12 rustic ideas using pebbles
They remind you of walks along wild coast beaches: pebbles. Shaped by the constant movement of the current, they sit comfortably in your hands, without losing any of their distinctive, abrasive character. There are a range of possibilities for giving your home a little touch of this natural atmosphere. These little stones can be used in a number of ways. In the following article, we present 12 suggestions that you can implement, sometimes with a bit more effort, and sometimes with a bit less.
Incidentally, you can easily buy pebbles online or in a hobby store or garden center.
1. Tea light
This playful tea light holder which sees little pebbles warming themselves by the fire is easy to make. To make it, you'll need:
- a flat stone and several flat pebbles
- hot glue gun
- acrylic paint
- tea light
Using the hot glue gun to fix the pebbles upright in a half circle around the edge of the stone. Once the glue is dry, there's nothing holding your creativity back and you can paint your pebbles with eyes, faces or even pants, if you feel like it.
2. Stone carpet
This carpet of pebbles is wonderfully relaxing for your stressed feet. It also looks unbeatably stylish. To create this eye-catching feature, you'll need:
- craft felt mat
- epoxy glue
- flat pebbles
When you're sticking the pebbles to the felt, make sure that they fit closely together and are roughly the same height. While the epoxy glue is particularly strong, you can use either mounting adhesive or hot glue as an alternative.
3. Shoe tray
When there are lots of puddles outside due to the rain, you need a suitable place at home to keep your dripping boots and shoes. Drip trays are functional, but unsightly. However, if you fill them with stones, water and mud flow off much better. What's more, this transforms the tray into something eye-catching as well as useful.
4. Clothes hooks
Stones can also be used for damp jackets. In terms of esthetics, they give your closet a certain rustic charm. You can use the epoxy glue to fix the stones on a row of simple wooden hooks. For this, the sides of the stones you intend to glue should be as flat as possible.
5. Cupboard doorknobs
Same idea, different context: small stones as doorknobs draw your eye with their individuality. Every knob is unique!
6. Kitchen back wall
A country-style kitchen is the dream of many an enthusiastic amateur cook. A back wall made out of pebbles brings you one step closer to achieving this. To take this big step, you'll need:
- white tile adhesive
- trowel
- pebbles
Just like a kitchen splash board made from mosaic tiles, you can create this stone version using a trowel and tile adhesive. The white glue will become transparent after drying, so you can just take in the beauty of the pebbles without any distractions.
7. Shower floor
As previously explained, pebbles feel great under tired feet. When it's time for your next bathroom renovation, you should consider getting a pebbled floor for your shower. Don't skimp on the sealant here, you want to be able to mitigate the differences in height between the stones.
8. Alcoves and borders
Anyone without the energy to set pebbles in their entire floor can just create borders and alcoves. Simply replace tiles in some areas with pebbles.
9. Coaster
These stony coasters have a lot of advantages. As well as having a striking design, they're also good for storing heat, so your tea will stay warmer for longer. To make these coasters, you'll need:
- polymer-based sealing glue
- felt or mesh matting
- baking parchment
- flat pebbles
Use the baking parchment as underlay. Lay the pebbles on it, side by side, in your desired shape. Now apply a thick blob of sealing glue to each individual stone before carefully pressing the felt or mesh carefully on top. The undersides of the stones will become the top side of the coaster after drying. To finish, just cut away any spare felt or matting from around the edges of the stones.
10. Placemats
You can do the same trick to create these beautiful placemats — impressive whatever the occasion.
11. Decoration
You can create simple, yet atmospheric, decorations if you fill glass vases or bowels with pebbles. Include a candle here and there, and you're done.
12. Dirt trapper mat
Dirt trapper mats don't have to be ugly. This elegant doormat is a genuine alternative to the popular examples with printed slogans, pictures and patterns. The method for making it is exactly the same as in Item #2, but instead of a felt mat, use a rubber one.
As you can see, there is more to these small stones than you may have suspected on first glance. This list above is not exhaustive, but maybe you've already found a few ideas for your home? If that's the case, share these ideas with anyone you know who wants to make their house rock!