Trellis Ideas

Since we now have a new retaining wall and a newly painted garage, I have decided that I also need a new trellis for the south side of the garage. Hey, the scrap of chain link fence that was up there just does not cut it folks. I need a new and pretty trellis to match the new and pretty paint on that side of the garage. Its all about upgrading!

Unhappy with the designs and prices of the ready-made trellises available today, I have decided to design my own and Kurt has selflessly volunteered to build the thing. I was originally looking for something with an Arts & Crafts feel to it in either wood or copper. So I got to looking at a bunch of copper trellises and really loved the look of the copper, but wasn't satisfied with the designs and hated the cheap look of the "plumbing parts" (i.e., copper pipe w/ plumbing connectors). Kurt mentioned that I should look into flat copper or square shaped bars. So I did, and found a supplier waaay out in Washington state. That's pretty far from Milwaukee and I am worried about the shipping, so Kurt is going to check with some local suppliers. I have decided to stick with the Arts & Crafts design motifs and scoured the internet the other day for inspiration. I found this:


The play room windows from
Frank Lloyd Wright's home and studio in Oak Park. It was love at first sight! The flower motif is perfect for the garden.

I have modified it into just a single panel of the flower motif for our trellis because I believe that it will work better in the available space that way and it will be easier to build. Here is my Photoshopped version of what the trellis will eventually look like:


Hopefully constructed out of either flat or square copper bars and including the 3 colored panels of glass that make up the center of the flower and its petals.
I think it will look spiffy! (Hopefully we can pull it off.)