Upcycled Outdoor Kitchen
An outdoor kitchen is a project I've always wanted to make.
I've just never had the materials we needed to do it until now. In the summer, we spend most of our time outdoors and we'll make a lot of use of this space doing things like cooking, canning, preserving, washing vegetables and so forth.
I can already imagine how nice it will be to do all my kitchen witchery especially canning and preserving without being stuck inside the house sweating over a hot stove.
The Challenge: Build an outdoor kitchen without buying anything
My cost for this project so far: $0.00. I have not run to the store or bought anything (yet). I've just had to be resourceful and compromise. Eventually I will need to purchase a few plumbing fittings that we don't have to make this a fully functional "cold water" sink.
The majority of wood & material used to build the outdoor kitchen, came from the old kitchen that we renovated last year. The original kitchen was haphazardly constructed. There was a lot of random lumber that we were able to salvage.
The Outdoor Kitchen Sink
My husband sanded the old counter down and cleaned it up for me and I used a couple of old barrels to stand the sink and counter on. To finish it off I hung a curtain across the bottom that will hide the tubing/pipes and other messy things.
Our plan is to attach some fittings that will run from the garden hose to the sink. We'll only have cold water but I don't mind. We can allow water to heat by the sun or use the burner or BBQ if necessary. The water will drain into a bucket or alternatively directly into some of the closer garden areas. We've long wanted to do this indoors but it is quite a difficult task and one we aren't ready to tackle. This gets us one step closer to conserving and utilizing grey water.
All the water that will ever be is, right now. » National Geographic
The Outdoor Bar Counter and Shelves
I also managed to build a tall counter with some shelves using the old kitchen lumber. Ever since I built that arbour for the garden, I've been itching to build more things! I want to paint a message on the board across the front - what should it say?
The Outdoor Kitchen Boho Chic Decor (lol)
We added a chair, a bench and then of course I decorated, gathering items from storage box that I'd hoped to one day put on display: A lucky horseshoe, decorative snowshoes, old licences plates from the past, some curtains from the rag bag and so forth. We've got colourful prayer flags and a string of solar lights to finish things off (and help us make it back to the house without tripping in the dark).
My husband calls the décor "homey with a hint of redneck" but I prefer boho chic.
Outdoor Kitchen Inspired by Steem
A few Steem challenges inspired me to leap in and make my outdoor kitchen a reality. The first was the Ecotrain Real Life Repurposing Abundance/Waste Challenge where @ecoalex calls for action by asking:
Have you ever taken something that was totally broken and given it a new lease of life? Did you notice how much more you value and enjoy the things that you made or fixed with your own hands.. that sense of pride and achievement? It's a beautiful feeling that lives on every day and every time that you look at it. If you're not really the type of person who normally finds trash or junk and spends some time being creative with it, now is your chance to discover the joy and fun that can be had when you engage your creative juices.Another challenge that inspired is Earth Deeds run by @elemental. He runs regular challenges to inspire people to do and share good deeds. You can read a list of entries to the recent contest that are sure to give you ideas on simple things you can do that make an impact! @elemental writes:
Earth Deeds is designed to inspire people to create content that reflects their services to the Earth. The process of creating and hosting this contest has also made me a better Earth custodian, has inspired me to reduce my carbon footprint even more than I already have been, and to continuously report on my actions of conservation.
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Posted with love from my blog walkerland.ca with SteemPress : https://www.walkerland.ca/upcycled-outdoor-kitchen/
That is so cool! I've wanted an outdoor kitchen for years too. I spend the most time over a hot stove in the summer too, and it's miserable! It makes the house hot and humid and I'm always worried that there will be drops of sweat in the jam. I love your little kitchen! And I love the homey with a hint of redneck decor. That's what I"m all about too. Although boho chic does sound a little better. Ha ha. Most of the things I make are just from scraps lying around the farm too, because I can't be bothered to drive into town to shop. It does make me feel more clever when I can build something that not only didn't cost anything, it actually cleaned up the place by getting rid of things I hang onto because I might use them some day! Once in a while, someday shows up. Congratulations on your big achievement. I can't wait to see pictures of it in use this summer. I will try to get my husband to comment with his off-grid hot water heater schematics. It worked pretty well when he was up camping.
Thanks for the great comment @goat-girlz! Repurposing does have a nice bonus effect of tidying thing up - I was noticing that yesterday when we were putting things away.
I'm sure other people would appreciate reading about his off grid hot water schematics as well - maybe you should do a post and then drop a link to it here!? I am still mulling over the best approach for the plumbing, not my favourite task.
I try to stay as far away from plumbing as possible! I must have a mental block about it, but it seems so intimidating! My husband is great with plumbing and electrical, so I just wander away when he's in the trenches. I will try to get him to do a post. That's a great idea.
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What an amazing outdoor kitchen. I love the barrels, the deco, but most of all the fact that it was all recycled. Now you can use it and improve it little by little. First you hook up the cold water, then you could run it through some solar heating arrays, and eventually you'll have a fully functional and sustainable outdoor kitchen.
Neat idea @stortebeker. I think we've got a system we could hook it up to ... once we figure out how!! So glad you mentioned this as I really had not considered even trying for hot water!
Oh, I'm sure it's a step-by-step thing. At first any water is better than none. Then you'll notice the perfect place for the panel, next you'll score some copper piping and some discarded insulation, and before you know it... voila! It will have manifested itself.
Serious outdoor kitchen envy! I prefer to call them summer kitchens. Here, we'd never get away with open air, the mosquitoes would carry me off! Would have to be screened....
Love the decorating, especially the license plates. :))
I am tall and standard height counters kill my back. My husband would not raise them during the last kitchen reno, but I have made him build me others that were high enough to work at, both inside and in the butchershop.
Wonderful job!
summer kitchen sounds so pretty. I think that's what I'll start calling it. We get bugs but they don't bother me much because they are nowhere near as bad as they were in Yellowknife. That's the trick. Live somewhere that the bugs are a total nightmare and everywhere else seems better!!
Love that you've built the counters to suit your height. I am really tall too and I find our bathroom sinks absurdly short. If we ever get to fix them up I'll remedy that.
This is really fantastic. An outdoor kitchen is something we have dreamed of for a long time. Yours is absolutely beautiful. Thanks so much for sharing with us!
Thanks @squareonefarms, I am glad we squeezed in some time to finally get it done!
Very cool that our @ecotrain Abundance Challenge had a role to play in helping you create this really nice outdoor space through upcycling and without buying new stuff. Well done you!!
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