside, face Biscayne Bay, a shallow subtropical estuary between the mainland and the barrier islands. Along the water, salt air is part of daily life. In South Florida, the rainy season typically runs from late May to mid-October and brings about 69 percent of Miami's annual rainfall. The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1 to November 30. For this climate, the cabinets use 5/16 in (8 mm) marine-grade aluminum, finished with Off-Shore powder coating with a chromate-free, nano-ceramic pre-treatment, and the kitchen has storm hooks in the plinth that secure the doors. A roof over the kitchen adds shade and shelter from summer rain: see covered patio kitchens and kitchens by the pool, or read more about the PureAlu System.

Within the City of Miami, building permits are handled by the City's Building Department, which enforces the Florida Building Code. Homes in historic districts such as Morningside have an additional step: In the City of Miami, work on a historically designated property requires a certificate of appropriateness. Miami-Dade County lies in the High-Velocity Hurricane Zone and has the most advanced requirements of the Florida Building Code. A roof or pergola over the kitchen is planned with this in mind. Miami-Dade County lists pergolas and gazebos among the projects that need a permit and issues trade permits for electrical, plumbing and mechanical work. We clarify during planning which permits your kitchen needs and prepare the documents for the licensed contractor. Our permit guide explains the steps in more detail; more articles are in our outdoor kitchen guide.