Merbau feature wall with vertical garden

[weekenddiyer]

I just finished off a spring project, getting ready for the warmer weather in the coming months.

We have a water tank at the end of our back deck where we put our BBQ, I didn't find it unsightly, however I thought we could do something more with this space. 

I was keen to have some extra storage, bench space for barbecuing and ideally a sink to wash hands etc.

I made the frame slightly higher than the water tank so that we wouldn't see it when finished.  I also left a spot to include a vertical garden in the middle of the wall.

With merbau decking installed, it started to take shape, and just a ply backing where the garden will go as you won't see it. 

And here's the final product...

I considered building an outdoor kitchen cabinetry, however I saw some IKEA outdoor cupboards and thought for the price they weren't bad and would save me a lot of time.  I opted for the ones with the stainless steel top, and then did a hack by cutting a hole for the sink and tap (also from IKEA). 

I also added some deck lighting to the Un-real Boston Fern vertical garden which I was pretty impressed at how easy it was to work with, cutting it to size for the recess in the wall. 

Getting Bunnings to cut the merbau to size for me saved a lot of time and gave me cleaner cuts than I would have been able to achieve.

I'm planning on getting a new Family Weber Q (3200) with a new stand to replace our Weber Baby Q and rickety stand which has seen better days.  (The Baby Q will then be used as our portable / picnic BBQ).

Hopefully this helps with some inspiration for a quick and easy outdoor kitchen area.  I built this over a weekend, so it's pretty achievable, even for a newbie DIYer like me.  Feel free to ask any questions.

[Jason]

Wow @weekenddiyer, what a brilliant result. I'm sure you will be spending loads of time entertaining friends and family using your outdoor kitchen now that the warmer weather has arrived. Many thanks for sharing your project. There will be many Workshop members who are inspired by your fantastic work. 

Welcome to the Workshop community. We're really pleased to have you join us and trust that you'll get plenty of ideas and advice from other members. Feel free to post anytime you need assistance with a project or have something new to share. We have loads of clever and creative members sharing fantastic projects and helpful advice everyday, so you'll find plenty of like-minded people and will certainly fit right in!

Feel free to let me know if you have any feedback about how we can make Workshop even more useful to you. 

Jason

[MartyH]

Awesome result. 👏

[redracer01]

This is an amazing creation!

[Kermit]

Well done @weekenddiyer. I really like how you have mixed D.I.Y. with some cheap cabinetry. Sometimes it is cheaper and easier to buy something off the shelf and incorporate it into a design. 

When it comes to replacing your BBQ, consider a Weber Genesis rather than a Family Q. They are worth every cent and would look great.  

[weekenddiyer]

Thanks for the tip @Kermit  - will take a look into these!

[Bundaboy]

Very nicely done, and thanks very much for adding the links, that is really helpful. Cheers.

[Bundaboy]

Hi @Kermit , If you don't mind my asking, which particular version of the Genesis range do you have?

[Kermit]

No worries @Bundaboy, I've got this one - https://www.weber.com/AU/en/barbecues/premium-gas-range/genesis-ii-series/66015324.html

Cooking area is as big as most 4 burner barbecues, and it's wonderful to cook on. Stays on temp, very even heat right across the grill, awesome for low and slow cooking as well as a quick steak. It's also great to have it plumbed in so you never run out of gas, but you can get the same model for LPG. 

[Bundaboy]

@Kermit Very nice, thanks for that.

I have natural gas in the house but not out in the BBQ area, but I am thinking very seriously about having it plumbed out there - I have to look into what's involved, costs, etc. The one thing I have learned since buying this house is that absolutely NOTHING is straight forward LOL.

Thanks again.