DIY Weathered Wood Beach Buoys

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DIY Weathered Beach Buoys

Recently I was flipping through the Pottery Barn catalog and came across these beach buoys. I thought they would make some super cute lake house or beach house decor.

And then I got to thinking … I could make some buoys for next to nothing.

You see, in our new neighborhood people are always throwing out their old, unused junk the night before the trash runs. And I *might* be one of those people who stops and digs through other people’s trash. Don’t judge.


A few weeks go I was driving home and saw some perfectly beat up good 4 x 4’s just sitting next to the trash in a neighbor’s yard. So, I did what any smart, frugal, wood-working woman would do and I called my husband and told him to meet me at the top of the driveway in a couple of minutes. I got him to help me go rescue my new 4 x 4’s. 🙂 (Note: The neighbor was outside and we did ask before the took the wood.)

I didn’t really know what I would use them to make, and for the record, my hubby thinks I’m crazy. But turns out they make beautiful wooden buoys.

See what I mean?

How to go from this …                                            to this …

DIY Weathered Beach Buoys

First I cut the 4 x 4 into different sizes and cut the sides of the tops at an angle using my miter saw. A circular saw would have been much easier, but I don’t have one … yet. I didn’t measure the angled tops, I just eyeballed it and cut.

DIY Weathered Beach Buoys

Then I drilled holes through the tops.

DIY Weathered Beach Buoys

I painted them.

DIY Weathered Beach Buoys
DIY Weathered Beach Buoys

And then I printed numbers on my computer and traced them on to the buoys. I then just painted the numbers directly on to the buoys. I sanded them to make them look a little weathered, and then I added the sisal rope through the holes in the top. (You can find this rope at any home improvement store. I found mine at Lowe’s.)

And there you have it! You’re very own weathered beach buoys. And mine cost a total of $11 instead of $60 at Pottery Barn. I just bought the pink paint and the rope, and there is plenty of rope left for other DIY projects. I had all of the other paint leftover from painting the house or crafts.

Paint colors:
Pink – Hint of Cherry by Valspar
Light turquoise – Wythe Blue by Benjamin Moore
Darker turquoise on the large buoy – Stratton Blue by Benjamin Moore
Yellow –  Butter from Restoration Hardware
Brown – some brown craft paint I have laying around the house

What do you think of my homemade buoys?

DIY Weathered Beach Buoys


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22 Comments

  1. Hi, Laura! Love these buoys! I chose them as part of the 15 projects I submitted to Looksi for my Looksi Curated Collection. I’m a curator for them, and I chose a nautical/beach theme for my collection this month. Love these! And, I’m sharing them in a round up on my site next week.

  2. Congrats!! You have been featured at The DIY Dreamer!! YAY! Come on over and grab your featured button, you deserve it 🙂

  3. I just love these!!! Cute color combo, too!!! I selected you as one of my favs on Give Me the Goods Monday Link Party!!

    Thanks so much for sharing your creativity!!! Can’t wait to follow you and hope you link up again!
    XXXOOO!

  4. It’s so funny cause when I saw your post on – Time to shine – I wondered if you made your own or bought them. Eureka, so glad to see you made your own, awesome girl, love it. When I see something my first thought is if we could (or hubs actually) make an item. So here we go, I want to make couple sets anyway, one for the yard and another hopefully to sell.

    Love you found way to make them yourself, they look great, love colors and #’s on them. Great post/project. Gonna print this out so hubs can see them to make. I print out in blk/whte to save ink since I print out so many projects I find on blogs.
    I’ll have to tie them to something or our dog will happily chew them up. He steals pieces of wood all the time when hubs making things and runs off with them to chew. What can I say we have a black lab/border collie and that guy will eat anything wood or otherwise. When we first got him he chewed up all our Christmas lights, power strip and all, trim on the windows, stair rails. We had a gold lab in CA that ate 2×4 or any kind of wood if it was left out for him to get his toofies into. The joys of doggie parenthood.
    Happy summer Enjoy your blog

  5. Love these! They are way cuter than the Pottery Barn ones! You did great! Thanks for sharing at Party In Polka Dots!

    Shelley

  6. These are awesome! LOVE the colors! Thanks so much for sharing at The Inspiration Exchange – pinned!

  7. Crafty! I love a good knock off, and I love your color choices! Thank you for sharing at Give Me The Goods!

    Amber @ Dimples & Pig Tales

  8. Wow!! These caught my eye on Tweak It Tuesday-love them! I am a pink fan so naturally the turquoise and pink buoy caught my eye!
    Great job and so fun for Summer decorating!
    Happy Hugs,
    jemma

  9. I want these! I live on the water, and these would be so cute on my front stoop with my house number. Now…if I was just crafty!

  10. I love the ocean (wish I lived by it!) and this is such a clever idea for decorating indoors or outside. Thanks for sharing your creativity.

    1. Oh, I wish I lived by the ocean too, and I love incorporating ocean-inspired pieces and color. Thanks so much for stopping by! xoxo

  11. You are AWESOME! This are so so adorable. And you’ve just helped me because after seeing this, I have decided to take the plunge: I will use a power tool! I’m so scared of using a saw, it means I can’t attempt so many cute projects. But I think this would be a good place to start. Thanks so much for this. LOVE them so much.

    1. Aww, thanks so much Kristen! You are too sweet. And yes, you can use power tools. They are a little scary at first, but once you get over it and just use them, it’s so empowering! Then you don’t have to wait on hubby to cut things for you. Very handy!! 🙂

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