HANGING mobiles. Place them anywhere you like and see how they can instantly brighten up your outdoor spaces. In your garden, on your patio, hung inside your porch, from the eaves on your deck or windows, from trees and even from your clothesline, hanging mobiles are fun to have and nice to look at. They can also become instant conversation starters with your guests, especially when your decorative mobiles are one-of-a-kind creations.
Whether you buy ready-made ones or create your own, hanging mobiles can be turned into an eye-catching centrepiece of any space around your house. Unleash your imagination when considering items that can be suspended from above and used as part of your decor outdoors.
A MOBILE AND A BREEZE
Mobiles dance and spin in the wind. That’s not all. They chime, too. Or go clang clang or tok tok, depending on the materials used for the mobile. It’s all part of the fun of having mobiles — the colour, the movement, the sound.
The traditional bamboo wind chimes have been around a long time and continue to be popular till today. Often you can spot these bamboo mobiles hung in the balconies of traditional homes on stilts. The sound emanating from the clanging of the bamboo rods is pleasingly mellow unlike the crisp and bell-like metallic chimes. So if you want the flavour of the orient, go for bamboo or wooden chimes. These will fit in very well if you prefer a more natural look for your outdoors. The sounds are not only softer and more natural, the look of the bamboo or wooden wind chimes will also appear to be an innate part of your garden.
HANGING BOTTLES
Creating hanging bottles practically costs next to nothing. Use old glass bottles of any shape and size. Suspend them in a row on a clothes line or a rod in your garden. Fill the bottle with water and place fresh flowers. Replace these at any time you like. Who’s stopping you from using dried flowers and branches for a rustic look? If you do use these, hang them under a covered spot to protect them from rain.
DANGLING LAMPS
Suspend a collection of lamps from a rope, and voila, you’ll have a delightful decor piece over your door or window or any part of a wall. Have additional mobiles at both ends of the rope. Hang your favourite items — beaded necklaces, twigs and branches, or even old shoes you love too much to throw away.
SUN CATCHERS
Dangle your very own “chandeliers” that dance, spin and sparkle under the sun. Run riot with hanging beads, glass shards, seashells, fan rosettes, tiny umbrellas and anything and everything you fancy.
The sun and the wind are all you need to create a kinetic outdoor art gallery. Your mobiles will continually shift and switch, transposing themselves and your outdoors with artistic dimensions. Your ever-changing mobile art moves in many levels, underneath and above, giving you a fantastic 3D effect.
