DIY PVC Pipe Indoor Art
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Despite all the work our "DIY PVC Pipe Privacy Screen" entailed, we were determined to repeat the process on an indoor piece. We incorporated many of the suggestions given through YouTube comments (Spoiler: this process was so much easier)!
As always, watching the video will give you a complete look at the entire process. It's less than 10 minutes to view.
If you missed it, scroll back up to the top and you'll see it. Click and enjoy!
You can watch now or read on and come back up to view. The video should probably answer any questions you might have.
Did you see our first project? Take a look here.
First step is to buy many sizes of PVC pipe. Once we got the pipe home, we sanded the wording off and started to cut it into slices.
We started by cutting lots and lots of PVC pipe from 1/2" in diameter to 3" in diameter. We used a ratcheting PVC cutter for the smaller pieces as it is too dangerous to cut them on a miter saw, as we are doing with the larger pipe.
Since the PVC artwork was going to be built without a frame, we constructed a simple 2x4 frame in which to work in. We placed this on a corrugated plastic panel so when we glued everything, it didn't stick to the table.
This is the first panel (we made two) all ready to be glued. But wait! It needed something else.
To add a little bling to the art, we added epoxy to fourteen of the 1 1/2" diameter slices of PVC.
Using PVC glue (smelly stuff--wear a respirator and work in a well ventilated area!), we glued it all together. We covered the epoxy circles with contact paper and then took it outside to spray paint.
You don't have to paint this since it won't be outside in the sun, but we did because the PVC slices were not consistently the same color. The smaller pieces were considerably more off white than the rest. Plus, we forgot to sand off all the lettering and we had to cover that.
Dry and all ready to be installed at Steph's house.
Those open areas are where the art panels are going.
The panels are installed into the openings with offset clips, which you can see in the lower right hand corner of this picture.
Panels are in place and installed! They look like they've always been there!
Please note: you can access the entire list of tools and materials we used on our website by clicking this link. Also, the time estimate to do this project does not take into account the time waiting for things to dry. We worked on this off and on over the course of a few weeks.
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Comments
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I too like the colored resin in some of the holes. That started me thinking about other additions. Painting some of the individual rings different colors before assembling them. Actually, before cutting the pvc you could plug one end, fill it with paint (to make sure you cover all) then dump it back in the container and hang it up to dry. You could do the same with the outside. Of course I don't know if the paint would chip when cutting it (something to test ahead of time). You could hang crystals inside some of the rings. Cutting rings 1/2 as thick so you could sandwich a piece of colored/mirrored glass in between. Drill holes all around so you could create mini wire or string designs within. Ok, I'm going to stop now. I can't type as fast as my mind is working. 😃 One last thing, promise, if you intend on painting the entire piece white at the end (instead of cutting all those contact paper circles) you could glue all the pieces together except the decorated rings. After the glue has set, slide out the decorated rings and glue them in them after painting. Now I'm done.
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Maybe a few more rings with different colored epoxy...and above someone had the idea of plants??that would be great, especially those little "air" plants that you just mist occasionally, which would also work if you did a bathroom accent. Good luck and great instruction.
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
Have you considered adding succulents into the larger PVC sections? I believe that would make a great addition to the epoxy colored sections. Even display one as wall art.
I'm confused how you connected the pieces - just with a spray? Is that stabile?
I plan to make hanging room dividers for an open concept cottage in Bali, Indonesia.
I don't want to use a frame, but could
Absolutely loved them! And that they are mirrored. Did you ever figure out how to pour the epoxy and not get the contact paper layer?