Coastline Treasures

With so many homes being put up for sale, I was finally able to move into my dream home. I grew up in the noisy city, so I looked for a quiet suburb with wide-open spaces. This is the first time that I had a tree in my backyard. This is also the first time I have felt the fresh wind in my face.

It does take me longer to get to my office, but it is definitely worth it. The first thing I did was to buy the essentials for my new home. When the lounge chairs, kitchen sink, and bathroom showers were all in place, it was time to decorate. I found great things online, including a nautical birdhouse that never fails to lift my sprit as it tinkles with the wind.

Here is a week-end project that will be fun for the entire family; making a beach birdhouse.  Start by getting a plain wooden birdhouse; you can build one or buy one at your local home building supply store.  Next, go to your local craft store and search the isles for miniature beach scene items.  It can be a beach ball, surf board, beach chair, life rings, crabs or anything else you desire.  Pick up sky blue, ocean blue, sand and white craft paint.  You won’t need much; the small 4-6 ounce bottles will do the trick.

Be sure to prime the wood of the birdhouse before beginning.  Once dry, paint the roof sky blue and the house sand color allowing time for it to dry before adding clouds to the sky and ocean blue along the base of the house.  Using a hot glue gun, add your miniatures along the house creating your beach scene.  Once done, hang it in your yard and watch your feathered friends enjoy a day at the beach!

If you have a few hours and some basic tools, you can build a decorative birdhouse for your yard.  This is a great project to include children.  While working together you can teach about birds, building and safety with tools.  First you need to gather the necessary tools; saw, hammer, screwdriver, goggles, paint brush and a tape measure.  Now gather the supplies; plywood, wooden dowel, screws, wood glue, nails, sandpaper, and exterior paint.  Once you have everything, you are ready to get started.

Cut two rectangles cutting the tops so it forms a peak for the roof.  This will be the front and back walls. Drill a ½” diameter hole in one of the rectangles for the bird’s entrance.  Pre-drill a ¼” hole for the wooden dowel to create a perch.  Cut two rectangles for the side walls and 2 for the roof as well as one piece for the floor.  Glue the sides and roof together letting it dry.  Once dry enough nail it all together.  Turn the birdhouse over and screw the floor in place, no gluing.  During the off season, you can remove the floor of the decorative birdhouse and clean it out.  Go ahead and sand and paint creating the look you want.  Be sure not to paint the inside as bird will not nest if painted.  Have fun and get creative.

When I think of the sea, I can’t help but imagine the bygone days of excitement and exploration, when maps still contained huge swaths of uncharted territory. I tried to capture that spirit of adventure while redecorating my family den. My wife and daughter made their own suggestions, of course, but we all agreed that nautical decor would make the space more inviting.

I began by frequenting antiques shops and secondhand stores. At first the going was tough, but then I discovered a life-sized ship’s helm in the corner of a local shop. I refurbished it and sanded it down myself, then set about complementing the helm with smaller decorations. My wife found some stunning lighthouse figurines online, and we added a few model ships to drive the theme home.

It’s all too easy to forget that birdhouses can offer a multifaceted appeal. They are obviously appreciated by birds because of the valuable shelter they provide. Birdhouses allow birds to lay their eggs and tend to them without interference from predators or the elements. And of course they act as a safe haven during a storm. But birdhouses can also be appreciated for entirely different reasons.

Birds don’t much care about a birdhouse’s aesthetic appeal, but people certainly do. The best birdhouses fit in with the exterior décor of a home. If you live in a seaside bungalow, for instance, a beach birdhouse offers an excellent complement. Likewise, a lakeside cottage retreat is accentuated perfectly with a fishing cabin birdhouse.