I’m absolutely thrilled to share with you today my DIY outdoor kitchen.

I’ve wanted an outdoor kitchen for years but as the saying goes, the plumbers drains are sometimes clogged. Well, the landscape architects yard is not always finished. Don’t get me wrong, I completely enjoy designing outdoor kitchens for my clients but at the end of the day in my own home I don’t seem to have the time to design my own.

After a year of firming up the idea and then actually finding the time to build it between running an office, this blog and being mom to three young boys, my affordable outdoor kitchen is complete and all for under $200!

In designing this kitchen I wanted to use materials that could be easily and affordably obtained. (and re-purposed if possible). But I needed to be sure these items would hold up to the weather just like the ones you can custom order or get off the shelf ones at Lowe’s.

So I’m truly excited to announce the $200 dollar DIY Outdoor Kitchen. Materials and the step by step is listed below.

Materials:

1. 2 File Cabinets (same size and height. These can be found at thrift stores.) $20

2. Re-purposed Exterior Door (solid wood is preferable, the door will get cut or trimmed down to the size table top you’d like. These can be found at the Habitat for Humanity Restore found in most large cities.) $30

3. 8 Rolling Castors (find stout durable castors at least 3-4” in height depending on how high you want your table top. I used a 4 pack typically designed for closet shelving.) $40

4. 2 Counter Height brackets (the most inexpensive ones I found are the IKEA CAPITA Bracket.) $20

5. Faucet (found at local plumbing store on clearance.) $15

6. Stainless steel restaurant drop basins with lid (these containers are used throughout the restaurant business, you can find them at a local restaurant supply store. This will be your sink so choose a size appropriate to your needs. Be sure to check the faucet with the sink prior to installation.) $15

7. Marine grade spar varnish (I applied 20 coats to my table top to protect it from the intense NM sun and the rare wet weather.) $10 for a Quart

8. Drain kit for the bottom of the sink. ($10)

9. 2 cans of Spray Paint (for painting the file cabinets) $15

10. Faucet flexible pipe connections and hose connections. (finding the correct pipe size took a little bit of trial and error.)

Tools:

1. Skill saw for cutting or trimming the door.

2. Jigsaw for cutting out the hole for the sink.

3. Drill and drill bits for drilling holes for facet, counter brackets and sink drain.

4. Paint brushes for the spar varnish. (I prefer brushes for this application to apply a thick and consistent coat).

5. Wrench, screwdrivers and a tape measure to take care of the bits and pieces.

So as you can see this is a fairly simple DIY project. You’ll need some basic tools, the materials and then you’ll be off to the races.

I’ll continue the rest of this post next week where I’ll take you through step by step. In the meantime pop on over to my Facebook Page and share an image of one of your favorite outdoor DIY projects.