Every season is beautiful and inspiring in its own way. Summer, for instance, dazzle us with its bright and vivid colors, with the warm weather and the longer daylight periods.

The sandy beaches, the parks and all the outdoor areas are all magnificent and appealing during this season and all of this is a wonderful source of inspiring for some gorgeous DIY summer projects.

Easy DIY Summer Projects

Candleholder decorations with coastal vibes

Rather than going out to find some candleholders with very specific designs, consider getting the super plain ones instead and decorating them yourself. A cool idea is offered on stonegableblog where the candleholders are wrapped in rope and decorated with beach mementos like shells and star fish ornaments.

Wine bottle tiki sconces

There’s tons of ways in which glass bottles and jars can be repurposed and turned not into decorations but also useful things like these outdoor tiki torches featured on designsponge. You can use wine bottles that have different tint colors to make each sconce look unique and special.

Old tire turned into an ottoman

Once car tires become too worn out or old they get replaced which is always necessary but not great for our planet. You might be wondering what you could possibly do in this case. Well, you could repurpose an old tire into something cool and useful like an ottoman. On that topic, there’s a cool tutorial on stylemepretty that we find super inspiring. All you get to make something like this is an old tire, rope and a hot glue gun.

Hanging string lanterns

Summer is the season when we want to spend as much time outside as possible and that’s when having a backyard or a terrace turns out to be amazing. Here’s a cute little project aimed at outdoor spaces: hanging string lanterns that you can make from scratch. It involves rope, small balloons, glue and string lights. All the details necessary can be found on splashofsomething.

A cold beverage station

Planning an outdoor summer party, a casual and friendly gettogether or a backyard barbecue? Any of these activities would instantly be better if you had a cold beverage station. It’s such a brilliant idea and, best of all, it’s not even a complicated project. The station featured on letsdiyitall uses supplies like a big metal container, small buckets for accessories like napkins, straws, cups and so on, pipes and connectors.

Torches that repel mosquitos

Spending time outside in summer is wonderful but mosquitos can definitely ruin the whole experience. Luckily, there are ways to keep them at bay. One method that anyone can try is to make repellents. This mason jar torch featured on dreamalittlebigger is actually a mosquito repellent. It uses Citronella torch oil which is efficient at keeping these pests at bay with its scent.

Outdoor coffee table made of pallet wood

Having some furniture out on the patio or in the backyard really helps to make this area feel more inviting. Of course, outdoor furniture can get absurdly expensive but you don’t need to worry about that if you choose to build your own. This pallet coffee table is easy to make and super cheap as well. It even has wheels so you can easily move it around.

Outdoor bench made of pallet wood

Reclaimed wood pallets can be turned into all sorts of useful things and outdoor furniture specifically is a really great option. This colorful garden bench is another example of what can be done using super simple and inexpensive materials. This one sits against a fence and doesn’t really need a backrest but you can add one if you want to.

Pallet planter box

This pallet planter box is yet another cool project that you can do using reclaimed pallet wood. Its design is simple, with clean lines and sharp angles which give the planter a modern appearance. The square-shaped container is big enough to comfortably accommodate a variety of different plants like aloe for instance.

Concrete planter box

Concrete is a super versatile and useful material for a lot of DIY projects both big and small. These concrete planter boxes are a bit on the big side but you can definitely adjust the dimensions so the planters fit your space and your style. You could have a couple of these outside your front door to frame the entrance or use them as accent pieces for the patio, garden or the backyard in general.

Tin can planters

Making pretty things doesn’t need to be expensive. A creative mind can find all sorts of cool and interesting uses for basic things that others simply throw away. For instance, check out these lovely tin can planters. Wouldn’t these look really cute on the windowsill or outside on the porch? They’re easy to make and you can personalize them with your favorite color of paint.

Outdoor bench with planters

This is probably one of the easiest DIY projects ever and a great one as well. It’s a bench that you can make out of some wood planks and a few cinder blocks. You can check out akailochiclife to see how you can give it a fresh and modern look and suits the sunny summer vibes. What’s cool about this design is that the cinder blocks double as succulent planters.

Multipurpose cinder blocks

As you’ve seen earlier, cinder blocks can be used to make interesting outdoor furniture and accessories. On that topic, we found this cool idea on jenniferperkins which also involves cinder blocks. In this case several were used to make a weighted base for an outdoor umbrella. At the same time, the blocks also double as little planters perfect for succulents, cacti and small plants in general.

Scrap wood planters

Another good summer project could be to make a few planters that can be attached either to a wall or a fence. If you have several on the same wall they could be arranged to make a vertical garden. This could be a really nice way to keep some fresh herbs, some pretty flowering plants or perhaps plants that repel mosquitos and other insects. Check out thecraftygentleman for a tutorial.

Embossed stepping stones

What could really help to spruce up your garden or backyard is a beautiful pathway or some stepping stones. On that note, we found this really cool idea on dreamalittlebigger of making embossed stones. This lovely floral pattern was created using a rubber doormat and the stepping stones are made of sand topping mix but you could also choose to make them out of cement if you want to and especially if you want them to be thicker than 2”.

Succulent log planters

A succulent planter made out of a wood log could look magnificent out on a patio or even as an indoor centerpiece. It’s a great DIY project for someone who loves nature and enjoys exploring forests because that’s where you can eventually find the perfect fallen log. Of course, you might be lucky and find it in your own backyard. In any case, if you want more details about this project you can head over to hearthandvine.

DIY hammock chair

Swings and hammocks are two things that everybody loves regardless of age or anything else. They’re universally loved so a project like the one we found on lifesewsavory makes perfect sense. This is a hammock chair that you can make yourself from scratch. This gives you an opportunity to customize it a bit so pick a fabric type, color and pattern that you like and that fits the theme of your outdoor area and check out the tutorial on lifesewsavory for more info.

Beer bottle tiki torches

This project is very similar to another one we mentioned a bit earlier but the difference here this one uses beer bottles instead of wine bottles. These are smaller and the tiki torches look quite cute plus you can leave the labels on if you want them to look more authentic or create a sort of pub-inspired vibe in your backyard. For more details head over to craftbeering.

Geometric pool bench

Summer can get pretty hot, especially in some parts of the globe, hot enough to want to put a pool in the backyard. A proper in-ground pool however can get pretty expensive and a much more affordable and DIY-friendly alternative is a stock tank pool. If you already have one of these in your backyard, consider framing it with one of these wooden benches. You can find out how to built it by following the tutorial on heywandererblog.

Ombre chair set

Another fantastic summer project idea is to simply refresh something that you already have. For instance, if you have some outdoor chairs it could be nice to give them a fresh coat of paint and if you have an entire set you could get creative with them. We found this really cool suggestion on danslelakehouse to create an ombre effect by painting each chair a different shade so they gradually get lighter or darker in order to get this effect.

Pallet and tire couch

Looking to make your outdoor area more cozy and comfortable? How about adding a couch? It doesn’t need to be a fancy or expensive couch and you can actually make it all yourself using inexpensive and reclaimed materials like wood pallets and old car tires. Check out this tutorial on yellowgirl if you want more details.

Outdoor chalkboard

Just like swings, chalkboard are universally fun. They can however be a bit messy inside the house so a nice summer project could be to have one installed outside. If you’re doing it for the kids then perhaps there’s already a play area where you can put it. You can find a design idea on gina-michele that you might like.

Raised planter box

If you have a garden, a raised planter box can be a nice way of creating a dedicating area for planting various things like herbs, veggies or flowers. Making a raised planter box is pretty easy and you can use all sorts of materials for this. Wood is one of the most accessible ones so check out this tutorial on threadsandblooms to learn how a wooden planter is made from scratch.

Live edge table

Patios are perfect for creating cozy and comfortable seating areas or a beautiful al fresco dining space. Either way, you can’t really go wrong with a nice table. An idea here can be to make a custom table with a live edge wood top. This would make it truly unique and really interesting at the same time. You can find all the details needed for this project on danslelakehouse if you decide to take on a similar project this summer.