Thanks for all your support over the last twelve months. After this exciting year, we can’t wait to see the pictures and project details you guys send us in 2012.

2011 has also seen Faux Panels involved in some really exciting charitable projects – including donating our time and products to deserving families in partnership with top-rated TV shows like Extreme Makeover: Home Edition. That felt really good – giving back to those in need after all our customers have given us.

From the entire Faux Panels team, we’d like to thank you for your patronage, friendship and support over the last year – and look forward to ringing in many more in partnership with you. Please keep reading the Creative Faux Panels blog, and don’t forget to send your pictures and project reports to us at info@fauxpanels.com – we’d love to feature them right here.

Happy holidays, and best wishes for 2012!

Alan installed faux stone panels on concrete and wooden frames, for plenty of storage space beneath the counters

“In the beautiful Arizona desert, the kitchen makes a wonderful addition to our backyard,” Alan writes, enclosing pictures of his beautiful kitchen design. “We use the kitchen almost every night.”

“The space we used to build the kitchen is on the south side of our home.  It originally had an ugly aluminum shed there, and small tree struggling to survive.”

“The first step in building the kitchen was to remove the shed and the tree. We then leveled the ground and put in a brick patio. I followed that up by designing and building light standards out of rough-cut recycled cedar.”

“We built the kitchen itself around a large charcoal grill, custom made by my younger brother. There’s also a gas grill and a side burner.” Using those as a guide, Alan plotted out the mechanics of the kitchen itself. “We planned for the kitchen to have under-the-counter storage and tile counter tops.”

Some people might have built the counters out of brick or stone, but Alan instead decided to go for the lighter and more versatile approach of wooden framing, concrete and faux stone panels.

“I built the framework for the kitchen counters,” he writes, “and then applied faux stone panels to complete them. I glued the faux panels directly to the concrete, or screwed them to the plywood frame. Regardless of where the went, the panels went on easily and I completed the installation in just a day.”

The result was a beautiful stonework outdoor kitchen completed in a fraction of the time and budget real stone would have required – and it gets exactly the same reaction.

Alan's stunning faux stone panel outdoor kitchen looks like it can withstand many more Arizona summers

“To this day, we continue to get “ooos” and “ahhhhs” from guests that join us for cookouts in our outdoor kitchen.”

What’s really remarkable about Alan’s outdoor kitchen isn’t that it looked great when he built it, but that it continues to look great even three years later.

“The faux stone panels are exactly the same as they were the day I installed them,” he tells us. “The only maintenance I do is to spray them off regularly.”

That’s pretty impressive, given that Arizona weather can be as brutal as it is beautiful. “In the summer, the temperature in Arizona can easily reach 115 degrees – and that’s in the shade!”

The panels have also withstood some serious usage. In addition to firing up the grill just about every day to feed his family, Alan boasts: “We’ve hosted two weddings, numerous parties and countless other family gatherings – all with the kitchen as the centerpiece!”

In fact, Alan’s such a fan of faux stone panels that he’s already planning to use them again.

“For my next faux stone panel project, I’ve removed our old redwood deck and plan to replace it with a brick patio. I’ll use faux stone panels to cover the cedar boards. They’ll go perfectly with the formed concrete I’m planning to use to replace the old pine benches.”

If Alan’s next project turns out to be anything as nice as his first one, we just hope he sends us pictures!

Mr. Ellis first built the frame with pressure treated lumber and used exterior grade, 3/4 inch plywood for the sides and underneath the counter top. Stainless steel T-Nuts were then placed on the bottom; 4 in front and 4 in back to level the structure and keep the wood off the concrete pad.

After mitering the corners, the Wellington Dry Stack Panels were installed on the frame with Buff-colored caulk applied to the corners and just a little paint from the Tierra Gold touch-up kit to blend everything perfectly.

With a porcelain countertop, dishwasher and a 4 burner stove top added, the final result was a great-looking, convenient poolside kitchen – keeping the fun of outdoor meals going year round.

Gain some inspiration for your own home makeover project from our photo gallery.