In many suburban areas, the main problem is water. Not everyone can boast of having a column in the country. Therefore, such a well-known construction as a well comes to the rescue. It can not only become a saving source of water, but also take pride of place in landscape design. We offer you to learn how to make summer cottages with your own hands, types and methods of decorative design.
What does the well design look like?
We will not go into the intricacies of well construction . It will be about creating the aboveground part of the well. Most often, the add-on is made round, square or hexagonal. A frame is made of any building materials, and a roof is installed on top.
A cover must be made above the well so that small debris (for example, leaves) does not get into the well. It also protects water from heating in the summer. At the very end, set the braid with a bucket, which is suspended on a chain.
Most of the time is spent not on the building itself, but on decorative work. After all, each part of the well can become a real masterpiece.
Materials for creating aerial parts of wells
The walls of the aerial parts are made of such basic materials as:
- a rock;
- brick;
- blockhouse or planed boards;
- concrete rings.
In order to make a gable roof, take:
- tree;
- shingles;
- straw;
- polycarbonate;
- metal;
- slate.
Types of typical wells
The most common types of wells we have are shaduf and Russian.
Shaduf is also called a crane. Such a structure is only relevant in places where groundwater is located very close to the surface. Shaduf is a shallow mine, from which water is taken out with the help of a wooden structure, popularly called a crane.
The Russian well is a construction more habitual for the modern world. The shaft is already being made deeper, and the water is taken out by a bucket attached by a chain or rope to the drum. He spins with the handle located on the side. Such a well gives more space for imagination and the embodiment of the intended decor.
Well roof
You can make a simple gable roof, and then decorate it with various decorative elements:
- colors;
- windmills;
- weathercocks;
- small figurines of birds and animals (for example, squirrels) and so on.
The roof for the well will turn out more original if you make it spherical or conical.
If you have an old well with a roof that has lost its beautiful appearance, then you can decorate it with moss. This decor will not last all year. But from mid-spring to late autumn, the roof of the well will have an aesthetic appearance.
Wood as the main material
The design of the well with a tree is especially true if the house is built from a log house. Then the building will harmoniously fit into the overall style of the site. In this case, the round shape of the aerial part will have to be discarded. But square or hexagonal wells will look no worse. The frame is made of a log house or wooden boards.
As a design, you can make carvings on the frame. To simplify the task is possible simply by adding additional elements:
- stucco figures of animals and birds;
- Natural flowers;
- a small shop.
In the case of creating wooden wells, you need to remember the main rule - the tree must be properly treated with special impregnations. Otherwise, such a building will not last long.
Stone and brick in the decor
The design of the aerial part of the wells with stone is especially important in the chalet style. You can use both natural and artificial material.
In this case, the frame can be of any shape. But most often there are round wells made of stone. They themselves have a decorative look. The upper part of such wells is usually made of materials such as wood or metal (forging).
Stones can be selected plain or different in color. As an idea for embodying the design of the walls, you can choose one of the following:
- the whole shaft can be made of stone, for this, take sawn or wild material;
- a facing ring is made out of a concrete ring;
- if you want to make a well in oriental style, arrange it in the shape of a pagoda using soft or carved stone.
It is best to use plants as an additional decor for stone wells.
Replace the stone with a brick. This decoration option is more modern and will be relevant if the house itself is made of the same material. Bricks can be laid out on top of each other, or stacked into a pattern. It is better that they clad a concrete ring.
Play with color
If the frame consists only of concrete rings, then the design of the well can be done with paint. But first you need to prepare the foundation. To do this, take the cement with sand and make a solution. Put the prepared mixture with a spatula on concrete rings. Until the solution has solidified, you can give it a relief. For this, special rollers and tools, as well as an ordinary stick, are suitable. Just make a lot of points - and you get an interesting relief. Allow the solution to solidify.
Now you can start painting. Use neutral shades so that the well in the country does not become a bright and annoying spot. Choose the color that is already present in the design of the site. For example, under the shade of a fence, at home or pergola.
As an additional decor, you can use small pebbles, shells and other elements. They are inserted into a mortar that has not yet solidified, or at the end onto street putty.
Flowers not only for flower beds
Flowers and other plants are the main decoration of any site. They are ideal for decorating a well in a country house.
First, break a flowerbed around the building. It can be both ground and vertical. You can combine both options. For vertical gardening use unpretentious cultures in leaving (for example, ivy or morning glory). Quite an interesting idea to decorate the sides of the well with grapes. Thus, you no longer need to make backups for it.
Secondly, use well elements such as a roof, foot, or walls as a flower garden. Flowers can be hung with special hooks. Use original pots for plants.
Thirdly, you can build multi-level stairs or shelves around the walls of the well. Then it will be possible to organize a flowering waterfall on the site.
The main rule when decorating with flowers is to adhere to the general landscape. Plants should not be knocked out of the general style. Also, do not forget that you need to choose flowers based on the particular location of the well. After all, there are those who like to grow in the shade, but there are those who can only bloom in good light conditions.
Do-it-yourself flower decoration of the well requires more time than other options. After all, the result will be noticeable only after a while. Of course, this is if you do not plant already flowering plants.
Original decor ideas and tips
- Make the top of the wrought metal well. It can only be props or a whole wall. Add flowers and bird figurines. Then even a typical building will turn into something magical.
- For the manufacture of the roof, use polycarbonate, and for pillars - forged metal or stone. This material is translucent, which creates a feeling of ease of construction. Polycarbonate is appropriate to use if the site already has a gazebo or other canopy from it.
- If the size of the plot allows, then you can build houses for the well. Of course, such buildings require more materials. But the well will be protected from adverse weather conditions. Also in such a building, you can equip small shelves or hooks to store small garden tools. But, as mentioned above, houses can only be erected in suburban areas of large size. Otherwise, they will look bulky and only overload the landscape.
- Pay special attention to how to raise the bucket. You can attach a handle or wheel to the rotor. In any case, this part should also bear a decorative load.
- The atypical style for the well is marine. To realize this idea, it is enough to wrap the supporting posts with thick twine, replace the handle with the helm, and take shells and sea stones as decorative elements .
- The design of the well, despite its style and decoration, will not be complete without the proper construction of an approach to it. Let it be only a small patch or full track, but all this should be done in the same style. That is, for stone wells, a platform of the same material is appropriate, for wooden - cobblestone, asphalt, pebbles. The edges of the approach can be decorated with ground cover plants.
Sometimes the original design of a well is not always expensive. Use improvised material and your imagination. And then the well can become the main decoration of your summer cottage.