Decorating With Junk: An Illustrated Guide

Ladies and gentlemen, I'd like to share with you the epitome of trashing. Now you can totally transform your farm or mini ranch in less than 3 years into a work of pure junk art. It takes great skill to create and scatter your debris over time. Today I'm going to discuss and explore this mode of ingenious talent. WELCOME TO THE

"ILLUSTRATED GUIDE TO TRASHING YOUR PLACE WITH JUNK"

by A.T.donotfear

The first thing you must do (or not do) is never throw away old tires because you might NEED them sometime.

You know what I mean.

When you live on a small farm or mini ranch, you have a good selection of old, unused tires to choose from: four wheeler tires, tractor tires, truck tires, lawn mower wheels, cattle trailer tires and bicycle tires to name a few.

Always hang on to them after replacing with new tires so you can use for spares, when needed.

They make great tree swings for the grandkids, if you ever put them up.

They also make a great container for sand, holding mineral blocks and supporting the wide variety of weeds that grow up around them.

You can make planters, tire swings, sculptures, retaining walls, shoes, landscape edging and line your driveway.

Old tires can be very useful if you know what to do with them. Please see examples pictured below.

The next thing you need to do is hang on to all the old scrap metal, car parts, plastic containers, cans, dead lawn mowers and twisted wire. It makes a great backdrop for your other tools.

Keep all electrical cords wrapped loosely and tangled and never keep them in the same place. A variety of colors of electric cords looks nice. Make sure everything is placed in full view so you can have a panoramic scene to observe from your bay window.

Keeping old camper tops is important to the wildlife, besides looking contemporary. When your dogs and cats don't stay under it for shelter, the skunks, coons, armadillos and possums can have a safe haven from the weather

. It's also a good draw for poisonous snakes, being hot and humid under the roof.

Ladders can be stored efficiently on top of the camper top to assure you can find it easily the next time you want to use it.

The space between the camper and storage house may accommodate lots of unused window frames and angle iron, which creates a geometric look to the outside of the storage shed.

In addition, piling all unwanted or unused rusty metal and twisted wire in the same spot makes it easy to locate when you need an extra part. You never know when you might need it!

At the photo to the right, you can see a long sheet of steel was used to act as a shield to protect the broken gate, while creating a streamlined 'fence look' to the area. The corrugated metal hides the shreds of wiring left from the old gate. It appears to give the area a "cleaner" look.

The entrance to the 'barn made into a shop' (photo right) is guarded from outside livestock by a wonderful old antique gate panel dating back to the 1950s found on the property. To add to the landscaping architecture of the entrance, weeds have grown solidly around the remains of some old car parts, bits of machinery and tractor pieces; a nice display of rusted metal junk art. This seems to generate the feel of "old times" as well as add symmetry and greenery to the area.

As you can see in the photo below, several items were stored OUTSIDE the storeroom in order to save room. In doing so, it added a bit of color to the shed porch. The orange ramps and generator are welcoming fixtures to the entry of this ordinarily drab storage house. Buckets and other items litter the entrance so they can be handily reached. The goal was to create color and draw attention from the rather plain doors to the shed.

This article wouldn't be worth writing if something wasn't mentioned about the value of using old cars to add to the appeal of your farm or mini ranch. In the below photo, one can appreciate the use of using 4 feet tall flowering weeds growing from the trunk of the old car. Without the use of thick weeds, the cars themselves would look stark, in contrast to the surrounding landscape. This only proves that wrecked automobiles have more substantial value than "junkyard parts".

The photo below is a prime example.

Ladies and gentlemen, it's given me great pleasure to share with you how to trash your place in three (3) years or less. The above examples of 'junk art' took 3 years to create and develop. It takes time and patience to invent, arrange and distribute your accumulated debris into an appealing work of true "junk art".

I hope you've enjoyed reading my

"Illustrated Guide to Decorating Your Place with Junk".

Please take a moment to answer the following Quiz and Poll concerning Decorating with Junk Art.