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Home tweet home: DIY mini garden houses

30 Oct 2024

Ready to bring a little charm and colour into your garden? These adorable DIY mini garden houses will do the trick! Whether you’re a green thumb looking for the perfect backyard décor or just want a fun weekend project, these pint-sized houses are a fantastic way to spruce up your outdoor space.

You will need:

Step 1: Start by cutting the fence post into house shapes. Out of the 1800mm long fence post, Fleur made eight houses; four are 20cm tall and four are 25cm tall (to the top pitch of the roof). Set your mitre saw to 45 degrees to cut the angle for the roof pitch. Sand any rough edges smooth. If you don’t have a saw, ask your timber supplier if they can cut them for you.

Prime five of the houses with one coat of Resene Quick Dry and then paint over this with two coats of your chosen colours. Fleur used Resene Retro, Resene Wishlist, Resene Truffle, Resene Hot Toddy and Resene Pohutukawa. Paint the roofs with two coats of another chosen colour. Fleur used Resene Colins Wicket.

Step 2: Stain the remaining three houses with Resene Woodsman stain in your chosen shades. Fleur used Resene Waterborne Woodsman in Resene Pickled Bluewood, Resene Japanese Maple and Resene Grey Green. Stain the roofs of these houses in your chosen shades. Fleur used Resene Waterborne Woodsman Pitch Black.

Step 3: Paint on doors and windows in your chosen colours. Fleur used Resene Bokara Grey and Resene Double Parchment for this.

Step 4: Finish the houses with any further cutesy embellishments that you like, such as hearts on the gable ends, picket fences and flowers. Place them in your garden or on a shelf indoors and enjoy.

project and images Fleur Thorpe

Published: 30 Oct 2024