9 Ideas for Making Cool Porch Rails with Repurposed and Found Objects

While most homes with front porches come with the rails built-in, many people add porches and patios out back, or like to do a bit of remodeling now and again. That means they may want to come up with creative ideas for porch rails. Why shrug off the opportunity to get funky for something conventional? A cool outdoor space is always a good idea.

Though porch rails may seem like an insignificant detail to some, that’s only the case when they are an afterthought. Like with any good design component, giving something more attention can make it a sensational, interesting feature. In other words, rails can be something memorable and conversation-worthy, or they can be easily overlooked.

For those who like to get out of the box, the answer is simple, and the best place to start the search for something cool is a junk pile. People throw away so many things with awesome potential. Rather than adding more to landfills and spending more on new stuff, we can make good use of it. We can make cool porch rails!

1. Branches

Every year, tons of homeowners and gardeners go out and prune tree after tree, typically tossing the branches into a wood chipper or sending them off to the dump. But, they are way too cool for that. Lots of trees, such as rhododendrons and mountain laurels, have characterful, gnarly branches that can make awesome porch rails.

2. Sawmill Slabs

In places where trees are abundant and local sawmills are around, it’s possible to get sawmill slabs for free or very cheap. When logs are being milled, the rounded edges are sawn off and discarded, so that straight boards can be cut. Those discarded edges are awesome for DIY projects. Using them adds a rustic, log cabin look.

3. Old Wooden Ladders

Wooden ladders are made to be funky porch rails. They already have the top and bottom run and all the spindles in place. They just need to be turned on their sides, cut to size, and screwed in place.

4. Pallet Garden Boxes

Repurposed pallet wood can make a rather notably funky picketed porch rail that’ll garner some interest, but the way to make them stand out is to make vertical garden boxes and grow some food on the railing. It’s fairly easy to convert pallets into garden spaces, and they are great for growing lettuce, herbs, or strawberries.

5. Old Rusty Tin

Another rustic chic classic is using rusty tin from old barns. The tin may have become leaky or have a few holes in it from roofing nails, but that doesn’t matter. When framed nicely with some old barn wood, it creates an attractive panel that can replace porch rail spindles.

6. Detached Furniture Legs

There are so many types of old decorative chair legs that it should be no problem to find a couple of dozen unique ones to use as spindles for the porch railing. Look for something cool to make the top and bottom, such as an old stair banister or a porch post turned sideways, and that’s some super cool repurposed railing.

7. Garden Tools

Especially for gardening enthusiasts who might have a veggie patch growing off the porch, old garden tools add a thematic touch to the porch. Old handles can have lots of different shapes and curves, and the heads of these tools can put some extra flare. Old garden tools are common to find at thrift stores, yard sales, and flea markets.

8. Repurposed Windows/Doors

Old doors and frame windows can become much more than simple doors and windows. They are usually quite cheap, if not free, and they are awesome for DIY projects. Turned horizontally, doors or repurposed window frames (glass in or out depends on the environment) can become cool fill-ins for porch rails

9. Stretched Fencing

Sometimes people would like their porches to be a bit airier, not necessarily cut off starkly from the garden or shrubbery in front of them. In this case, find some old fencing—look at salvage and metal recycling places if there aren’t any farms around—and frame it with wood, stretching it between the porch posts. This can also be a great trellis for container gardens on the porch.

There is something wholly satisfying about 1/ saving money on a project, 2/making something wildly unique, and 3/successfully reimagining how something can be used. Making porch rails from repurposed and found objects, then, is a very satisfying task to take on.

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• 10 Gift Ideas from Repurposed Secondhand Stuff

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