Rub a Dub Tub

We’re pretty creative with old stuff around my house. For instance we use a couple of audio racks as book cases/toy shelves and a wobbly end table as a plant stand. I like to save money that way, so “Design on a Dime” is my friend. But I’ve noticed a trend in my neighborhood with yard “art”. And I don’t think I like it.

For those unfamiliar, this is taking something old, making it look “rustic” (old but pretty) and, well, sticking it in your yard. Used to be that men would bring home huge tires and the women would either use them as planters or hang them from trees. I’ve even seen them cut in half, cemented in and used as the base for a teeter-totter.

Old bathtubs are popping up in yards near me. The claw-footed kind. They’re usually white and are usually filled with pansies of some sort. I guess they’re supposed to look folksie or something, but really? They look trashy. I feel like they should just drive that beat up old Chevy into the front yard, take the tires off and put that baby on blocks. It’d have the same effect, yes? I do blame HG TV, because I remember seeing something like this on there. The look on the television was sweet and almost nostalgic. However, my neighbors cannot pull it off. Pansies? Really? Where’s the vines and ivy and the pretty little bushy things? tsk, tsk.

I won’t be keeping up with the Joneses with this trend. I do believe, though, that I will ask them for their big rocks (last years trend, I think) so that I can put them around my own flower beds. I’m going for the “wild”¹ look and need something for a “natural” border. I don’t have any old bathroom fixtures to trade, but maybe they’ll take my old washer off my hands.

1. Not weeded. [↩]