Cement Your Place in DIY History with These 9 Easy Concrete Projects

Satisfy your craving for modern industrial design with some cool—and affordable—concrete creations, complete with instructions.

By Marisa Villarreal | Updated Aug 18, 2015 12:57 PM

iPad Stand

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Concrete iPad Stand

Instead of buying an iPad stand, try your hand at creating one for a fraction of the cost. The example shown here was made using a movie theater popcorn box as the mold and a glass tile for the ledge, but you could make a one-of-a-kind stand using any appropriately shaped container and a wood, tile, or metal ledge.

instructables.com

Quikrete Walkway

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Quikrete Walkway

For an easy and inexpensive alternative to traditional brick or stone walkways, you can build a durable concrete path using a WalkMaker form and some Quikrete. You'll find a step-by-step here, as well as special techniques for making curves, adding a custom finish, or coloring the concrete to suit your design.

lowes.com

Bowls

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DIY Concrete Bowl

Pour yourself an endless supply of bowls—in any size you can shape—by following the instructions provided on A Daily Something. Keep it smooth for an industrial, polished look, or imprint your container with a doily to give it a little subtle softness.

adailysomething.com

Pendant Lamps

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Concrete Lamp

Are you having trouble finding the perfect light fixture for your kitchen or bedroom? It's time to make your own! The four pendant lamps shown here were each made using two different-sized plastic bottles for molds. Get creative choosing containers for an assortment of lamp styles.

brit.co

Bucket Stool

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DIY Concrete Stool

Ben Uyeda at HomeMade Modern created simple and attractive stools using just wooden dowels, concrete, and a bucket that also served as a form for the seat. The concrete takes 20 hours to dry, but the $5 price tag on this DIY seating makes it well worth the wait! Uyeda revisited the project using other molds and legs; check out the results for more ideas.

homemade-modern.com

Votive Holders

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Concrete Votive

Mrs. Hardy, of Norwegian blog fame, came up with the clever idea of making votive holders from plastic cups. Although the edges and indents of the cups give detail to the holders, we're guessing that other small containers could achieve a similar effect.

mrs-hardy.com

Trough-Style Planter

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Concrete Planter

Ben Uyeda salvaged a kitchen cabinet to serve as the mold for this planter. Although the project requires a little heavy lifting, the payoff is its low cost and versatility—with casters and a spigot, the planter could also be used as an industrial-style drinks cooler.

homemade-modern.com

Landscape Edging/Garden Borders

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DIY Garden Border

Poured-in-place concrete borders are perfect for lawn and garden edging, tree surrounds, and driveway curbs. They can be designed to match any landscape contour—and they will last for years! This project shows you all the basic steps for using Quikrete concrete to make a landscape border of any length.

quikrete.com

Coffee Table

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Concrete Coffee Table

For a mere $50 and a Saturday's worth of work, you can have this modern coffee table. Although the wood base looks intricate, it requires just a few cross cuts with a circular saw. At 100 pounds, this table is no featherweight, so line up a few helping hands when it's time to place your masterpiece in the center of the room.

homemade-modern.com

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