Update- I’m still plugging away on the outdoor kitchen…

Thank you so much for all the encouragement and advice I got yesterday.  It was so wonderful to know I wasn’t alone.

My favorite comments were from Granny J and Deb. 

They both wanted to pack up and come give me a hand.  Granny J was even prepared to stop and get Gail to round out the work crew.

You rock!

It gave me the burst of energy I needed to pull some things together.

As a matter of fact, Mike and I sat at our new bar tonight amongst a gazillion mosquitoes and had a beer.

It was the best beer I ever had.

Is it done? no, not really.  But the bar is officially a bar and I have actual bar stools now.

Yayyyyyy!

I will start the cook top counter today and hopefully will be ready to drop the grill in place before the weekend is done.

And I will work on the countertop for the sink area too.

Looking at my garage pictures made me think I should really use some of the stuff I have in there. 

So, my countertops, barstools, and trim are all coming out of my stash of goodies.

It would be too easy to go out and buy new materials.  But why should I, when I have so much stuff I’ve been hoarding saving for just this sort of project.

I found some ceramic wall tiles in my basement that are fine for the counters.  I even have a bag of thin-set mortar. 

And it’s the right kind for outdoor use.

Even better.

The bar counter was a challenge…but I think I got it now.

It probably won’t last very long, and we will need to bring it in for the winter.

And cover it when it rains.

But, it was free.

And replacing something that was free isn’t too tough to swallow, is it?

Who knows, maybe next year I will want to splurge on granite.

I’m fickle that way.

So, for today I am going to be a bit of a tease.  The bar top post will have to wait until tomorrow.

But I’ll share my barstools with you, ok?

All you regular readers  know by now how much I love ladders.  If you missed it, here is the link to my Ladder Love  post.

Remember the pictures of my stash?

 

It’s actually grown since then.

 Gosh, I love ladders so much….

But I can’t just keep a pile of ladders around forever now.

Time to find a new purpose for them!

 

Oh no, I didn’t actually cut all those ladders, did I?

Oh yes I did.  It killed me to do it, but necessary for the plan.

Yup, now they are bar stool height.

  

 Some black spray paint made them look less like ladders and more like furniture.   I would have loved to keep them original, but Mike likes a more finished look.  I buy my spray paint for a dollar a can whenever they have it at Real Deals.  I had quite the stash on hand.

Now for the seats.  I had some stair treads my sister was throwing away because she messed up the cuts.  She actually had a dumpster in her driveway full of stuff like this!

 

I rescued as much as I could…..

 

My handy dandy router got put to use.  Boy does that make a mess!

Now the seats are smooth all around.

And big enough for a comfortable seat.

See?  Mike and I tried these 2 out last night when we had our beer.

The ladder rungs are perfect for a footrest.

And the paint shelf on the back can be raised or lowered as desired. 

I think it’s a great place to set a purse, don’t you?

I made 4 so far, but can make more if I need to. 

Not like I don’t have plenty of stepladders!

 

And best of all, they even fold up for storage!

   

So I still have to stain and poly the seats…

But I’m calling them done for now.

Gotta go now, there’s a project to finish.

Rose

I’m linking this up to Donna’s Saturday Night Special Party!  Check it out, it’s a blast!