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Backyard: Ideas for Your New DIY Gazebo

Backyard gazebos provide shade, shelter from rain and a place to enjoy fresh air with family and friends. Gazebos can also serve as a focal point for your yard and add a decorative touch to it. Building a backyard gazebo is a fairly simple project, although you can make it more complex by adding certain features or designs. If you’re planning to build your own backyard gazebo, here are a few ideas to get you started.

Gazebo for Grilling

Gazebos are mostly used as a place to sit in the shade, but you can give yours another use. If you enjoy grilling, build a backyard gazebo that includes an area for your grill. This design allows you to use your grill even if it’s raining, since you’ll be in a covered area. You can keep your grill in this gazebo and store all of your grilling items there as well for easy access. Your grilling gazebo can also have built-in tabletops or counters on two sides. Place chairs on the other side of these counters outside your gazebo, so you can grill and eat in the same area.

Shade and Comfort

Most gazebos offer some shade from the sun, but it might not be enough for you depending on your comfort level. Consider building a backyard gazebo with a louvred roof, which provides added protection from the sun’s heat and brightness. This roof design lets plenty of air flow through your gazebo while keeping the sun out for maximum comfort, even on hot days. You can add roll-up shades that can be moved from side to side as needed in order to block the sun.

Octagon Gazebo

Backyard gazebos can come in different shapes. While rectangular or square gazebos are simple to build, they don’t have the same visual appeal as octagonal gazebos. These eight-sided gazebos have a quaint look that adds some charm to your backyard. While the building process might be a bit more complex for octagonal gazebos, you’ll have a backyard gazebo with a distinctive, visually striking appearance. Keep in mind that these gazebos also typically offer more space compared to other gazebo shapes.

Iron Gazebo

Many gazebos are made of wood, but you can choose other materials for your DIY gazebo. For an elegant look, consider building a gazebo out of iron. These gazebos have a stylish, whimsical look that can enhance your yard. Just keep in mind that iron gazebos rarely have a solid roof and walls as wood gazebos do, so you might not have as much shade and shelter, depending on where you build your gazebo.

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3 Simple Tips for Customizing Your Flower Pots

You don’t need to spend a fortune on expensive flower pots and planters. Decorating a plain pot and turning it into a custom piece is simple and inexpensive and can really make a difference in your plant collection’s aesthetic. No matter your style, terracotta pots make the perfect starting point for this project. Here are some tips you can use to create your very own custom terracotta pots.

Recommended Materials

Terracotta flower pot
Paint brush
Foam brush
Craft Paint
Painter’s tape
Rubber bands
Pencil
Plants or flowers

Painting Tips

Plan Your Design

When you begin any sort of creative project, it’s helpful to have an idea before you begin. Starting your pot painting project with a design or at least part of a design already planned will help you save time and materials. While you can paint over any mistakes with enough coats, it’s better to avoid them entirely by planning your design.

One thing that can help is drawing on the pot with a pencil before you paint. This is especially useful for more complicated designs, motifs or even lettering. If you plant to use a stencil, try different placements on the surface of the pot to get the best look.

Use Shortcuts

It’s not cheating to use your resources wisely. With art, any tools that can save you time or make tough parts easier will reward you with a better finished product with less frustration. Use painter’s tape to block out areas you don’t want to paint. Just like when used on walls, painter’s tape will give you a perfectly straight line without the hassle.

Another great shortcut for painting flower pots is to use rubber bands for horizontal lines. Fit a rubber band around the pot and adjust so that it’s even all the way around. Not only does the rubber band make a barrier for paint but it will stay in place, giving you a perfectly even horizontal line every time.

Make Your Pots Versatile

To get the most use out of your newly painted pots, treat them for outdoor use. You can do this by adding a coat of spray sealant after the paint is dry. There are different finishes you can use as well, so it provides an opportunity to enhance your artwork with a glossy sheen or a cool matte finish.

Terracotta is a porous material, so if you want it to avoid absorbing water meant for your plants, use sealant on the inside too. This can also make cleaning the pots easier in the future as it makes a smoother surface in contact with the soil.

Terracotta pots are incredibly versatile whether or not you customize them. The variety of shapes and sizes available on the market makes this project not only simple but budget-friendly. Try these tips if you want to give your container garden or houseplants an aesthetic boost.