Thursday, July 16, 2009

DIY: Outdoor Shower Caddy

Outdoor Shower Days
One of my best friends and I each have a dream of owning an outdoor shower. And of course, a house or cabin that would presumably be attached to the outdoor shower. But the shower itself is what represents sandy feet, warm days and outdoor meals. San Francisco’s foggy summer isn’t very conducive to this dream, but I'm in New England for a couple weeks and so far, I’ve encountered two al fresco showers. Needles to say, I’ve almost completely abandoned the concept of washing behind a shower curtain.





Here’s a quick project to corral all your outdoor shower supplies. I added drainage holes because I can get skeeved out by mysterious standing water in the bottom of containers. You can embellish it or leave it plain. Either way, strolling to an outdoor shower with a galvanized pail in hand is a fleeting indulgence for me, and it’s one I intend to savor.

All you need is…
Galvanized pail
Drill with metal drill bit or hammer and nail

Optional...
Acrylic paints
Paintbrush
Poster board and craft knife for making stencil
Tape



If you’re using a drill and metal drill bit, drill a few holes through the bottom of your container. Or you can just hammer a nail through the bottom to create holes. If you want to embellish your pail, you can freehand a design or make a stencil. To create this dot motif, I traced a few round containers (of differing sizes) onto squares of poster board, cut the circles out, and taped the stencil onto the pail. Paint within the cutout circles, let dry, remove the stencil, and hit the (outdoor) showers.

Visit Kelly at MAKE GROW GATHER
Photos: Kelly Wilkinson

About Kelly... I grew up in a renovated barn in Virginia, the middle of three sisters. Now I'm in San Francisco, trying to straddle the country-urban worlds. For now, this means access to the city out the front door, with veggies and bees in the back. All my life, I've loved making stuff: crafts, dinners, skirts, preserves...and grand designs for my life!

Thanks Kelly!!

** I haven't purchased any products from these two shops before, but I did a quick search for galvanized buckets/pails and these two seem to have decent prices + a good selection (please feel free to share your favorite source): www.bucket-outlet.com and housewares.hardwarestore.com

1 comments:

Melissa de la Fuente said...

Oh, how awesome! How much do I wish I was somewhere with an outdoor shower.....by the beach....*Sigh*
xo
Melis