Last week I was on hibernation mode, I was hit with strep throat and was pretty miserable. Which is why it was abnormally quiet around here. But, I am back, DIYing and singing to songs very loudly and off key again now that my throat is not hurting. So pretty much business as usual. Today I am sharing my DIY water fountain, improving a store bought one with a few additions.
I had big dreams for my outdoor space, and I have gotten a lot done. But a large scale water feature was on my dream list. However our budget was not having it. I want to also state that this is an old project, brought back from my first few months of blogging. The post was such a mess, with horribly worded steps I just decided to scrap it and redo it. So this post is the adult version of do-over!
I purchased this water fountain that is cute, and rustic. It was just what I had in mind, but too small for my liking. Like I said, I wanted a legit water feature… preferably with a water fall and koi pond. But, a rustic wine barrel can work just the same…. for now…
For this DIY water fountain project the supplies needed are –
* 1 large barrel
* a fountain of your choosing
* a large piece of plywood
* One 2×4
* screws
* plants or greenery for the inside of the barrel
* dirt
* planter netting
We used a scroll saw and a miter saw. Neither are necessary but this is what we used so my tutorial will have these in the steps.
The design for this DIY water fountain is to add some much needed height. This will bring out the desired larger scale water feature in my back yard. I came up with the idea of using the large wine barrel and have the store bought fountain sit or float above it, letting the barrel become the bottom tier of the fountain. Since it is wider I also planned to add some flowers or greenery to the base of this for extra pretty.
Set the plywood on top of the barrel. Since I cannot make the water fountain actually float above the barrel this plywood is what it will sit on.
Trace the barrel top on the plywood.
The cutting of the board was done with a scroll saw. Bracing the board on a table and running the scroll saw along the circle we traced.
We cut it to be a slightly larger size, since this needs to be very snug in the barrel. So cutting a little larger and then trimming it until perfect in size.
We measured once the plywood was in the barrel how the length from the floor to where the plywood circle was. Then cut 4 pieces to match that. And 2 smaller ones to bridge the two 2×4’s together.
Next step is screwing them in together. This is basically a straight and narrow approach. Hold up the support and screw them in. We had to use longer screws then normal because they were going through the whole 2×4 and they would not be able to make it through to the other end and screw into the bridging 2×4. The longer the better for this job.
This is a example of how it will look inside of the barrel, supporting the plywood as well as the water fountain.
Once that was done it was as simple as setting the supports inside the barrel and then placing the plywood circle on top. We did not even connect the circle to the supports, it was wedged in enough. And with the fountain on top it was more then enough to hold it in place. And that baby does not move. So it was done, now it was time to beautify it.
There was a few conversations about how to handle putting flowers in and if we have to remove the fountain from the barrel the dirt and flowers would fall over. There was no real easy solution. But we did have some flower bed weed netting. You set this on top of your dirt in a flower bed and then cover it with dirt of mulch and it prevents weeds from moving in and bringing down the whole flower bed neighborhood. We cut two pieces of this netting. Both pieces were cut as the whole size of the barrel.
The reason why I used two pieces instead of one was to fold the two pieces over and allow the netting to sit around the fountain. So the fountain was placed in between the two pieces of netting. Once both were cut I stapled the netting to the inside of the barrel, cutting away the excess off so you could not see it on the sides.
Placing the netting, where the hand is it became folded over to have a pocket of sorts to place the dirt and the flowers. With the netting sitting up against the fountain making a small flower bed surrounding the fountain.
Now it is time to get dirty. We purchased a mix of floral and greenery, two of them. Placing them towards the sides but a little to the front. Then 4 ivy vines placing two in the front and two in the back. Then filling in the remaining areas with new soil. I wanted to have an appearance of the greenery being natural, since the barrel looks very natural. It appears that the greenery just sprung up over time. Once that was done, we again cut the remaining netting that was sitting up against the fountain.
The results for this DIY water fountain are amazing! I like that the store bought one is updated with just a few new additions. I got my bulkier finished water feature without having to pay the big bucks for a brand new massive one.
This is exactly what thinking outside of the box is all about. I purchased a water fountain from the store that had the overall look I liked. I wanted a rustic element to it and something I could easily add to it.
I was able to add the wine barrel and it all seamlessly flows together.
We turn this on almost every time we are outside. There is something so calming about the sound of flowing water.
I adore the fact that I can plant flowers in here each year to add a pop of color to my porch area. Our home has a very large back porch and it can feel really expansive, almost too big at times. Over the years I have broken up the area into a few smaller seating areas and that has helped create a cozy feel for the over sized space.
This DIY water fountain, improving a store bought one with a few additions is a favorite spot to relax during the summer months. I always place two chairs on either side of this and have it right in front of a big window. Let me tell you, it is one amazing place to hang out in summer! My kids are on the countdown to summer, we have 5 weeks left until school is out. My house is feeling the rush of an almost summer! Homework has become a lot less, kids sport activities have picked up, and the neighborhood kids are running between yards the second school lets out each afternoon. Summer is almost here and my house is ready for all it will bring!
That fountain is beautiful! I would love to make one for my house because it would go with my decor perfectly!
You guys must be true DIYers. I would never have thought of doing something like this. I don’t have a water feature but know people who do so I will have to show them what you did to update yours.
Oh my gosh I absolutely love this! It is so cool to look at and I love the rustic feel of it. I think this is something that my husband and I are definitely going to try to make.
This is the prettiest DIY fountain I’ve ever seen. I love how you took a small store-bought fountain and made it awesome. You did a great job and it’s so rustic and amazing. I want one!
Wow, this is such a nice do it yourself fountain. I love water fountains as it helps me relax more. This is an inspiration for me to check some materials available at home.
Your little water feature is adorable. Wonderful upgrade. In fact your entire deck is gorgeous.
We are just starting ours and Hubs got called away to work again, wanna come help? The coffee is good lol
I’ve always fancied a water fountain but I have never though about making my own! What an absolutely amazing idea! Thank you.
You give me house goals when we move. I love the fountain idea and how it turned out.
How wonderful is this project? My son would flip to make one of these. He is our resident plant grower.
Wow this is so pretty! I would love to make something like this, but I’m not very handy with power tools lol! Really great job!
I love all your projects! This fountain came out really great. My mom did one almost identical, even down to barrel, in her front yard.
How I love this! What a great idea. Fountains are my favorite. What a great job!
This is so pretty!!! What a relaxing little corner of the yard! It doesn’t seem so hard to do either!
I love this idea! I think this would look fantastic in my yard and it looks so much nicer than the store bought ones!
This looks so wonderful. I would love to have one of these in my garden or yard.
This fountain looks unique and cool. It looks very easy and fun to make. I’m sure it will be a great conversation piece.
The way you fixed this up is so cute. What a creative way to upgrade a storebought fountain for the backyard and really make a statement piece.
So glad that you are feeling better and back to doing what you love. Looks like a lot of good came out of this project. Water fountains keep a good flowing spirit in the atmosphere so I like it.
Wow, that is gorgeous! I can’t imagine ever making one like that myself – it came out beautiful!
A rustic take on a water fountain. I love the bed of plants and the fact that you can change it up every year if you want.
This looks gorgeous! I absolutely love that space and the addition.
Wow, this looks awesome! I haven’t thought of doing something like this in our yard. I should give it a try.
Oh my gosh this is so cool! I like the addition of the plants especially, it helps really spruce up the fountain!
You did a nice job putting it together! I’d love a fountain in my front and/or back yard but unfortunately we don’t have electric to do so.
Wow that fountain looks so beautiful. Must say you have a lot of patience and an eye for beauty. I would love to have one such fountain in my balcony. Looks cool! 🙂
This is beautiful and so creative. I would love to have something like this in my yard.
How classy. I dont remember the last time I seen someone with their own fountain water at home good idea!
I love this craft! Water fountains like this is so calming. I would want to create a zen space in my garden and I was thinking of a small pond just so there would be calming water, but I guess this fountain is better.
So cute Emily! I bet it adds the perfect touch to your back patio!
Wow. Really nice idea. I wanted to have something like that. Chinese Feng Shui says it invites calm and good fortune. I am not as crafty as you so I might just look for a similar one, pre-made and for sale.
I love this – my fav diy fountain by far! Where did you pick up the store bought fountain?
Where in the world do I find a barrel?
I have a very similar pitch pump…how did you get the water to flow “correctly”? I have my tubing up to the spout but the water wants to shoot out instead of a nice “pour” if you will. I’m racking my brain trying to solve this issue. Thanks!
This water fountain has a speed option, so I can choose how much pressure I want for the water. I am not sure if yours has that option or not. Other than that I am not sure how to fix this particular problem. I am sorry. Good luck!
Thank you so much for this, I love it! Bought the fountain and barrel this am, now I just need frost free nights! 😄