I have built a number of birdhouses for our farm. Admittedly, some are mostly plain boxes that are not particularly fun, but some of the houses I and my husband have built are rather elaborate, Do the birds care if the house is the most tricked out residence on the block? Not likely. However, it doesn't stop us from building these little follies anyway. I hope you see something you'll find inspiring.
We get our birdhouse supplies from a variety of places. Scrap wood from projects our neighbor has going, discarded tin roofing, and items from the local salvage yard and the Greensboro Habitat ReStore all find their way into the scrap pile that eventually becomes birdhouses. If you look around, you'll probably find a lot of stuff you can use as well.
Arizona House
Named for the discarded Arizona license plate that makes up part of the roof, this house has numerous drawer pulls, brass items of unknown purpose, and a plastic outlet cover.
House Number 5
This house features slab wood, a portion of a license plate, a cast stone head with its tongue stuck out, a metal piece of undetermined use, a valve stem perch, and a large metal number 5.
Key House
The key house uses a variety of keys that unlocked something once upon a time, but whose purpose has now long since been forgotten. It also usesslab wood and old barn roofing tin. The perch is a door stop, and the hole on the right side has a piece of screen in it, so it serves as a ventilation hole only.
House of Shalom
This house uses an old floor grate for the front, which is laid over wood. The perch is a drawer pull. It also has the word "shalom" in Hebrew burned into the side of it.
Swizzle House
This house was named for the translucent colored plastic swizzle sticks that were used in the side and front of the house. They cast beautifully colored shadows in the sun. There is a wooden perch with an angel at its end, some old bard tin and other odd embellishments.
