Outdoor Chess on Any Budget

by EmDirr @ DustandDoghair.com

We just completed the last step to make an outdoor chess garden in our backyard.
Ours involved a concrete pad and a purchased set. BUT YOU DON'T HAVE TO SPEND LOTS OF MONEY to have a chess park of your own!
Some of the most inspiring ideas we've come across are the result of a little ingenuity and a little elbow grease.
We started our project at Christmas, when we purchased this set for our family gift.

outdoor chess on any budget, concrete masonry, crafts, outdoor living, painting

BUT....look at this clever DIY option:

via GiantChess.com

or this:

via Kona Guest on Youtube.com

Think of how many chess sets you've seen with abstract pieces... all you have to do is make larger versions.

I'm reminded of those garden totems I keep seeing all over Hometalk (although you might avoid using glassware)

....or how about using different-sized, pre-made birdhouses you can find at craft stores?

If you think this is a project you'd like to try, but need a little more inspiration, I have a list of several DIY chess piece ideas in the blog post.

As to the chess board...you might already have the basics in place. Just last week, for example, one Hometalker wrote about painting checks on her deck...she's already halfway there!

I thought we'd use concrete pavers for our board, but my husband had wanted a new patio, so ...

we installed this in the yard. Our concrete guy thought we were crazy when we told him what we were planning.

When he came back to score the concrete, he just shook his head and said, “You mark it, I’ll cut it.”

The blog post links to how we figured out (on the spot) how to do just that, and how to stain the concrete (which we finally conquered).

Here's a sneak preview of our finished (well, at least for today) Chess Garden:

We used a pale grey stain for the squares, so the board would be a subtle difference from the concrete...but we're thinking of restaining it black.

Oh, one other thing! Our kids were VERY happy to discover an unexpected bonus use (besides checkers) for the chess board because of how we scored it....see the post for more details.

Enjoyed the project?

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1 question

Rit10124711 on Aug 16, 2016
where can you get these big game pieces?

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EmDirr @ DustandDoghair.com on Aug 23, 2016
You do, indeed!

1 Reply
Sharlee Osborn on Nov 07, 2018

I recently saw outdoor checker pieces using Home Depot's orange 5 gallon lids and Lowe's blue 5 gallon lids ... just saying

1 Reply
- EmDirr @ DustandDoghair.com on Nov 09, 2018
  
  That is a FABulous idea! Thanks!
  
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