I’ll have the full step-by-step YouTube video tutorial published for you this weekend. Our #siyoutubefamily is already a community of 58.9K, so don’t forget to subscribe if you haven’t done so already. You’re the BEST, and I appreciate your support! 🙂

SUPPLIES

Scrap Wood  – SALVAGED
Carpenters Speed Square + Pencil
Bosch Cordless Circular Mini Saw (17% Off as of writing)
Dewalt Drill & Impact Driver Set (32% Off as of writing)
Wood Deck Screws
Bosch Orbital Sander (22% Off as of writing)
Small Oval Paint Brush
Anchor SILK All-In-One Mineral Paint

WHY DIY YOUR OWN OBELISK?

DIY’ing your own garden trellis is the perfect way to add beautiful design to your garden while providing a sturdy structure to grow climbing vines, roses, clematis, grapes, beans, and any climbing plant you can think of.

These can be built with FREE scrap wood supplies, or for a fraction of the cost they are in stores or online. The best part is you can use your imagination and customize EXACTLY for your outdoor space.

Imagine an obelisk with:

• decorative cross braces
• a vintage finial or salvaged furniture knob on top
• slightly weathered paint or stain
• painted in a bold color to match your outdoor space
• maybe even reclaimed trim from an old piece of furniture
• … make it your own!

This will make it feel like a cross between garden décor and functional plant support – salvaged style!

CUTTING THE 2X2 WOOD FRAME

How To Build Your Obelisk Wood Frame:

• Cut 4 pieces of 2×2 wood to 7 feet tall each
• Then, take two pieces and drill the tops together to create an ‘A’ frame

CREATING OBELISK BASE SIZE & DIMENSIONS

Below are the measurements I decided on for my garden obelisk. I had 16 inches between each horizontal slat, with the exception of the top, which measured 11 inches. Without figuring this out mathematically, the easiest way I found to do this is to lay your base frame on the ground and find how far apart you want the base. I chose 24 inches. Then lay your horizontal slats an even distance apart (by eye… and then tweak the measurements) and mark the cut line with a pencil.

How to create your obelisk size:

• Lay your 7′ frame on the ground.
• Choose your base size (mine was 24″)
• Lay your horizontal slats evenly spaced on the “A” frame (mine was 16″ apart + 11″ at the top)
• Mark your measurements on the horizontal slats with a pencil

CUTTING IKEA SLATS TO SIZE

Once I had my pencil marks drawn on the horizontal Ikea wood slats, Andrea and I cut them to size using my cordless Bosch Mini Circular Saw.

This tool is awesome — one of my favorites to use because it’s so darn comfortable and not at all intimidating. It was a bit of an investment, but well worth it. I’ve gotten a ton of use out of it, and even my sister loves it and has asked to use it on a few of her projects!

However, we did make a mistake with our measurements.

We kept this project beginner-friendly by using simple butt joints. It’s faster, easier, and just as sturdy. The bottom slats are on my obelisk are cut to 25½” (front/back) and 23″ (sides), with each row becoming progressively shorter.  But depending on your wood dimensions and the size of your obelisk, they may be different. Because the obelisk tapers towards the top, measure and cut each slat individually for the best fit.

Bottom Row

• Cut front slats approximately 25½”
• Hold the side slat in place and mark for a custom fit (approximately 23″)

Second Row

• Hold each slat in place and mark.
• Expect them to be about 6″ shorter than the row below.

Third Row

• Repeat.

Top Row

• Repeat.

Why this is better…

Every obelisk ends up slightly different because:

• Lumber thickness varies,
• Leg angle varies,
• Scrap wood isn’t always perfectly straight,
• Builders may choose a slightly wider or narrower base.

I also want to mention that when screwing in all these boards, we used my Dewalt drill and impact driver set that made this build so quick. The entire trellis was built in under two hours, minus the paint time.

 

SALVAGED DETAILS

To add some salvaged character (and more weight!) to this obelisk, I used old pickets from my garage and added them on all four sides.

I also grabbed a wooden bun foot from my furniture inventory and screwed it onto the top as a finial topper.

You can add anything you like – use your imagination!

• Vintage glass doorknob
• Salvaged a furniture finial off an old mirror
• Large curtain rod finial
• Stair caps
• Fence post toppers
• Decorative bed post topper

At this point, it was looking a little Frankensteinish 😆 with all this scrap wood scewed together, so now it was time to tie it all together and make it look FABULOUS!

FINISHING TOUCHES

To prep all this scrap wood for paint, I brought out my Bosch Orbital Sander and a 220-grit sandpaper and gave the boards a quick light sanding. This was especially important around the Ikea salvaged board that had been cut because the edges were jagged. My sister ended up with a big splinter while we were assembling, so I wouldn’t miss this step. It takes all of (5) five minutes and makes all the difference in the finished look!

The last step was to paint this obelisk trellis. I picked this SILK All-In-One Mineral Paint in Anchor and used my Small Oval Synthetic Brush. This is a rich, true black, and the primer and topcoat are included. It’s also great for outdoor furniture, patio, and garden decor because it has UV protection to resist fading and mold. It took 3/4 of a 16-oz jar, or 12oz of paint, to fully cover this obelisk in two coats.

If I were to do anything differently, I would have spray-painted or painted the wood before assembly. This way, the painting portion would have gone faster, and all I’d have to do is a few touch-ups where needed. I had fun painting this piece, but it did take some finagling to get full coverage in behind the assembled trellis.

PIN AND SHARE 🤗

And now for some Trashy Treasures FUN!

Below are the TTT ladies’ BEFORE photos. Visit the links below to see the amazing AFTERS and learn how they did it! I’m heading over to take a peek as well! x

1. CONFESSIONS OF A SERIAL DIYER

2. PETTICOAT JUNKTION

3. ARTSY CHICKS RULE

4. SI (HAPPY YOU’RE HERE!)