Everything has a purpose and if we are creative sometimes, more than one. It is that wonderful time of year when everything is starting to bloom, the sun is showing up and I am outside enjoying my yard. This year as I am looking over my outdoor furniture, it is clear I have several items that have deteriorated and need re working. The chair pictured is wood and I don't feel safe using it for the intended purpose, but I do believe it would make a great planter. I also have an area in mind for it in my landscape to help divert my puppies from running through. You know what I mean if you have dogs. They have an entire yard to play in, but my flower beds are much more appealing.
I found a pot that was a good size and traced the circle of it on the chair. Then I cut the shape a few inches to the inside of that diameter in the boards. These are slats that slipped in to the chair frame so I had to be careful they would not slip out and still be able to hold the weight of the pot and dirt. You can see I braced the slats on the front with a new 1x4 piece of wood. Then on the back side I took the slats out and using the pot to fit placement, put two pieces of 1x4 stacked in order to have a level frame. This also helped stabilize everything because the chair was wobbly.
 I spray painted the pot with a color that would kind of fade away instead of clash with my chair paint. |  |
Here is my chair spray painted. I didn't go over it with two coats because I thought the weathered look would be just right. Especially since it is missing a slat in the back.
As I said before I don't like to throw things away if I can figure out another purpose, so the leftover pieces I cut out became a sign. Here they are laid out.
I used the 1x4 and a few screws to tie all of the pieces together. The wood is very soft and even thought I was careful I had a little splitting but since it is the back, you won't see it once hung on the chair. I spray painted the sign the same color as the pot. Then I used some acrylic paint to create the text and some clear spray sealer so it can stand up to the elements.
Here it is placed in my landscape. This area is near my front door and my dogs tend to use it as a cut through. I haven't had any luck keeping a plant alive so this will help keep the area filled. The red color will also help attract hummingbirds. I have a feeder right next to the chair.
Here you can see around the chair several other hardscape elements.
Once everything was placed, I added dirt, flowers and some stones to pull everything together.
Here is the chair from a different view. I think it adds a wonderful pop of color to my front yard. The cost was minimal because I had all of the building supplies. The entire project took a couple of hours because I had to let the paint dry. My only real expense was for the dirt and flowers. The best part is I didn't throw away something that still had life in it and instead created outdoor art.
 Before and After |  |
I hope you have enjoyed this post, share what you learn and are generous with what you create. Someone will appreciate your hard work!
