Repurposed Burn Barrel Plant Stand

I finally got around to "redoing" the front entry for Spring 2013. In the past, I have used inverted birdbaths to create height for plants in this corner. Since I've done that a few times before, a change was needed; perhaps something a bit more in-your-face.

Repurposed Burn Barrel

Rusty patina barrel repurposed as a massive plant stand.

This barrel, found on the property, was never actually used for burning.  In fact, both ends are intact but the contents are long gone.  Going this route provided a bit more rustic-industrial design.  I didn't like the openness of the fern's pot sitting atop the barrel, so I arched an old grapevine swag around the front half to mask it.  The grapevine adds an organic touch that plays off the river rocks surrounding the base.

Speaking of grapevine, my first idea for this barrel was to fully wrap it with grapevine.  I have a huge doorway arch that I created a few years ago with fresh vine, but it simply got too dry and was unworkable for wrapping around the barrel.  I'd still like to give that a shot at some point.

To the right of the barrel, I located three varying height pieces of scrap wood which I bundled together with rope. These pillars provided the perfect location for my house-numbered wine bottles. (Option: paint larger house numbers on the barrel instead - vertically would really look neat!)

House-Numbered Wine Bottles

House numbers painted on old wine bottles.
(I take these in each night to inhibit water getting inside - I could cork, but I like the open, simple look)
Invert them instead (before painting) and you can stick the neck in the ground as the display support. 

See how I made my numbered wine bottles here.

Leaning against the barrel is an old truss fence post I found alongside the road.  It has cut-out pockets and holes where other members or beams would have attached.  Those cut-outs could be neat for future creative uses.

Repurposed Chimney Pot

A chimney pot, placed on the ground, is filled with dirt and new annuals.
For a less messy approach, place enclosed containers or planters within (this is what I did when it was on a deck).

How fitting that a chimney topper, often referred to as a "pot", is reused as a pot for plants!  I did this a few years ago on my back deck but seeing as I have two, I decided to flank them on each side of the main entry this year. I think the terra-cotta color stands out nicely against the gray-brown hues of the stone columns (and it ties-in with the rusty stuff I have dotted around the property - like the burn barrel!)

Repurposed Items Galore!

The spring 2013 front entry

Besides repurposed chimney pots as planters, old landscaping beams were cleaned up, stained espresso, and span from column to column.  Pieces of scrap metal were used to create my "Dwell" entry sign.  An old galvanized pail with a rusty patina has been placed atop the beams and houses some Begonias; its central location really makes an inviting statement!

See how I made my "Dwell" scrap metal sign here.

Rock Stairs

Large stones create steps to an upper-level outdoor living space.

Yeah, not really a "repurpose" or anything out-of-the-ordinary, but I wanted to share this picture since I just mulched yesterday and it was not the most exciting chore in the world.  I really love how vibrant the greens pop against the dark brown mulch, however.  Three planters offer a nice visual statement and provide some early-year color with Begonias and Impatiens.  Another old fence post (given to me) has been placed on a rock wall as another element (for now).  I like its faded, weathered finish with some mossy-green growth.  

I hope your outdoor spaces are well underway and are coming together nicely.  I have lots more to do to get "caught-up."  Heck, I still have leaves to rake in some parts of the property.  YIKES!  For now, I'm enjoying the way the front entry is shaping up and am loving my rusty repurposed burn barrel plant stand!

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Springtime Driftwood Table Display

The introduction of Spring always seems to put a smile on my face. Bulbs start peeking through the earth and colors start reappearing in nature. Despite the mini snow storms we keep having here in Eastern PA, milder weekends have been creeping in every now and then. I managed to get out one particularly nice Sunday and decided to take a walk along the river. I found a lot of driftwood washed ashore from the recent high waters produced by melting snow and rain showers.

One particular piece of driftwood caught my attention so I decided to bring it home 

(like many others before - some of which have yet to make a debut).

My "Frugal" Driftwood Table Display 

Welcomes Spring with Ease!

I love the numerous cut branches protruding around the central limb . . . 

. . . all with the same wonderful, faded, weathered-look and smooth finish.

Natural, organic goodness

This great piece of wood established the central element of a simplistic Springtime driftwood table display.  A large round river stone and some pops of "Springy" green from my moss spheres provide a wonderful, natural look, while Mr. Pier1 Rabbit (appropriately made of carved wood) provides a touch of Easter during the holiday.

If you like the moss spheres, see how I made them 

by visiting my post on creating a mini topiary accent.

It took me about 5 minutes to put this together (not including the making of the spheres) and I'm really enjoying it!  I was going to look for some unique wooden eggs or was contemplating making some of my own in paper mache from plain brown craft paper.  However, I decided to keep it simple.  I still like the idea of the craft paper eggs, perhaps for another location in the home, so I may have to give that a shot yet.

Anyway, here's to the new season!  

I hope you are all welcoming Spring into your homes!

For more frugal and earth-friendly decor ideas, 

visit my website page on Green Decorating.

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Wine Bottle Pendant Light How To

I finally got around to making my wine bottle pendant light.  I saw these become popular a few years ago, back when I started the frugal-interior-design website.  A vendor called ROOST had some incredible lighting that I salivated for.  I was drawn to the classic simplicity of the lighting - meshing new with old - inspiring a nod toward both modern and rustic.

Roost Pendants - recycled wine bottles.  By the way, how cool is that wood-strip wall?
It has given me a few ideas for walls in my home!

I never forgot about the above image.  And of course, I've seen other interpretations of the same principle and have my own.  

I began cutting wine bottles about a year ago and have been using them for various projects (upcycling and repurposing them in cool ways.)  See my previous posts on:

Numbered Wine Bottles 

& 

Holiday Wine Bottle Crafts  

Finally. I got my hands on a large clear-glass wine bottle and was successful at cutting the bottom off with a smooth, straight, clean break 

The bottle sat like that for about another year.  Finally, with some free-time and motivation, I set to task - time to create a light!

The original frosted-glass shade was nice and worked fine with the room,
but I sure love the new sleek and simple look of the clear wine bottle!

A spiral filament vintage bulb was of course used for that extra coolness factor!

A clear glass wine bottle theme perhaps?

If you have a similar tube-like armature light pendant or even one with a simple wire (with/without the chain), you'll be able to recreate this pendant light.  The only other thing you will need is a cut wine bottle and snazzy light bulb (I recommend vintage Edison bulbs).  Each application may be a bit different, but if you read how I secured my bottle to keep it straight, you'll be able to come up with ideas that will work for yours.

To read about how to make a wine bottle pendant light, 

please visit my page entitled Wine Bottle Light.

  

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Holiday Wine Bottle Craft

Since the holidays are typically a whirlwind of activity, I never found (or took) the time to post some of my fun, upcycle creations.  I've been in this wine bottle upcycling frenzy lately (see older posts and the main website's recent wine bottle light for evidence of this) and although the holidays have gone, I decided there is still time to share them.  Maybe they will spark some Valentine's Day decor ideas or future holiday wine bottle crafts.

 Wine Bottle "Trees"

Trio of various height wine bottles.

This decor was simple.  I cut the bottoms from three various-sized clear glass wine bottles I had been saving.

I sprayed the interior of the bottle with Krylon Looking Glass spray paint after lightly misting the inside with water using a fine-mist spray bottle.  This technique of pre-misting the interior (or exterior if you decide to paint that instead) will allow the development of a mercury glass type effect.  

Mercury Glass Wine Bottles?

Somewhere in between the start and finish of the project.
Note the mercury glass-esque finish  from the spray paint.

Oh Starry Night!

Rustic and rough-formed stars bent from heavy-gauge spooled craft wire.

I felt the bottle trees needed stars and of course a star theme established itself early on with the introduction of the "star garland" I had previously purchased at a Dollar Tree - - - simply cut to length and wrapped from bottom to top.

Sledding Anyone?

A vintage saucer sled comes to the rescue.

My free saucer sled seemed a fitting vessel for displaying my holiday wine bottle trees.  I liked the monochromatic scheme with all the silvers and reflective surfaces.  Oh, and of course, the wine bottles have no bottoms, so they can be placed over tea-lights for extra shimmer.

Go simpler and leave the bottles intact.  Spray the outside instead!

Let It Snow!

Snowflake Table Runner

Somewhere after Christmas and before New Years, the display morphed to this!  I have this stash of vintage thick-cut glass window panes.  They were in the home when I acquired it and have been sitting silently, untouched, for nearly 10 years.  I remembered them and decided to put them to use.  Each pane is a hair more than 8 1/2 x 11 (the perfect size for a standard piece of copy paper).  

I used three pieces of paper to create three identical snowflakes (albeit rectangular ones to fit my glass).  I lined them up down the center of the kitchen dining table with a glass pane over each to create a runner.  The aforementioned mercury glass wine bottle trees decided they wanted to stay out a bit longer.  

TIP: Remove the garland and star, and group these bottles together for non-holiday decor

Terra Cotta NOT!

A terra cotta clay saucer gets a simple face-lift!

I had this huge candle and nothing to place it in or on that seemed appropriate.  I remembered the abundance of old clay planter saucers I had stored in the garage.  After a spray with flat black paint and a spray with matte clear-coat, the old dull saucer looked quite fitting for my cranberry candle.  

Some collected pods create an encircling wreath of organic-ness around the candle.  

The perfect, finishing touch!

So, if you have some old empty wine bottles and/or old clay saucers, dig em out and get to work.  The holidays may have gone by, but they will be back again (and always sooner than we expect!)

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Repurposing an Old Window

A new year is a time for change, and what better a time to do a little redecorating? After putting away holiday decor, I often get motivated to move things around for a new look. I guess I'm lucky to have this interest in repurposing old items - folks (friends, family, etc.) often think of me when they have something they want to dispose of.

  "Hey, do you think you could use this for one of your projects?" 

I have to admit, I have gotten some pretty "neato" things in this manner, 

 such as my recent freebie: an old basement window. 

With its cool rusty hardware . . . 

. . . and weathered old wood with authentic chippy paint (it's even one of those retro green paint colors we all seem to love)

Many Ideas Emerge!

My first was to hang it vertically on the wall with some artwork placed behind the existing glass panes.  If I go this route, I'll undoubtedly rework the paint color to perhaps a rustic white- or black-wash of some sort.  Of course, then that unique old paint color goes bye-bye.

Sometimes simplicity is best!  

I've seen folks take old windows such as these and turn them into trays for table tops.  I like the look but was feeling lazy today, so I decided to go a bit more basic--use it as it is!

I'm liking this!

Having it totally devoid of any contents looked just perfect.  Of course, I had to mess around a bit. Seeing as I'm leaving the glass panes intact, lightweight items are a necessity for any additional elements.  About as heavy as I would venture to go was with the use of some upcycled wine bottles I painted to showcase my house numbers.  

Some big Pine cones align in a stately manner with stark "organic-ness."  I'm sure I'll be messing around with this for hours, but I know this repurposed old window will be getting its debut as this table's focal element--at least for a few months.  

Perhaps when I grow tired of the look, its next repurposed life may be a picture/artwork frame or a lift-up top for an accent table (another great way I've seen old windows upcycled!)

So, if you happen to see some old windows like these out for trash, snag em!  Old architectural pieces are truly works of art; at least in the eyes of the upcycling beholder!

Numbered Wine Bottles

While browsing the newest Restoration Hardware source book, I happened upon some cool accents that I knew would be easy to replicate. These numbered bottles were apparently only used for staging as I could not find them for purchase. Since I'm a fan of upcycling wine bottles, this was right up my alley.

That pendant lighting ROCKS too!

It took awhile to scrounge up three clear bottles. I thought the black bottles (above) were cool, but had none on-hand. I guess I could have done a black "paint-glaze" to the interior of my bottles but thought white on clear would look classy.

First, I looked for the correct font; Boston Traffic is the trendy font used on these bottles. Just do a Google search to find a font creator. I actually printed out the numbers of my street address to give this trio of bottles a bit of meaning. After they've printed (you may have to resize them first), I cut them out with an X-acto Knife. Use much caution when dealing with these knives. For best results, place your printed-out font paper on a surface the knife can easily cut into. I typically use cardboard.

TIP: While working on your fonts, you may want to soak your wine bottles in some hot water with dish detergent. This usually will allow the labels to peel off easily. I got a few wine labels off intact and am saving them for a future project!

A damp paper stencil easily sticks to glass.

To adhere your paper letters to the bottles, simply run them under a soft stream of water until they are soaked through.  Then, lay them in place.  Use a paper towel to dab any residual water off of the glass, particularly within the area you will be painting.

I chose Martha Stewart acrylic craft paint, color summer linen with a satin finish.  Using a small yet stiff multi-purpose bristle brush with a flat head, I dabbed paint into my stencil.  I let it set for about 3 minutes and then went over the still-wet paint with a dry foam brush.  I wanted a unified-looking finish across all three bottles with minimal brush marks or stippling.

Once this was done, I removed the paper stencils while still wet.  (Place your used stencils on a papertowel to dry for future use!)  A small piece of damp paper towel helped wipe off any residue around the numbers once the stencils were removed.  Work carefully around the edges of the numbers as the paint is still wet. Once the paint is fully dry, I will remove any paint from the edges of the numbers with a slight scrape of an Xacto-knife or even a fingernail for a nice finish.

The edges of the letters will be "cleaned-up" once the paint fully cures.

I sure like the way they came out.  I was considering painting a silver or black band around the circumference of the center of the bottle with spray paint and THEN adding the number within the band.  I think that would look neat too, but . . .

. . . Sometimes Simplicity is BEST!

A great looking addition against a charcoal-black accent wall!

Until the next time, HAPPY UPCYCLING!

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Amber for Autumn Decorating

Where did the year go?  Summer is coming to a close and the colors of the new season are beginning to take over.  Blazing yellow, rusty orange, and amber-hued leaves have begun littering the property like confetti at the hand of Mother Nature.  The leaves always create a wonderful story-board of color for inspiration throughout the home.  I couldn't help but realize how perfectly my vintage amber bottles embrace the colors of Autumn.

Welcoming the new season can be as simple as pulling out some earthy, color-appropriate items and accents you already own.  Move some things around for a fresh look.  Combine like-colored items to make a statement. You don't have to spend much, if anything at all, to give your home a warm, cozy look as the crisp, cool air begins moving in.  So, here's to FALL'S harvest of color!

For the LOVE of Vintage Amber Bottles . . . 

A pair of old, amber detergent bottles on a console.

An amber bottle collection makes a grand statement.

Hand-towels and soaps introduce the colors of the season with ease.

More amber bottles and color-appropriate accents dot this bathroom's decor.

Authentically-rusted metal items fit seamlessly into the mix.

A new set of Autumn-inspired towels is quick and easy!
Seasonal dish towels for the kitchen, do the same trick (or treat)!

For more quick and easy, budget-friendly ideas,

visit my page on Fall Decorating. 

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