When you’re thinking it’s time for a new fence, there’s also that dilemma about what to do with your old wood fence. Of course, you could just have it hauled off to the landfill. Or you could be a good steward of the environment and repurpose your old wood fence.
Here are some fun ideas, some seasonal and some spring-related, from which you could draw inspiration for repurposing your old wood fence:
Build Nativity Scenes
Old wood slats make great material to create a rustic nativity scene, for yourself or to give as gifts. The great thing about a rustic scene is that your woodworking doesn’t have to be too precise. The cruder your stable and manger may look, the more rustic they appear.
If you or someone in your family is really creative, you could cut out or carve figurines to match your nativity structure.
Paint Seasonal Figurines
Simple snowmen and snow women are a good option for those with less artistic skill, but you also could create skinny Santa’s or nutcrackers to enhance your holiday decorations. Since you’ll have plenty of old wood fence boards, you could save some for Easter bunnies, patriotic Uncle Sam’s, Halloween witches and ghosts, fall scarecrows and more to spread out the rustic decor.
Building the base out of your posts will provide extra weight and stability to display the pieces outdoors.
Craft a Rustic Santa Sleigh
If you’re more skilled at woodworking, you could use those extra boards to build a rustic Santa sleigh to display each year on your lawn. You can rest assured that the seasoned wood will give Santa a sturdy ride for years to come.
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If you want to think beyond the holiday season, there are tons of ideas for items you can build for outdoors or indoors with your old fence slats.
Outdoor Furniture
The combination of old wood fence posts and slats provide all the material you need to make sturdy, durable outdoor furniture. With the right skill, you can make functional pieces that your family and guests could use for years to come. But even basic benches would not require too much skill.
You also can craft a variety of tables from your old wood fence boards and posts, from a full-sized picnic table to small occasional tables where your guests could set drinks while enjoying your outdoor area.
With just fence boards, you could create more decorative pieces that could support flower pots or planters and other outdoor decorations.
Outdoor Planters
Old fence board create nice window boxes, patio planters and more. As a precaution, you want to use these only for ornamental plants and flowers. If you want to use boxes for vegetables or fruits, you should put the plant in a plastic or clay pot and use your wooden box as decorative. You don’t want chemicals from the treated wood leeching into your fruits and vegetables.
Indoor Decor Elements
You don’t need to be an artist or craftsman to figure out ways to use your fence boards to add decor to your home. An old wood fence board with hooks can hang by the back door to house the family’s coats. Two or three or four boards with interesting weathering or color can create an art element over your fireplace.
Fence boards also can create interesting shelves or bookcases to display your curios or collectables. If you have a penchant for art or photography, you can make frames from fence boards that give an interesting bit of texture to your artwork.
Really, the uses of fence boards are limited only by your imagination or idea you can find on the Internet.
If you don’t think you have the artistic skills to tackle any of these projects, check around the neighborhood or on a local buy/trade/sell site to find artists or crafts people who would love to have your weathered wood fence for their own projects.
In the meantime, you can get started planning how your new fence will enhance your home and property. Contact the best fence company in the U.S. to learn how our professional planners and installation crews can give you a dream fence to replace that old wood fence.
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