Do-it-yourself country tricks from scrap materials: creative ideas and manufacturing tips

Do you want to turn your dacha into a unique place, the atmosphere of which is imbued with something familiar and unusual? You can visit specialized stores, but the assortment there is so rich that your eyes run wide from the choice of country decorations. And buying all the things you like will cost quite a hefty sum, don’t you agree? A more pragmatic solution is to make the necessary items and beautiful decorations with your own hands. But what to do and where to start?

We'll talk about this in our article - we'll look at time-tested ideas and new items that can actually be made from what literally lies under your feet. We'll tell you how to make garden crafts with your own hands from scrap materials. This approach will allow you to realize your creative potential, improve your mood and save a lot of money.

Examples of useful and stylish ideas

According to experienced summer residents, there are simply no useless things on the site - there are forgotten ones. You need to look around: old furniture, a broken bicycle, unrecycled plastic can inspire creativity.

From seemingly garbage, you can make various useful homemade products:

• Old barrels, carts and even pots can be used to create unique flower arrangements.
• A dilapidated bed or a wooden pallet is a good basis for flower beds that fit well into the overall design of the landscape.
• No less popular are plastic bottles and jars, from which it is easy to construct interesting fences, borders, decorations for flowerpots and flower beds, and even sculptures or country washbasin.
• Everything is limited only by the author’s own imagination and creative approach.
• It’s easy to build a beautiful bird feeder from collected twigs, logs and plastic.

Original country paths, personally laid out from wood or stone will make the area more comfortable. And the remains of building materials will always be suitable for the implementation of another, unlike anything else, garden composition.

A bench for pleasant country gatherings and relaxation can be made in the form of an old carriage, processing old boards, complicating the design with wheels from an unusable wheelbarrow. By adding a flowerpot from a barrel to the composition, you can get an unusual duet that you definitely won’t find at your neighbor’s house

From polymer clay, gypsum, as well as the remainder polyurethane foam It is very easy to sculpt a variety of figures. The work does not require special skills, but little men, swans, frogs and other representatives of the world of fauna and flora seem to come to life when they settle in their summer cottage.

Subtleties of making crafts

Bottles made of plastic of different sizes, boxes or boxes - small or impressive in size - this is both a popular and easy-to-work material. Using it, products can be given almost any shape. Such raw materials are simply cut.

To make the result of the work pleasing, the work is coated with suitable dyes. Shades can be chosen either neutral (pastel and calm) or bright, depending on the mood and temperament of the owners. Each time such crafts become more perfect: cartoon characters, household items and even country furniture come out of the master’s hands.

Some summer residents go much further and acquire a special glass cutter. This tool allows you to make candlesticks and pots from a simple glass bottle. Crafts are decorated with bottle caps as decoration.

Don't think that bottle caps You can only decorate flowerpots. These small objects are quite suitable for decorating a fence, country curtains, they even decorate furniture - tables, chairs, country swings. The result is an unusual interior solution. It is important not to overdo it, but to design the landscape tastefully and in complete harmony with all the decor on the site.

A little imagination and warmth can bring the landscape to life. A piece of love, diligent hands, multi-colored plastic covers - this is how you get a fabulous flowerbed in your backyard

Where to look for inspiration?

Sometimes all the ideas seem boring, but at the dacha you want something new more than ever. After all, a pond made from the remains of brick and stone or a unique reservoir, a decorated bridge and flower beds made from car tires - all this already exists. Where can you find inspiration to create an original and thoughtful project for landscaping your summer cottage?

In this case, it is better to act sequentially:

• see what ideas for garden crafts designers offer;
• delimit the zones in which future homemade products will be located according to the plan;
• assess the possibilities based on the skills, abilities, and materials that will be used to make crafts;
• if necessary, adjust the global idea.

In order to harmoniously arrange crafts, it would be logical to do this in accordance with their intended purpose. For example, it is better to place figurines of snails and frogs near a reservoir or pond. Hedgehogs and squirrels are under the bush. Birds, cats - on paths or near the house. Do not forget about the size of the decorations: their dimensions must correspond to the perimeter of the site.

The Best Ways to Use Old Furniture

Staryu, which many do not give a second chance, has been put to good use by summer residents. Some decorate the yard with a grandmother's chest of drawers, using it as a flower garden, others with a suitcase.

Options for using an old door

You don't have to throw away your old door - it will make a great workspace. Use a door instead table tops It’s also not a problem if you cover it on top with a single piece of glass, cut with a glass cutter to specific parameters.

You shouldn’t throw away the old door that was left after the renovation. By treating it with a special compound, pasting it with film or painting it with bright paint, you get a new product. Can be used as a tabletop or installed in any opening or structure in the country house, adjusted to the appropriate dimensions

If there is not enough at the dacha swing, then it's time to do it. Again, you can use a removed interior door. It’s a pleasure to ride on this one: the roomy swing will definitely be loved by all household members, regardless of age.

You can update old doors using technology decoupage. This way you can achieve an amazing result by transforming a shabby door beyond recognition.

What to make from an old chair?

This is a fertile material for country experiments: an old wooden chair, after some simple machinations, can become a pretty flowerbed. On the Internet there are many photo reports of how summer residents created flowerbed masterpieces from old chairs. Lithops and succulents. They lay out master classes, as if from an old chair, without spending a lot of time and effort, using improvised tools, they can literally sculpt a masterpiece flowerbed.

So, mini-instructions:

• The central part, pillow, and upholstery must be carefully removed from the chair.
• Next you need to select something (reservoir, container, pan) with a diameter corresponding to the width seats former chair. Insert tightly into the structure.
• You need to make drainage holes at the bottom of the vessel, fill it with soil, and plant plants.

It is advisable to paint the flowerbed chair, sand it with sandpaper and varnish it. As you can see, you can breathe new life into an old chair.

Making a vintage flowerbed from an old chair is not difficult at all. This is a successful multi-purpose invention that will help you move any plant from the street to your home for the winter.

Fasteners that may have remained on the old chair should not be removed. You can attach a smaller diameter potty to them without worrying about the size of the chair.

Ideas for using an old bed for a summer house

Do the same with the old bed. This is a wonderful object that turns into an installation in literally a matter of moments. In addition, the design easily fits into the landscape design, resulting in an unusual and functional flower garden.

The old mattress is removed and its original place is filled with earth. To ensure that soil plants grow well, it is better to first cover the surface of the bed with non-woven material for the garden.

It is better to plant hanging plants, vines and others at the head of the room, so that later they hang down beautifully. Despite its bulkiness, such a flower bed has a significant advantage: it is mobile and can be moved to any place in the country if desired.

The best crafts from an old suitcase

Modern suitcases made of plastic and other materials are still relevant. But if you have grandma’s bag that you will no longer use for its intended purpose, then you can use your imagination.

From such a suitcase you can still make a bunch of stylish and unusual things for country needs:

• console;
• armchair;
• pet bed.

When the inherited suitcase is well preserved, its walls have not lost their density and hardness, it is quite possible to make a mobile one. console. Wheels attached to the outer surface of the suitcase walls will help you move the future console from place to place.

If the suitcase has dried out from old age, the walls have become damp and do not have the same density, you can always strengthen them if desired. You can build a new one from it armchair: the deep part becomes seat, and the lower one - with the back. It is better to fasten the chair legs along the front side of the deep part of the bag, and fix the upper one.

The compartment where things were once stored is filled with a prepared feather bed pillow. Do the same with the back, choosing a filler of smaller thickness.

To make pet bed, the top cover is removed. The main cavity of the suitcase is equipped with a pillow. The walls of an old suitcase can always be decorated with scrap materials.

Oil painting: a dog or cat is dozing on a new bed, and the owner, a summer resident, enjoys this peace, sitting comfortably on a swing from an old door under the twittering of nightingales.

A cozy pet bed from grandma's bag. This, as planned by a caring owner, will help a dog or cat feel at home in the country, and at the same time will decorate the landscape

Ideas for an old bath

Making a small reservoir, a fish pond, or a compact but lush flower bed in your garden plot out of an old bathtub is not at all a problem.

The bathtub can be completely hidden in the ground by digging a pit of appropriate size. Or decorate its outer walls with mosaics and paint it with bright paint. And fill it with beautiful plants and flowers

Also, stylish chairs, armchairs, a rocking chair, a stove, a barbecue and many other useful things are made from the bathtub.

Instructions for making a mini pond

Usually, when they plan to build a pond or reservoir at a dacha, specialists are brought in. In this case, this is not a budget project. But if you really want to, and have an old bathtub made of cast iron, acrylic or steel in your arsenal, building a reservoir will cost almost nothing.

If you need a large pool so that adults can splash around in it on hot days, we recommend that you read the step-by-step instructions for building a swimming pool with your own hands.

Step #1 - preparing the area

In order to build a beautiful pond from an old bathtub, the main thing is to have patience, the necessary tools, and also follow the sequence of work without deviating from the plan.

It all starts with preparing the territory: the place must be selected carefully. Then the artificial reservoir, created with your own hands, will last for a very long time.

The soil on which the reservoir will be placed must be dry: the presence of groundwater nearby is unacceptable here.

It is preferable to arrange the pond in the shade so that the water does not spoil or bloom due to sunlight.But installing a mini-pond under the canopy of trees in the country is not recommended, in order to avoid falling leaves that subsequently rot.

Don't throw away your old bathtub - it will come in handy to make an artificial pond with your own hands. So you can build your own pond or swimming pool for a relaxing holiday by the water in your country house

After choosing a location, debris is removed from the site, and the soil is treated with special means.

Step #2 - selection of tools and materials

You need to stock up:

• piece of mesh -chain link, the size of which depends on the area of ​​the building;
• crushed stone, cement, clay;
• a piece of wire, waterproof glue, film or paint;
• level, tape measure, trowel, shovel.

For finishing and decoration, stones and small colored pebbles, clay, pebbles, sand, etc. are useful, at the discretion of the master.

Step #3 - digging a pit

Next, they dig a pit of the required depth, and install the old bathtub into it. A ditch is being dug along the entire pit: its depth is approximately 25-30 centimeters.

At the same time, its depth should be approximately 20-25 cm greater than the height of the walls of the old bathtub

In the place of the proposed drainage, an additional depression of a small area is dug - approximately 60x60 cm. Gravel and crushed stone are poured there. This is a drainage hole.

The bottom of the previously dug pit is covered with sand and small pebbles. One brick is installed along the edges; a bathtub will be installed on this pedestal.

Step #4 - installing the bathtub

Next you need to prepare the bath. First, the bathtub overflow hole is filled with cement mortar. Do not cement the lower drain hole.

The inside of the bathtub must be cleaned of dirt: degreased, sometimes primed, covered with self-adhesive film or paint of the desired shade. A special colored film for ponds is considered ideal - it looks beautiful, lasts a long time, and is not afraid of moisture.

Then the bathtub is installed on bricks. The drainage of the reservoir must be placed at the same level as the drainage system, the horizontal surface must be leveled. The groove near the walls of the bathtub is filled with pebbles, sand, and decorative stones.

Step #6 - decorating the pond

If the old bathtub has become your mini-pond and you plan to populate this body of water with animals and plants, then there are a couple more steps to be completed. A reinforcing metal mesh is lowered into the bathtub, followed by decorations: pebbles, shells, colored elements for decoration.

This will not only create an interesting appearance, but will simplify the process of cleaning the pond in the future. It will be enough to remove the mesh to get all the components that need cleaning and processing.

After all excavation work is completed, it’s time for decoration. If this body of water will serve as a pool, then you can start decorating it from the outside

A self-made pond in a dacha should look as natural as possible, without violating the integrity of the entire picture of the dacha landscape. Therefore, many people prefer to plant plants around it. If this is a pond, then it is good to use water lilies and water lilies, but not large ones, but small ones.

To revive the pond, duckweed is used. Some people prefer to breed fish, choosing unpretentious species that can take root in a wide variety of environmental conditions and climate zones. These are goldfish, dwarf catfish, crucian carp, veiltails and others.

There is no need to skimp on cleaning your pond. It is advisable to install in advance a high-quality pressure filter that can carefully and effectively purify the water in a homemade pond. And also regularly clean the walls from dirt.

Conclusions and useful video on the topic

Photo ideas for useful homemade crafts for the garden:

Original ideas for using old doors in the country:

To decorate your summer cottage, you always have a choice: use improvised materials and do something non-standard, or take advantage of ready-made store offers.

Homemade inventions can bring something new to your site, demonstrating your idea of ​​beauty in a summer cottage. Many summer residents are creative people who are always in trend and they themselves set the latest trends in dacha fashion and landscape design.

Do you have interesting ideas for decorating your summer cottage? Or do you want to consult with other site visitors about the advisability of making a certain item? Ask your questions - the feedback block is located below. Also here you can share your ideas for useful homemade products, add original photos of things and items made by yourself.