Pallet for Home: the garden

Showing posts with label the garden. Show all posts

An Eye For Details

I love barn doors. For a while, I've had good plans to make our shed door look something like the picture above. I think the project was a little frightening for my hubby, because even though I talked him into painting the door last summer, he just would N.O.T. tackle putting the trim on the door.

So I did.

Here's the door when we started, 11 months ago... Ahem.

Then he became frustrated becase after a coat of pink, yes, pink paint, ( he went and purchased it without me!), he had to paint the door again. But, alas, I digress. So I convinced him to purchase another color, and this was the final red. To give him credit, he did get the new paint for free since the pink also started peeling right away. Maybe that was a blessing in disguise.

Please excuse the hole in the door, with a rope latch. Someone likes to rig things.

Anyway, after the final red paint was applied, I think he was afraid to mess with the project any more, or he was sick of it. I was MY idea, anyway, not his. So it sat like that through the winter, and the spring, and we were well on our way into summer when I finally had enough.

I hauled out the miter saw, the drill, and all the hardware and trim boards, which were primed and painted last summer. And I did this:

And it makes me happy every time I look at it. I still have black, decorative hinges I purchased at the Re-Store that I might add, but I'll have to wait for the weather to cooperate so I can touch up the paint first.

What do you think? Huge difference, huh? And, it cost next to nothing to do.

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Filed Under: do something, the garden

More Pallet Projects!

Looking for something to do on a rainy Saturday afternoon? Need a cozy place to lay and watch the fireworks tomorrow? Well, here you are, a project to finish in an afternoon...

Pallet Loungers! Can you believe it? I'm amazed at what people are doing with pallets ~ which are basically free wood, when you can find them. Here's a great tutorial on how to make these beautiful pallet upcycle creations.

Craigslist is the best source I've found, but businesses are often looking for free pallet disposal, so keep a watch out. I wonder what these finished beauties would sell for?

Here's a pallet planter made on the same Shoestring blog. Adorable! But the most impressive project by far is this pallet house! Here's the link to the full story in a magazine.

And you could decorate the outside of your pallet house with these pallet garden boxes and planters!

It just goes to show that if you set your mind to work, you will be rewarded for your efforts.

Now go create!

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Filed Under: do something, the garden

Use What You Have

I've been working on a few outdoor projects this summer, in addition to the never ending list of things of things I want to do inside my house. One of my favorite projects so far is this potting bench, which I just finished. Here's what it looked like before, just after I picked it up:

Excuse the black hose lying in the background! I picked that from the neighbor's trash that morning, and hubby purchased a $1.82 hose repair coupling the next day to fix a little damage. Two seconds later I had a nice new~to~me, heavy duty hose to replace one that always seemed to kink. But I digress...

On the potting bench, every board on the upper and lower shelves had to be reattached and I had my ~~lackey~~ husband cut a new brace and shelf to replace the warped one that came with the piece. I did all the reinforcements myself, and tightenen all the fasteners and bolts. (Take note of that drab red door in the background, because it got a facelift this week too, but that's another post.)

I added a hose reel to one side, and cup hooks across the front of the new cedar shelf, to hang tools, keys and implements. I really enjoyed working on this project, and it inspired me to google potting benches to see what others were making. Here are a few noteworthy projects you might be able to make using what you already have around the shop...

I loved this fabulous Pallet Potting Bench from Digginfood.com... What a great idea, and pallets can be found pretty much all the time for next to nothing. I know I have enough lumber behind the shed to make several of these, and I bet they'd sell on Craigslist... I report back and let you know for sure. ;-)

Here's another from Re-nest...

And don't even get me started about all the amazing buildings and fences made from pallets on this website. Seriously, I need a truck! I'm now planning an addition to my storage shed after seeing how easily this went together.

Inspired yet? If not, just know that I reworked and sold this potting bench in a week's time, and on my own schedule. Use what you have to get what you need. It just makes sense!

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Filed Under: do something, the garden

Sunset Big Book of Garden Designs ~ A GoodPlans Book Review

Every spring, library books full of flowers find their way to my reading table. I've enjoyed pouring over Sunset's Big Book of Garden Design this year, so much so that I have added it to my wishlist of books to own.

The pages of this book overflow with inspirational photos and drawings of all different sorts of gardens, including color and theme gardens, plantings for water conservation, and specific areas of the front and back yards. I've added a few new beds, renovated a couple of others, and purchased more than ten new species of perennials after studying the beautiful photos included in this publication.

Because I've enjoyed many Sunset books over the years, I was excited to find that they have a fantastic website. I know what I'll be doing this week during my computer time!