One of the great things about DIY ideas for the outdoors is that there are very few limits on what you do or what you can create. Here are the 13 creative DIY ideas for the outdoors.
From an idea’s perspective, you are really only limited by your imagination and it only takes a brief search on Google to see that there are some amazingly inventive DIY ideas out there.
Another limit that could curtail your options is your budget, and if you are unable, or unwilling, to spend lots of money on an outdoors DIY project, that might seem to reduce your choices.
However, neither a lack of ideas or budget should be a reason to think there aren’t lots of creative DIY ideas for the outdoors that you can undertake, especially as we are going to take you through 13 of them in this article, so let’s get started.
DIY Ideas for the Outdoors
1. Glow in the Dark Planters
Anything which is ‘glow in the dark’ will be a fun addition to your garden but what is especially appealing are planters that can glow in the dark. They look fantastic at night and are also very useful if you have a lack of planting space for flowers, for example.
2. Rope Ottomans
Fancy a change from boring old wooden benches and plastic garden chairs? Having rope ottomans as optional seating in your garden not only adds a very visually appealing feature, but they are very comfortable too. You can even make your own by wrapping 3/8″ nylon rope around old automobile tires. They are fun to make so why not get the kids to help you? Best of all — they cost very little.
3. Recycle Large Containers
If you have any old buckets or large containers that may have held soil, why not give them a new purpose by turning them over and using them as tables? Obviously, the sides need to be reasonably strong, but if they are, you can use the table for displaying flowers on your porch or as drinks tables on the patio. You can also add a touch of style by painting them with patterns and colors.
4. Make a Wind Chime From Kitchen Junk
If you have a load of old kitchen utensils, especially the larger ones, don’t throw them away, but instead recycle them into a wind chime. Tie them to an old colander or metal plant pot, hang it from a tree and there you have it, a wind chime with a difference.
5. Go Patriotic With Your Garden Chairs
If you are proud of your country and love to see your national flag flying proudly then here is a great way to see it every time you are in the garden. What you do is paint your country’s flag on the seat and the back of the chair. This works best with wooden folding chairs and is a great way to rejuvenate them.
For the US flag, you would paint the red and white stripes on the seat and with a blue background and white stars on the back section. Other examples would be red all over with a large white maple leaf on the seat for Canada, and thick red white and blue stripes running vertically from the back and continuing onto the seat of the chair for France.
6. Create a Home-Made Water Feature
You do not need an expensive plumbing installation in order to create a water feature in your garden. As long as you have a water supply and some hosepipe you can create fountains from all sorts of items. Old watering cans or showerheads can be used, or if you are into recycling why not get really creative with items which you can pierce with lots of holes for the water to spray from? Colorful kids’ wellington boots, plastic buckets, and even umbrellas are just some of the items we have seen used.
7. Put Up Some Mood Lighting
It isn’t just during the day that a garden can be enjoyed. At night is also a great time to be there especially after the sun has set, as you can generate a very special atmosphere. Having some mood lighting strung up around your garden is an excellent way to do this. It turns what would otherwise be a dull patio or decking area into somewhere you and your family can savor the evenings together.
If you like the idea of adding mood lighting to your garden, then we highly recommend Brightech’s Ambience Pro Waterproof LED Outdoor String Lights. They are extremely adaptable in terms of where you can use them.
13 Creative DIY Ideas for the Outdoors
8. Lose Your Marbles in Your Garden Fence
For most gardens, the fence is just something that marks off the boundary and possibly stops the dog, and the kids, from escaping. Other than the occasional coat of creosote, most people do very little to give their garden fence a creative touch. However, here is one idea that you can implement to give your fence a bit of color and life.
The first step is to drill random, evenly spaced holes in your fence which are just slightly smaller than the diameter of colored marbles. Then, using a rubber mallet, hammer the colored marbles into each of the holes. The marbles should sit securely in the holes because of their larger size and create a much more colorful spectacle than a drab fence.
9. Paint Your Patio Stones
Gardens should be places that are full of color, and any ideas that show you how to change something which is dull and drab into something eye-catching is worth considering. One such idea is to paint your patio tiles. Most likely your patio tiles are cement colored or similar which, let’s be honest, is ‘same old.’
Give those patio stones a new lease of life by painting them, and better still painting them with bright and vivid colors. There are latex paints which are ideal for painting patio stones and they come in a huge variety of colors so you should certainly find some that you like. You could go further and create color patterns by painting each slab a specific color.
10. Create a Ladder Garden
Got an old set of wooden step ladders? If so, here is a great way to give them a new purpose and avoid having to get rid of them. All you need to do first is remove two or three of the rungs, depending on many it has, so that there are at least three rungs remaining.
On each of these rungs, you want to nail four lengths of batten wood and cut them, so the lengths are equal for each rung. You then paint your ladder garden with outdoor paint in whatever color you wish. To use it, you simply place plant pots and planters on each level.
11. Convert Old Shutters Into a Table.
If you have, or are able to obtain, four old window shutters then you can create a very distinctive table for your garden. The four shutters all need to be the same size and they form the main body of your table. Using the width measurement of the shutters you need to purchase wooden art canvas stretchers of a slightly longer length.
The art stretchers will form both a square base and a square top section for the table. Using screws secure the four shutters and the art stretchers at the top and bottom. You can then paint the table or stain it if you wish. For the finishing touch, you should have a square glass top for the table cut to a size that will fit inside the stretcher edges.
12. Create a Mural on Your Fence
If you, a member of your family, or a friend is particularly skilled at drawing then a great way to utilize that talent is to create a mural on your garden fence. What you create is up to you, but what works best are drawings of garden flowers and wildlife, such as birds.
Once the outline has been drawn you can then paint it, and you want to do this using the brightest most colorful paints you can find. When finished you will have a large and colorful mural on your garden fence, and a talking point for anyone who visits.
13. Create Moss Graffiti
Of all of the ideas we have shown you, this is one of our favorites as it is so much fun to do, and your kids will no doubt love it too. It is a combination of DIY, kitchen skills and a degree of artistry is need also.
You will need 1 can of beer, 1/2 teaspoon of sugar, and some garden moss. You take the three ingredients, add them to a blender, and blend them until the consistency is smooth and creamy.
You can now paint your moss blend onto a wall in any shape you can, but the most fun is to use a stencil where you have cut out letters. These could be a name, a favorite sports team, or if you have enough wall space and moss, a quote, or saying.
For the first 4 weeks, you should gently water your moss graffiti, and as it continues to grow, trim away the excess. By now you will have your moss graffiti firmly in place on your wall for the world to see what you wrote.
