Outdoor Kitchen

Celebrations and jubilation....the outdoor kitchen project is finished.

I think I have already exhausted my repertoire of the misgivings I had as the project was slowly moving along. Really, I need to give myself a good slap sometimes. 

In fairness to myself though, when making changes to something that is already lovely and well functioning, I have feelings of anxiety that we are at risk of spoiling what we already have. 

I have come to realise that this seems to carry through many areas of my life. It's a kind of "If it ain't broke why fix it?" mentality which I'm not all that concerned about to be honest.

We live in an era of excessive consumerism and I know, from the very core of my being, that I don't want to be a part of that. 

Anyhooo.... getting off topic, as I so often do, my dread of changing our already lovely outdoor space has caused me some sleepless nights.

But here we are, and it has turned out to be a beautiful space that still takes my breath away as I get first glimpse from the kitchen window each morning.  

I was concerned that my view of the garden from the kitchen window had been compromised, but there is still plenty of garden to see.  And when perched on the new cafe bar stools, that are yet to arrive, the remainder of the back garden will be visible. 

I have always enjoyed a garden that holds little surprises just around the corner, or over the hedge or wall, and this is the effect that the slightly higher cafe bar gives us now. 

This old restored stove is what started the whole process. How plans and thoughts can snowball..! Salvaged terracotta tiles that didn't quite fit the space. I'm totally in love with what Brian has done to create an interesting fit.

The beauty in the detail of this old piece of functional art. A tiny sliding door allows extra heat to escape from the oven if needed.

The oven door knob is shaped in a fist. All of these fittings were seized up or had been separated from the stove when Brian brought all the pieces home on the trailer a year ago.

The benches are built from the old decking boards.

 The old butler's sink had been used as a water container in the poultry shed. Scrubbed up and very heavy; too heavy to sit atop the bench so Brian made up a little table to safely support its weight and has plumbed in a water tap.

The deck is on the eastern side of the house, facing the morning sun and the windows either side of the stove are on the northern side, creating a sheltered sunny spot on wintry days.

An outdoor room, sheltered and dry. A transition between inside and outside that is a beautiful space to be in for this outdoor loving family.

A family pizza night to test the oven is planned for later this week.

And now that we've finished this project, there are so many other jobs to catch up on, so back outside I go.

Cheers for now and thanks for dropping in.

Sally XX