In addition to flower beds, raised beds and a well-kept lawn, beautiful garden decorations are an important part of a well-designed garden. However, you can decorate the outdoor area not only for a special occasion, such as Easter, but also for any popular theme. Thematic gardens bring a very special flair and are becoming increasingly popular. If you would like to decorate your own outdoor area for the summer, you can create a wonderful maritime garden decoration with a lighthouse for the garden. A nautical decoration is perfect for the hot summer and reminds you of the sea every day.
Garden lighthouses can be found in different sizes and designs to suit your own outdoor space. The choice of colors and patterns is just as large. You decide for yourself whether a classic combination of white and red or blue, or colorful color combinations that match the rest of the garden decoration. However, if you want to have a completely individual design, you can even build a tower yourself and decorate it according to your personal taste. In this article you will find some great ideas and DIY projects for lighthouses that you can make quickly and easily using simple materials. Get inspired!
DIY project: lighthouse made of clay pots
With a homemade decoration you can design your own garden individually and decorate it creatively. A lighthouse creates a real maritime flair and is sure to be popular with all sea fans. It is therefore perfect for personal use as well as as a gift for sailors. If you build the tower yourself, you can choose the size, colors and decoration yourself.
Without a doubt, the easiest way to build a lighthouse for the garden is to use some old clay pots. The plant containers should be of different sizes, but you need at least three different sizes. For taller towers you can even use five or more clay pots. It is also important that the pots have the same shape because they will be stacked on top of each other when assembled. The exact procedure can be found below.
If you build this beautiful garden decoration element with a light, you can make creative garden lighting yourself. With a suitable garden lamp or simple solar lamp you can design the lighthouse and illuminate the garden at night. Of course, just one light is not enough to illuminate the entire garden. That's why you can either build several towers or just use the light as part of the decoration. In both cases, the garden lighthouse benefits from a lamp because it makes it look much more realistic and eye-catching.
If you build such a garden decoration yourself, you can conjure up an individual design. Lighthouses made of clay pots can be painted any way you want if you have the right color. Acrylic paint for outdoor use is best suited for this because it is UV, heat and weather resistant and therefore lasts longer. This means you can not only paint the garden decoration, but also creatively decorate it with different patterns and elements. For example, if you paint some cracks and decorate accordingly, you can give the tower a dated look.
Materials and construction instructions
A lighthouse for the garden is easy to make and doesn't require expensive materials or a lot of skill. To make sure, take a look at the construction instructions shown. The lighthouse pictured is built from a total of four clay pots and painted in the classic combination of white, red and blue. Here is the full materials list for this DIY project:
- 4 clay pots - 1 large, 1 medium, 1 small, 1 extra small
- 2 small clay coasters
- white, red, dark blue and black acrylic paint for outdoor use
- Kraft adhesives
- Glass candle holder
- battery operated tea light
- Malerpinsel
The first step is to collect all the materials and then clean the clay pots with a damp cloth. As a rule, clay pots of any size are suitable as long as you use four different increasing sizes. Then the three larger clay pots are painted in two colors by painting the edges white and the rest red. Paint a total of three coats, allowing the paint to dry after each coat. This creates a strong color.
If you want, you can add small black rectangles as windows to the garden lighthouse. It is best to use a stencil made of masking tape to create the windows in the correct shape. One window per pot is sufficient. Now all that remains is to paint the extra small clay pot and the clay coasters. This requires a contrasting color, in this case dark blue.
Once all the elements of the tower are painted and dry, we move on to assembling it. To do this, place the largest clay pot upside down on the work table and spread some glue around the edge of the base. Then place the medium clay pot on top of the larger one, again with the bottom facing up. Press lightly as needed to adhere both pots. Repeat the process with the small clay pot and allow to dry for the appropriate amount of time.
The last step is to install the light. First glue the one clay coaster to the bottom of the smallest clay pot. Then stick the extra-small clay pot upside down on the bottom of the second clay coaster. Now place the glass candle holder with a battery-operated tea light on the top of the lighthouse and cover it with the “lid”.
Placement in the garden
After the lighthouse for the garden is ready, you should find a suitable place in the garden for your new garden decoration. The clay pots are usually strong and ensure a stable construction of the tower. In general, towers made of four or more clay pots are much more stable and are better suited as free-standing decorations. If you have a garden pond, the lighthouse is perfect as a decoration for this area. In combination with the water, the maritime feeling is significantly enhanced.
If you are particularly fond of lighthouses, then you can build not just one, but several yourself and conjure up an unusual garden decoration with a maritime flair. For example, you can create towers of different sizes by using clay pots of different sizes. As for the light, you can use solar lamps, battery-operated tea lights or even a regular tea light. However, since an open flame is undesirable in the garden, you should definitely place tea lights in a closed container.
You can decorate the garden stairs or the steps at the entrance to the house with a homemade lighthouse for the garden. In this case, you can match the design to the front door or color of the exterior wall and house facade. Beautiful towers with lights can also be used to illuminate this area in a creative way.
If you would like to make an unusual garden decoration yourself, you can decorate the lighthouse as you wish. In addition to the windows, you can add a door with a ladder and other decorations of your choice. Other elements and decorations that are connected to the sea go well with the tower. Small shells that you collected on your last vacation at the sea are perfect as a creative decoration for the area around the tower. If you want to really showcase the garden decoration, you can place it on some mulch.
The lighthouse for the garden made of clay pots is a simple DIY project that offers many options for execution. Be creative when designing and, above all, decorating your own model to make an unusual garden decoration yourself. The projects arealso for crafting with childrensuitable.
Alternative: Build your own lighthouse out of tin cans
Clay pots are certainly the most popular material for building small towers for garden decoration. However, there are also other ways to build a lighthouse for your garden yourself. For example, you can use tin cans or metal buckets that are painted any color and assembled into a simple tower. The following materials and tools are required for this project:
- 2 metal buckets – 1 large and 1 small
- Mason jar with screw lid
- Kraft adhesives
- Acrylic paints for outdoor use
- LED light
- Malerpinsel
- Never
Metal buckets are usually made with straps and a handle, so the first step is to remove these. The easiest way to do this is to use pliers. In order for the tower to look beautiful in the end, you need to try to completely remove the supports.
To build the lighthouse, place the large metal bucket with the bottom facing up and glue the small one to it with the power glue. Then stick the lid of the mason jar upside down at the top. Allow the glue to dry thoroughly and only then can you start painting. Whether plain, with stripes, dots or other patterns, only your creativity decides. Apply at least three coats of the paint to make it more vibrant.
Once the design is finished and the paint is dry, place an LED light in the lid and screw the mason jar onto it. This is how you can build a modern tower without spending a lot of time and effort. With several such towers you can decorate your beds and illuminate them at night. The neighbors certainly don't have garden decorations like that!
The metal buckets made of zinc are a great idea for garden decoration and can be perfectly transformed into elegant towers. If you have a taller metal bucket with a small diameter, you can convert it into a lighthouse for the garden. This becomes even more creative if you decorate the top with some succulents.
