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. Arranging the stone in an aesthetically pleasing way is like doing a big jigsaw puzzle. 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.

The outside of the island is veneered with cultured stone, which is lightweight and easy to put on with mortar. Because the boxes are empty, they can accept steel doors, drawers, or other storage compartments or conceal a propane tank for a gas grill. 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. 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. 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.

It rests on a gently sloped concrete slab to help prevent water from pooling around the bottom, but any structurally sound existing patio would work as a base. The countertop – here it’s concrete, but it can be any kind of stone-sits 38 inches from the ground, which is a comfortable height for both food prep and elbow propping. The kitchen consists of a stainless-steel grill set into a 3-foot-long stone-veneered plywood base and flanked by two more 4-foot bases with cabinets below and 48 linear inches of countertop on each side-one with a working sink.

Diy flat top grill