Tuesday 25 June 2019

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





 

 




17 comments:

  1. Sally this is such a beautiful space. I love that beautiful old stove.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Jane, it really is a lovely space to be in on sunny winter days. I'm not sure how hot it will be in summer though. XX

      Delete
  2. omg hasn't it come up a beauty!? totally lovely & very envious of your out door kitchen! love the details on the stove; & it totally looks like it's always been there, lived in & very cozy, can't wait for pizza night :))
    love it
    thanx for sharing

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Selina, I hope I can work out how to get the oven hot enough for pizza baking. XX

      Delete
  3. A beautiful space for you. Your table looks in such good condition compared to ours atm. Ours needs some loving and resealing. Looks absolutely fab.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brigie our table and chairs have seen a lot of weather, but I actually quite like the weathered look and hope it will be OK if we don't seal it again. Thanks, we love the space too. XX

      Delete
  4. Beautiful space! I see lots of Pizza and wine evenings, morning teas, etc, etc, etc. Enjoy!
    Patricia USA

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Patricia, I think this space will certainly get plenty of use. XX

      Delete
  5. Well Sally, that looks amazing! Well done to you both. Salvaging all those materials was such a good idea. It is a pity you don't live closer as my husband is a hoarder and there are all kinds of timber, plumbing fittings etc. in our back yard. I would gladly have given it all away...as long as he wasn't looking. LOL!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Chel I wish we could have used salvaged decking boards on the floor, but they were dearer at the salvage yard than they were at the new timber supplier. A few things we had to buy new, but it was great to re-purpose some of the stuff we already had. Oh we also have a section way down the back, behind the sheds, that is a breeding ground for "useful" bits and pieces. ;-)

      Delete
  6. Gorgeous! Absolutely gorgeous. You will get an enormous amount of use out of that area. Job well done!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Fran, we use it every day and already I wonder how we managed without that extra space. XX

      Delete
  7. It looks beautifull!! Tou both can be very proud of the work you did in/while creating it. Wel earned beautifull place. I am sure you will enjoy it very much.
    Sometimes taking the hurdle, to be open for new things, is a thingie (for me too) but it has paid of big!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi Wendy, Thanks for your reassuring words and apologies that it has taken me awhile to respond. Now that we've had some winter rain I feel even more gratitude for this extra portion of outdoor covered space.

      Delete
  8. I thought I had replied to this post, but I guess I forgot to type one. The memory sieve is getting dodgy, lol. Love all the salvaged materials used, and how much more space you have to entertain/preserve food, or whatever takes your fancy. Naturally, I loved the potted plants, leading up to the deck as well. It reminds me to go water mine today.

    Needless to say, fantasitc job, all round! Thanks for sharing. :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks Chris, I don't know how we managed winters previously without this extra outdoor space. Yes, I do really love it now.

      Delete
  9. I love it Sally! I want an outdoor stove for summer cooking.

    ReplyDelete

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...