COnverting a shed to a summer kitchen

[Horse Fork Farm]

We have a building at our old house that needs to be moved so we are going to turn it into a Summer kitchen!!! I have been dreaming of having one for years now. Its just an older like plywood sided building that we stored our outside tools in, but its about 8x12 with a big door and I think it might work pretty well. I've got a lot of old windows we've been collecting so I'll have plenty of ventilation. I even have an old apartment size stove I picked up for nothing in hopes of doing this someday.

(My husband thinks I get happy over strange things):baby04:

Anyway, he and a neighbor of ours are getting ready now to go put it on a trailer and bring it home. I've got some old picket fencing and I want to put that around it and plant flowers all around. I'm wanting to make it look like a little cabin that someone lives in- shutters, window boxes, even curtains in the windows! Yipee Yippee YIPPEEEEEEE!

I'm running a temporary water hose from the spring and I have an extra sink so I can do all the processing from start to finish out there. I even have an room air conditioner if I need it. Just need to put up some shelves for cooling the jars overnight and I'll be all set. Am I missing/forgetting anything? Kathy

[NJ Rich]

You may want to put in fluorescent lights. They are cheaper to run than traditional light bulbs and are "cooler", a plus in a summer kitchen.

I am sure you have a fan to circulate the air. I think installing a roof vent to let out the heat generated by cooking and canning will keep things much cooler.

Enjoy your new Summer Kitchen.

[crehberg]

I think the only thing missing is some pictures of this finished project for us to drool over.

[jadedhkr]

When we did ours, we painted the inside white to help brighten it up, with the windows already in it I didn't need additional lighting since I didn't plan on using it after dark.

Ours used to be a chicken coop we had built ourselves. Summer kitchen.
Good luck.

[Windy in Kansas]

Drain for the sink or buckets, etc.

If you have a Habitat for Humanity "Restore" sales point not far away you may find really inexpensive countertop for sale. I looked at the Wichita Restore a while back and approximately 12 foot long countertop was $25 and looked nearly new, color of the formed top just dated. Couldn't get the plywood for shelving for that price.

[GREENCOUNTYPETE]

a roof vent or high window to let the heat out , there is a reason windows used to be double hung windows that only open at the bottom they can let air in but the heat is trapped at the top of a room ceiling fans help this buy mixing up the air but being able to clear that hot air is the best

. if you bury corigated pipe under your flower gardens all around and out into a trench in the yard you will have adiquate drain for your sink unless you have clay real bad.

i am turning my 10 X24 front porch into a summer kitchen , first step is replacing all rotted wood

[Common Tator]

Since it needs to be moved anyway, could you have hubby build you a root cellar (which can be dug with a tractor), then move your shed on top?

[Macybaby]

I'm converting my garden shed to a summer kitchen. First thing I have to do is move the stuff out and paint it white. This is an old building and needs the "spruce up".

I've already bought a double sink utility tub. I'm hooking up water via a garden hose to an actual faucet, but I will put a "T" in the line so I can have the full pressure garden hose spray nossel (no wimpy kitchen one). My drain will go out the back into the chicken yard under the trees. They will enjoy the added moisture.

I have a big work desk, but am going to make a smaller counter that fits on top for a standing work height. DH said I could put a small electric stove in there too if I wanted, and he did say I could have a small water heater if I decided that was needed.

I put the big window we took out of the kitchen on the south side, and will probably put a big attic vent in the roof (have one in the greenhouse and it works nice). DH can wire it to a switch for me.

I'm looking forward to not having piles of produce on my kitchen floor this fall.

Cathy

[Rita]

An on-demand water heater would be nice. I have one in my summer kitchen. It's a great place to have an extra fridge for garden produce and for drying things (I am drying my just-pulled garlic in there now) I have comfy chairs and even a bed if I get too tired

[Pelenaka]

Congradulation on having "your" space.
As Cathy wrote, it is a good thing not to have half of the kitchen cluttered with canning equipment and produce.
About the only thing I can add is refrigeration of some sort is either an electric fridge or an ice box/ice chests. For me personally I'd go off grid by constructing a built in ice box which would drain into your flower bed. Recycle materials such as plywood, house insulation & oven racks for shelves.

[firegirl969]

All above posts are excellent ideas. Especially the one about digging a root cellar and then putting it on top. Your DH could cut a hole into the floor to allow access into the cellar and you could keep a rolling cart or rug on top, so no one would even know it was there.

[ronbre]

well i don't have a summer kitchen, just my bbq with side burner..outside..but it keeps the heat out of the house..our summers are just too short and cold to worry about more than that here.

[Horse Fork Farm]

I just lost my post somewhere in cyberspace while ago--- I had answered everybody and it just disappeared. Too tired to do it again. Thanks for the great replies.

[Common Tator]

Originally Posted by Heartstrings

I just lost my post somewhere in cyberspace while ago--- I had answered everybody and it just disappeared. Too tired to do it again. Thanks for the great replies.

I hate it when that happens! When I remember, if I have written a long post, I highlight it and copy it before hitting post.

[English Oliver]

We had this tool shed we are converting to a Summer kitchen


Poured a floor and plumbed for kitchen and bath. We insulated and paneled the inside with rough sawn lumber, sprayed the roof inside with foam leaving the trusses exposed. It is a work in progress so it isn't quite done yet.



"O"

[raymilosh]

I recommend creating lots of ventilation (perhaps even to the point of making it a 3 sided building) or perhaps putting a stove out on a porch outside the summer kitchen. Being able to cook in a place that doesn't hold the heat is a pleasure.
If you can make it so it has screens, that is even better, although it significantly cuts down on ventilation....I go without. the insects aren't that much of a problem. They're not out much during the day and the congregate around the light for the most part at night.
The other thing I recommend (from my own experience with a traditional kitchen and an outdoor kitchen on a porch) is to have 2 of everything so you don't need to go back and forth. (We found we use the inside kitchen during summer as much as the outside kitchen...we just don't do much of the cooking in there, except on cool nights, etc) So...2 salt shakers, 2 bottles of oil, 2 sets of spices, 2 sets of dish towels and plates and spatulas and whatnot...you get the idea. It cuts down on trips between kitchens from about a million a day to maybe a half a million a day.
Now that I've said that...I would also recommend making the inside kitchen and the summer kitchen close together and with a wide easy flow path between the two.

[MariaAZ]

Wow, I'm envious of these summer kitchens!!! Ours is more correctly an "outdoor" kitchen and consists of a gas grill with side burner, electric hotplate, toaster oven and crockpot for use on a heavy table outdoors. My "big" goal has been to get a cabinet and top for permanent storage in the carport where there is an electric outlet and light; right now, the appliances are kept in a utility room and set on a table when needed, and of course only in good weather.

But if I had the room, I'd sure push DH for one of these lovely summer kitchens!

[myheaven]

my dh now has a nnew summer project he will be so thrilled lol.