Do - it -Yourself outdoor Kitchen

Cultured Stone Veneer for your outdoor Kitchen

Kitchens are the undisputed heart of the home, where everyone gathers, mingles, and lingers during parties. But to achieve that kind of appeal outside means expanding your outdoor living space. To draw a crowd—and keep them entertained—requires a bit more than plopping down a table and a few plastic chairs.

With an outdoor kitchen you can prepare meals and be around your guests with minimal time spent running back inside for plates, beverages, or tongs. Although you could spend tens of thousands of dollars for a custom outdoor kitchen, a basic island is an efficient design that leaves out the complexity of curves and angles. Not only that, with an island guests can relax on one side while you're cooking on the other, so you feel as though you're part of the gathering.

Since durability is such a critical issue for an outdoor kitchen, stone veneer is a low-maintenance option that won't need painting or sealing. Real stone is heavy, expensive, and requires the experience of a mason. Cementitious cultured stone, such as the type used in this project from Landmark Stone, is easier to work with because it's lighter, cuts faster, and lasts just as long as the real thing—all while looking as natural as real stone.

Follow along as This Old House senior technical editor Mark Powers builds a simple frame, covers it in faux stone, and then nestles a gas grill in the center to get the party started.

The island's frame is made out of pressure-treated 2x4s and 3/4-inch plywood - an inexpensive and durable construction that's easier to work with than concrete block. The frame consists of three small, manageable boxes that are built separately and then screwed together to make one long island: one 24-inch-high, 37-inch-wide box in the center to support the grill and the shelf it sits on, plus one 36-inch-high, 48-inch-wide box on either side, with cabinets set into each. This layout allows you to scale the island's length to fit your patio or adjust it to incorporate a built-in bar with a 90-degree turn. Because the boxes are empty, they can accept steel doors, drawers, or other storage compartments or conceal a propane tank for a gas grill.

The outside of the island is veneered with cultured stone, which is lightweight and easy to put on with mortar. Use stones that complement your home's architecture or existing stonework - round fieldstones evoke a classic New England farm wall, while thin, horizontal stones have a more modern look. Arranging the stone in an aesthetically pleasing way is like doing a big jigsaw puzzle. Speed up the hunt for the perfectly sized stone by first unpacking and organizing all the pieces into piles of corners, shorts, longs, and rectangulars. This ensures you'll have on hand a random range of colors, mimicking real stone, and keeps you from rummaging through boxes and chipping the pieces.