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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