Funky Junk Interiors

Garden-themed reclaimed wood walkway

Recently with some really epic summer-like weather in our favor, I’ve been working in the garden and the outside of the house.

Since I removed all my flowerbeds out of the backyard, that area is so easy to keep up! But my front yard is quite another thing…

Most of the front yard is surrounded in flowerbeds… very pretty! But yeah… it takes a little elbow-grease to keep things up for sure.

Reclaimed wood garden walkway – visit HERE 

One front yard garden feature you may remember from the past was this little wooden walkway that leads from my driveway into my front yard.

It lasted for a GOOD long time, despite me not treating the wood with anything!

But once things deteriorated, I threw a few cement walking stones in its place until I could come up with something creative once again.

And of course, over time, things got messy…

Welcome to reality. LOL

The spring flowers happily pushed their way up any which way they could. And weeds competed for space. But rather than JUST weed, I decided to create a NEW garden-themed reclaimed wood walkway instead!

So it was time to play… bringing out some reclaimed wood planks from my very substantial stash, I dry-fit boards over top of the mess until I came up with an idea I love even more than the last walkway!

My goodness… the new walkway design is SO easy to make and is better protected from the elements too! And totally themed perfectly for a garden area thanks to a few well-chosen stencils.

Here’s what I did:

How to make this garden-themed reclaimed wood walkway

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Supplies I used:

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2 long treated support boards cut to fit – mine measured 2″ x 4″ cut at 6′ long

reclaimed wood planks – mine are reclaimed cedar fence planks cut to 6″ x 20″

Stencils from Funky Junk’s Old Sign Stencils:

Funky Junk’s Old Sign Stencils used:

• Locally Grown Herbs
• Garden Shop
• Wild Flower Seeds
• Shipping Crate Stamps
• Welcome to my Garden (for Tours Until Dusk)

Miter saw

Cordless drill and screws

Garden rake

Outdoor durable paint – I used Fusion Mineral Paint in Ash
(click HERE to find a local Fusion retailer near you)

Stencil brush

How-to:

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1. Clean out the area you wish to place your garden walkway, then lower the level of the soil.

The soil was scooped out to lower the level of the pathway, so once the wood was in position, the walkway would be level with the attached driveway and lawn. No tripping hazard here!

2. Dry-fit two long support boards along with the wood planks to design what you want.

This part of designing your walkway is a little like playing with blocks. Simply place the support boards roughly into position, then decide how you want to place the planks and what you want them to look like.

My measurements:

Two support boards – 2″ x 4″ cut at 6′ long

Cedar fence planks for top – cut to 6 deep” x 20″ long

How to curve the walkway:

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Since my own path was to be slightly curved, this took a little fiddling to get it right…

1. Position support boards on a slight angle and wide apart.
2. Lay walkway boards on top, having them touch on the inner sides, and slightly spaced out on the outer sides. This creates a gentle curve.
3. Double check that the support boards don’t show, while still offering maximum support, so the walkway doesn’t tip if you step on a plank edge.

3. Cut support boards to fit, then paint or weather-treat if desired.

I used reclaimed treated fence posts, and set them direct on the soil. But I may tip the walkway up and place landscape fabric underneath, which I thought of after the fact.

I ended up painting the tops in Fusion’s Ash so they’d visually disappear once the top planks were in position. It looked way better!

Weather protection ideas:

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• use treated wood
• gravel
• garden fabric
• treat the boards first

 

Designing the wood planks:

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4. Design / decorate the top planks.

I ended up painting random top planks in Fusion’s Ash… 

View stencils HERE: Locally Grown Herbs / Garden Shop / Wild Flower Seeds / Shipping Crate Stamps

… as well as stencil some garden-themed designs on the odd planks as if the pathway was made from garden crates! Fun!

The designs were stenciled in Fusion’s Ash.

How to stencil:

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1. Position stencil into place with masking tape.
2. Load stencil brush with paint, then remove most paint onto a rag to create a dry-to-the-touch stencil brush.
3. Tap paint through the stencil to achieve the desired effect.

Learn more about how to stencil from THIS POST.

View a short video near the bottom of this post so you can see how the pathway was stenciled and built.

5. Arrange planks on top of support boards as desired, then attach with screws from the top.

Because the walkway was curved, the right side of the boards touch while the left side of the boards are slightly spaced.

And as you can see here, the black support boards practically disappear! Perfect!

So are you even ready to see how cute this turned out?!

The finished garden walkway!

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How fun, right?! This garden-themed reclaimed wood walkway is rustic, easy to make, totally customizable and it works awesome!

My goal this summer is to incorporate more reclaimed wood on the outside of the house and surrounding areas, so I’m off to a great start!

Garden-themed stencils:

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View stencils HERE: Locally Grown Herbs / Garden Shop / Wild Flower Seeds / Shipping Crate Stamps

I love the incorporation of the garden-themed stencils, however you could design your walkway any way you wish!

Stencil design tips:

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View Garden Shop stencil HERE

No need to worry if the entire stencil doesn’t fit. I simply use bits and pieces of the stencil which ultimately further customizes your projects anyway!

View Wild Flower Seeds stencil HERE

Moving 10 LB off to the side made this look like more of a random stamped crate. Just what I wanted anyway!

View Locally Grown Herbs / Shipping Crate Stamps stencil HERE

Locally Grown Herbs was teamed up with part of Shipping Crate Stamps for a random crate stamped look.

I like to angle some stencil images and even run off the edges of projects when attempting a random stamped look.

Aside from looking totally adorable, I think the best thing about this garden-themed reclaimed wood walkway is the fact that you can so easily customize the size desired to suit!

I just love how rustically charming it turned out and really adds a touch of garden-junk appeal to the area, don’t you think?

As for how it fits in with the rest of my front yard?

I’d say beautifully!

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Video

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Click above to watch a short video to share some of the walkway steps!

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Do you need a garden walkway or pathway anywhere in your yard? Think you’ll try this idea?

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Other garden projects you’ll appreciate:

Reclaimed wood garden walkway

A super-easy two-pallet walkway

How to edge flowerbeds like a pro

Make a reclaimed wood garden fence

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Visit many other garden-themed projects HERE

Check out all other stencil projects HERE

View all garden stencils HERE