Outhouse Decor

Have you ever heard the saying - everything old is new again? Well, outhouses have recently undergone a renaissance of sorts. It could be their kitschy nature or just be that you might be after a quiet space, where you can spend hours in comfort and solitude.

If you've decided to build an outhouse in your backyard or make one the pit stop on the way to the lake at your cottage or trailer park, please consult our helpful tips for building an outhouse.

The outhouses of today are unlike the ones of days gone by. Instead of serving a purely functional purpose, outhouses should be fun conversation pieces. Once you've erected your outhouse you will want to decorate it to suit your taste. Weather it be a country theme, a homage to your favorite animal, a Harley Davidson theme or a theme evoking the past - the sky, or should I say hole, is the limit!

Here are some fun ideas to help you get started on your outhouse decor:

• Line wooden outhouse walls with aged news clippings.
• Use burlap feed sacks as curtains.
• Make fun outhouse decorations by painting a board with a list of humorous outhouse rules, hanging potty cartoons and old advertisements for toilets.
• Choose a piglet, rooster or cow theme by lining a shelf with wooden animals. Erect matching curtains, a toilet paper holder and an evaporating soap dispenser as homage to your chosen farm animal.
• Give your outhouse an antique feel by using an old-fashioned milk can to hold lime, erecting old Coca-cola signs, historic lanterns and black and white photos of family members from the past.
• Outhouse lighting is a necessity, especially after nightfall. Instead of the tried and true flashlight on a hook, try running an extension cord and hanging a funky sway lamp with tassels or string patio lights along the interior roof.
• Lighting can also be added via a sky light, Dutch doors (which are divided horizontally in the middle and open at the top with a screen, so bugs don't get in), or a unique wooden cut-out in the outhouse door.
• Vintage wooden liquor boxes, wicker boxes, milk cans or brass stands can be used as magazine, toilet paper and towel holders.
• An outhouse can be given a Victorian ambience by attaching a cupola on the roof, lace curtains, towels and fancy wood trim.