How to make a gazebo from a corn crib
Myra Glandon, who lives and gardens near Prospect, Ohio, is a true Flea Market gardener. Her talent and vision led to a spectacular project that is the ultimate in reuse, recycle and re-purpose. You’ll think it’s genius! Here is the story in her own words:
“This is our gazebo made out of an old metal corn crib. We positioned it outside the kitchen door of our old brick house. We enjoy sitting out here in the evenings, listening to the sounds and enjoying the breeze. It’s very nice to sit out here when it rains, and listen to the rain on the metal roof. It has a salvaged stone floor, and a vintage rustic chandelier. It’s earthy and simple and reminds me of my life growing up on a farm. We have brown wicker chairs, a bench made from an old crib, and a round table made from a large red tile and salvaged deck boards.”
She says, “We call it the cornzebo!”
Myra’s cornzebo snugged up against the house, surrounded in flowers
“I have wanted to convert an old corn crib into a gazebo for many years, but the right opportunity hadn’t presented itself. A friend whose husband is a farmer knew his brother had a corn crib he wanted to tear down. The corn crib was originally very tall, but the farmer wanted to keep half to use instead of rebar in some cement work he wanted to do. So they cut the corn crib just above the door access.
Here she comes….
Here it comes! Oh, I got so excited I could hardly stand it. It was moved on a hay wagon. You can see from the pictures it was hanging off both sides. Below, you can see us unloading it and placing it where we wanted it.”
Many hands position the corn crib
“I had asked my sister and her family, my daughters and sons in law to come help, so we had a crew, in addition to the 3 men who delivered it. We had decided to place it close to the house so it would be easy access to sit and enjoy coffee in the morning, or a meal in the evenings. We already have a wooded picnic area, with a pond and circular brick patio, but it was out at the back of our property. I already had a couple of roses growing near the house, were I had removed plants the night before, so I wanted to set the ‘cornzebo’ as close to the house, and roses as possible. ”
A paver edge was laid, gravel spread over weed-block
The gravel is raked out
“We try to repurpose as many things as possible. We started gathering rocks from ditches, people who didn’t want them and an abandoned property nearby. We also found a large rustic terracotta drain tile, planned to use as a table base.”
“We didn’t have a doorway, since the corn crib had been cut just above the doorway. So, we decided where we wanted the door, how wide and how tall. We used bolt cutters to cut out a door. We attached 1 x 4’s to each side of the doorway, both inside and out. I then painted the boards brown to blend with the rusty metal corn crib. ”
“We had a coupe of tears and holes in the metal roof so we used rubber roofing tape to patch those. The dome lid was hanging by a wire, and had some rips and dings. We pounded it out to fit better and reattached.”
Old sandstone sidewalk stone pieces act as flagstone
“I got a skid of large brick shaped gray pavers at Habitat for Humanity that I had been saving for a special project. We jacked up the corn crib and we laid the bricks under the edge to support the corn crib, and prevent it from sinking into the dirt and deteriorating. I borrowed my son in law’s truck and got gravel at the quarry for the base. We laid weed barrier cloth over the compacted dirt, spread the gravel, and then laid the old sandstone sidewalk stone pieces on top of the gravel.”
Flagstone is set
Inside the cornzebo, showing a handmade table and tile base
Here, above, is a picture of the inside of the ‘cornzebo’ taken from our kitchen doorway. It’s only steps away for easy access. I still have one of my trash picked wicker chairs to get painted brown. The table is an old terracotta drain tile and table top made from salvaged deck boards someone threw out but a spool, barrel, stump, large pot or table legs would work.
The finished ‘Cornzebo’ surrounded by roses and cleome
Climbing roses reach for the corn crib’s ‘trellis’ sides
Details
A chandelier in the attractive patterned ceiling
“Once the stone was laid hubby hung an old chandelier in the top of the ‘cornzebo.’ We also wove outdoor lights around the roof line on the inside. We started collecting wicker chairs from yard sales, a trash pile, and curbside. We also got a couple from Big Lots to finish it out. ”
Old floorboards cut to size
Floorboard tabletop,..the perfect shape and what interesting colors!
“We made a table top out of old deck boards someone threw out. We added rocks around the outside to define an area for flowers, and transplanted perennials, and cleome.”
Myra’s Cornzebo at night
The Cornzebo at night…stunning! Myra tells us, “Anyone can have a beautiful space with lots of money but creating unique and inviting spaces with very little money and lots of imagination is what Flea Market Gardening is all about.”
Photos by Myra Glando
26 Comments
Now something else for me to dream about! I’ve always wanted a gazebo made from an old big satellite dish but I’ve never thought of this…it is wonderful! I would never leave! It’s beautiful!
Ohhhh…love seeing the process of making this corn crib into a ‘cornzebo!’ Myra’s & her family have created such a unique & special place! Love it! Love it! Love it! TFS, Sue Langley!
I saw the photos of your gazebo a few weeks ago. My mother is a junker too and had suggested this very idea a couple of years ago. When I saw your photos I called my mom and my sister to tell them….we’ve been driving down Kansas country roads ever since locating some. My sister’s house was hit by a tornado last April and she lost all her lovely shade trees so now she wants one too. I can’t wait to tell them you’ve now posted your “how I did it” We all have fallen in love with it. I already have a gazebo but have say i love this idea.
Jamie, thank you so much for your kind comment…this is an awesome big project!
How fantastic is this setting?? VERY Fantastic. So many ideas and lots of teamwork went into creating this oh so useful cornzebo… what a great area to access just outside the door of your home. I know you will get lots of use out of this, and the lighting at night is so KOOL…
I have seen lots of structures made with the old corncribs/grain bins/quonset huts… some like this one – were made into liveable homes – that’s where the spiral staircases come in mighty handy. :))
If anyone is lucky enough to obtain one of these to renovate, you will be glad you did. I am still in search of the old perforated satellite dishes for my yard.
Again, such a great job and you can be sure, there are lots of people, myself included, that would love to have this design in their own yard. :))
I just saw a great corn crib at a house where they were having a garage sale. It was over grown. I wonder if they would sell it? Awesome idea and pictures.
That is gorgeous! I’m sure my husband would think that I had totally lost my mind if I told him I wanted a corn crib for Christmas, but I really want one now!
Oh it is absolutely LOVELY and completely PERFECT!!!!!!!
This is wonderful!
OMGosh! I want one! This is an excellent idea and very inspirational. Nicely done folks 🙂
Carol
i have wanting to do this i have found the corn crib but we was going take apart but if it is to heavy to move the way you did might be faster .
Thanks for all the nice comments everyone. I’m glad someone besides myself likes it. There are lots of abandoned corn cribs in Ohio, and you can even buy them online, but I have never priced them.
If you are lucky enough to create your own cornzebo, please be sure to share your pics.
Myra
Did you anchor the corn crib to the ground? Ours will be in the middle of our back yard so I’m sure we’ll need to anchor it somehow to prevent the wind from blowing it over. Also, how tall is the gazebo from the ground to the edge of the roof. We’re currently in the middle of the project and have quite a few questions. We found out we have to get a building permit and make sure the corn crib is 35 feet from the road and does not interfere with our septic system. I’m sure the project will be worth all the trouble in the long run, but I’m glad I didn’t realize how complicated this project was going to be or we wouldn’t have attempted it. Now that we’re in the middle there’s no turning back!
Hi Jeannie,
We have ours anchored, but not super well. So far we’ve weathered some pretty severe winds without incident. I think it being placed so close to our tall house definitely helps protect it.
The top of the metal grid sides is apprx 10′. I have the top half of a tall crib. I like having it smaller. It makes it cozy and I think it protects us from the elements better than a really tall one would. I know it looks small next to our house, but our house is large.
I agree, you’ll need to do something to anchor yours well, since you’re placing it in the middle of your yard.
Good luck and share pics when you’re done.
Myra
This is amazing! what a great way to repurpose an old piece of hostory. My husband and I love old items. This is wonderful!
Thanks Nana. I grew up on a farm and we had corn cribs to store our corn. They are a part of my past, and now a part of my present and future. I’m glad you like it.
Love Love Love this! I was thinking about moving something like this to town for use as a shed, it has metal sides, and I have a sun room already but not this cool!
I had to chuckle, my x husband drug home a motorgrader cab for me and I called it my gradzebo, I put spindle posts on the front. my grandaughter and I would sit there when she was small. 🙂 Sadly I had to leave it behind, and the new owners didn’t share my sentiment. (I grew up in heavy equipment as my father ran a construction company)
Thanks for sharing!
Goodness Debbie, send us a photo… Glad you enjoyed this post…
I’ll try! 🙂
Debbie – Isn’t it funny how we can love rusty old things and turn them into something that brings us pleasure and makes us smile. Thanks for the positive feedback on my cornzebo, and we’d love to see some pics of your spaces here on fmg.
If u can do this with a corn crib, a vertical wall should be nothing for ya. Love the old house!
Nanette, Thanks for the kind words but that wall has completely eluded me for many years. It’s so tall, and ugly 🙂 But thanks to all the suggestions I got from our friends at FMG, and looking through all the albums here again, I THINK I’m ready to tackle that wall. Wish me luck!
ABSOLUTELY STUNNING! I have seen abandoned corn cribs in my rural areas of Wisconsin and WISHED that I could have it for a gazebo. You LUCKY LADY. You have created a BEAUTIFUL structure that compliments your home and garden. To me it is the ULTIMATE piece of GARDEN ART. You are absolutely right when you said ‘anyone can have a beautiful space WITH LOTS OF MONEY!’ But we all don’t have a lot of money. It takes talented person to have an eye for creating a beautiful yard and garden on a tight budget and you did it.
You took recycling to another level…GREAT JOB, WELL DONE! Thank you for sharing your project with us. Smiles, Lark
Wow, coming from you Lark that is big praise. I followed you on Rate my space, and you are one of the people who inspired me to follow my heart and be different. I have always admired your creativity and gardens. Thanks for the compliment.
I love your ambition and creativity Myra! Wow.. if only I had the space for something this awesome! It’s still nice to dream! I love the flowers around it, especially love roses, but what are those tall ones? Very cool! Thank you for taking us along on this journey of love for junkola and bringing new life to something most wouldn’t give a second glance to. I’m smiling too!!
Marie, you are fabulously creative, so thanks for the positive comments. The tall plant is cleome. I love cleome for it’s unusual flowers. It was hard to even notice the perennials in the bed because the cleome just went crazy. And yes, we all have to dream. It’s what keeps us creating.