Some DIY projects are never really finished.
Yesterday's post showed a grill station sans countertops.
Adding counters makes a huge difference, IMO. We went to Home Depot this afternoon, as I'd mentioned yesterday.
The toppers that I found to use as countertops are extra large pavers, 16 by 24 inches. The pigments and surface texture are variegated throughout each paver to mimic natural stone. The colors range from rust and browns to slate gray. The underside is smooth, if that's the look we had wanted. One paver fit the narrow stack and two pavers, side by side fit the wider stack. These pavers were the only part of the grill station that we had to buy for this project. They cost $10.78 each, for a total project cost of about $35 including tax.
The paver overhangs both in front and back of the stack of concrete blocks. They're so heavy, it took us two people to place each paver. Although nothing is securing the blocks or pavers to each other, I don't think anything is going anywhere unless I physically lift it.
After Kris suggested potted plants in front of the stacks yesterday, I pulled a pot of peppermint from a shady spot on the deck and placed it in front of the wide stack. I'm going for an edible plant theme with the plant groups surrounding the grill station. The peppermint should be very happy in this filtered sunlight spot.
On top of the wide stack I have plans for 3 pots of culinary herbs, one rosemary, one thyme, and one sage. The "pots" are also following a "food" theme. These are empty #10 cans from this winter's canned tomatoes. In addition to buying the pavers, I also bought 2 of the 3 herbs and a can of indoor/outdoor spray paint in the color Eden.
Before planting in the cans, I needed to prepare them to be pots. I used an old nail and hammer to add 3 drainage holes to the bottoms of each can.
Next I gave each can two coats of spray paint. The color of my pot cans is very close to the green in the outdoor fabric (shower curtain) that I will use to cover some cushions.
Here are the 3 cans, two with herbs placed inside. I'll pick up the sage when I go to Fred Meyer on Saturday. I won't be potting the cans just yet. I like to give painted objects a couple of days to cure before handling them too much.
The white marks on the pavers are scuffing from stacking and moving around of the pavers. The scuffing washed off fairly easily. The close-up of the paver above shows one section that had been wiped off with water and a rag -- scuff marks gone.
The entire grill station project was conceived of a week ago and put together in less than 2 days. It's definitely in the "do-able" category.
There's more to come on this small patio. Stay tuned. . .
