When landscaping specifically for a grilling area, keep in mind exactly how much outdoor cooking you are going to be doing. For those grill masters out there who also use a smoker and will fully utilize an outdoor kitchen there are a lot of elements to consider. The area where the sink, stovetop and food prep areas for the outdoor kitchen should be covered even if the rest of this section is not. While grills, even large ones, usually have a cover attached both the grill and the smoker can be a bit of a ways off from the covered area to permit the smoke to rise.
Keeping your outdoor kitchen made of an easy to clean material that does not absorb scents or flavors (or germs) are why many of them are typically made primarily of Stainless Steel. But the flooring of this area should be a non-skid surface like natural stone that is easy to clean for cleaning the grills as well. Other areas, like the sitting area should complement the outdoor kitchen in some way. A good example would be a sitting area with a fire pit for roasting marshmallows and keeping warm when the hour starts to get late. If the natural stone you are using has an obvious natural color to it or you wish to tie in a water element or other accent color here is a great way to do it.
Many companies offer special recycled glass beads that are made specifically for lining fire pits safely as well as sand options and so on. In many cases you can find a fire pit kit or accessory kit for your fire pit. These options come in multiple colors and you can create a border around the fire pit with the same stone you used for the grilling area and outdoor kitchen.