From Plant Pots to Outdoor Water Fountain {Step-by-Step Tutorial}

Guest Blogger: Marie Blackburn, Interior Frugalista

Meet Marie. She is a consummate DIYer who loves the challenge of decorating on a budget. With an eye for seeing the potential in otherwise tired, dated, or discarded furnishings, she breaths new life into them, and loves transforming rooms by using what is already in the home. Marie says, “Our home is my art canvas, and like pages in a book, every room tells a story.”

We loved the water fountain she created using plant pots that had been laying around her house for years, and she was kind enough to share the project with us…

How To Create an Outdoor Water Fountain

I wanted to have a unique water fountain on our deck. There were many stunning ones that struck my fancy, but being a Frugalista, I wasn’t willing to pay the price. Now I could have waited until mid-August when they typically go on sale, but that would require P A T I E N C E. What the heck is that?

So, we’ve had these three flower pots kicking around, like forever. Inspired by some of the DIY fountains I’ve seen on Pinterest and Hometalk, we decided to give this a whirl.

I cannot tell a lie, we had several frustrating botched attempts with this project. Rocks that were too small and kept plugging the pump… A spray nozzle that overflowed onto the deck… Painting a large bowl to catch the overflow but the paint peeled despite several coats of a protective finish… A chunk breaking off one of the pots when using a hammer to make a hole in the bottom to accommodate the pump….. Oh well, like they say, live and learn. At least by following this tutorial you won’t make the same mistakes. You’re welcome!

Here are the materials we used. (Notice the holes in the center of the terracotta lids? In our final attempt, we used a drill with a ceramic bit, and this time no pots were harmed in the making of this fountain!)

Step 1: We sealed the hole that was made when we had previously attempted using a large bowl for the base. Grrrrrr, hate when that happens! We epoxied a small porcelain tile to the bottom of the pot and let it cure for over 24 hours.

Step 2: We put the pump on a strong sturdy base in the center of the pot at a level where the top will be at the height you want. We used what we had on hand by cutting a strong plastic container to fit.

Step 3: Notch out a groove in the plastic pipe to accommodate the pump’s electrical cord.

Step 4: Set the plastic pipe over the plastic container so it rests on the bottom of the pot. This becomes your base for the next step. TIP: Make sure you cut the plastic tubing nice and straight!

Step 5:  Place the pump sprayer through the terracotta saucer and let it rest on top of the plastic pipe. NOTE: After we took the picture, we discovered it’s better to place the terracotta saucer upside down to help conceal the lip.

Step 6:  Place the pump sprayer through the next size pot and let it rest on the terracotta saucer. Add the next plastic pipe. NOTE: Be sure to pre-measure the plastic pipes to accommodate the pot heights before cutting them.

Step 7:  Place the pump spray through the next size terracotta saucer (again, unlike the picture, turn the saucer upside down). This now becomes the base for the top pot.

Step 8:  Add the final pot, inserting the nozzle head onto the pump sprayer.

Step 9:  Add river rock onto each saucer until the terracotta is completely concealed. Make sure you use a combination of large and small rocks.  You want the large rocks to fill in the void between the saucer and the pot.  The small rocks will help to conceal the saucer.  Fill the bottom pot with water and plug it in.

Ta Da! There you have it, an inexpensive DIY water fountain for a deck, patio, or apartment balcony!

To see more of Marie’s great DIY projects, hop on over to The Interior Frugalista. Thanks for sharing, Marie!

If you’d like to be a guest blogger on Organized CHAOS Online, just send us an email describing your project, and if it’s something we think our readers will enjoy, we’ll feature you!