Check out Part I and Part II of the Outdoor Kitchen project.
At long last! A year later, the outdoor “kitchen” area is done. It was almost done last year, except for one tiny detail: the doors. You might recall what I wanted the freestanding furniture to be like, something similar to this from Ikea:
Except in the following color scheme…
Image from Kitchenisms via Pinterest
Well, I think we did a decent job!
I already explained last year more or less how we built the structure. I’m sorry I don’t have any plans for you, we sort of invented it as we went along. They’re definitely very sturdy though. So, the doors: instead of buying big pieces of plywood we decided to use the lumber we already had to save some money. We used the Kreg Jig to join three boards together for each door, and them cut them to size. That’s why you can see some vertical “seams”. Then I sanded everything down and stained them the same ebony color I used last year. We attached the hinges – they’re a special kind that go inside, that was one of my requirements, I didn’t want to see the hinges and finally put the doors in place.
When we went to attach the doors, we had to cut (more like shave) them a bit since they were a bit tighter than expected, and then I went back and retouched the stain once again. Adding the door handles was pretty easy, too: drill holes with the door already in place, screw them in, and that’s it.
We’re now officially ready for summer! I can’t wait to make a paella. Maybe some sangria, too. Oh and now that we’ve completed the two “pending” projects (the trunk and the doors) we’ve already started on the centerpieces for the wedding. I think they’ll be pretty easy to build, but sanding them and staining them all will be… interesting. I also wanted to let you know that I’m traveling to Berlin on Sunday for a conference and I’ll be there for a few days, so next week I’ll be blogging about the trip instead of my usual schedule. And I’m off to work on my presentation!
I really like how the cabinets look now that they’re finished! Great choice with the hardware, too! How you have time to do this while wedding planning is beyond me (I’m totally impressed!)!
I’m glad you like them Kristen! Finishing this before starting with the centerpieces was my “requirement”, since it had already been a year since we started it.
NICE! Beautiful pieces! They look really sturdy… nice use of pocket screws for the door boards too. Perfect color. Well done!
Thanks John! The Kreg Jig definitely came in handy!
Looks great!! I dont know how you have the time for all this either- super impressed!! Berlin sounds exciting!!
Haha, you should ask my boyfriend – I cannot sit on the couch for too long, I get bored very quickly!
I absolutely LOVE these pieces! I love the idea of an outdoor kitchen! It’s the perfect solution to being stuck in the kitchen at BBQs!
Hahah, definitely! We used it last summer and it was great.
These look great, I am so jealous of you being able to plan an outdoor kitchen. It will be so fab now its summer. xox
Thanks Ashleigh! We’re looking forward to cooking there this summer.
Woow you guys are amazing, it looks super good.
Thanks Amanda, I’m flattered
These look great! I love the hardware and an outdoor kitchen is such a great idea (at least it is in Spain! No point here in rainy blighty!) Where did you buy your Kreg Jig?
The hardware was on sale at Ikea for 0.50€ a piece, which I thought was a great price.
And my parents bought the Kreg Jig for us in the U.S. – it doesn’t have any electrical parts and it’s not too big so it fits in a suitcase.
An outdoor kitchen sounds so cool! How did you do the hinges? Are they inset? Do you have a router that does that?
They’re inset into the door, yup. There’s a special drill bit for the cordless drill that does the holes though – it cost 6€.
Hmmm…I’m going to have to look into that some more. Figuring out how we’re going to put the door on the double desk has stopped us from finishing it. I wanted a clean, no-hinge look like your cabinets but couldn’t find anything for a reasonable price. The closet thing we found was a jig that was $40-90.
Oh no this was a special drill bit that they sold in different sizes (depending on the hinge you were using) and pretty cheap like I said. Here’s a pic: http://www.google.es/imgres?q=taladro+cazoleta+bisagra&um=1&hl=es&client=safari&sa=N&rls=en&biw=1429&bih=693&tbm=isch&tbnid=GY5R-4-aSuWMCM:&imgrefurl=http://www.solostocks.com/venta-productos/maquinaria/ferreteria/general/broca-para-caja-de-bisagras-cmt-35×90-mm-6072796&docid=YZPPl-65fcM8fM&imgurl=http://www.solostocks.com/img/broca-para-caja-de-bisagras-cmt-35×90-mm-6072796z0.jpg&w=500&h=500&ei=3uniT93EL9CT8gOzl_DUDg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=629&vpy=338&dur=1801&hovh=225&hovw=225&tx=126&ty=147&sig=112151281745367962104&page=3&tbnh=160&tbnw=166&start=45&ndsp=24&ved=1t:429,r:8,s:45,i:241
I hope you can find something like that! Doors were the worst part of building the outdoor cabinets, definitely. They didn’t turn out perfect but since they’re outdoors we don’t mind the handmade look so much
They turned out awesome! Very impressive =)
Thanks Kelly! I’m glad you like them.
This came out so great. What a great outdoor kitchen!!