Steam Garden?

[tzel]

I am currently the proud owner of a sleek, black Aerogarden like the one pictured in the link. While I do like its clean lines and unobtrusive design, the amount of light it generates makes the apparatus anything but subtle. I have never done a steampunk mod on any of my devices but I am wondering if this could not be made to look quite lovely.

Comments

[fairyarmadillo]

Neat! That looks cool.
The first thing I thought was to make it look like a house, with a little coppery chimney sticking out of the top. If you could make it look more like an old Wardian case,/a>. This sounds complicated though... not sure how much work you want to put into it.

[tzel]

Those are extremely nice. I may have to get some to head off my squirrel problem in my outdoor garden. The light dome has to raise as the plants grow so I doubt I can do panes of glass or panels of wire but I might be able to take some inspiration from this. Thanks!

[davegodfrey]

You could build a wooden box around the base without too much difficulty- just put a small door to access the controls. I'm less sure of how to modify the top. Paper backed veneer and copper sheeting maybe?

[tzel]

Hmmm, maybe copper all over. Thanks!

[misskikkikat]

Hi tzel ;), just a thought, you could always cover the bottom of the unit with a sticky-backed, wood grain plactic wrap...it would be a pain in the patooti, because you'd want to cover each facet of the Aerogarden individually, but the effect would be amazing! and for the top part, you could paint that with copper and "age" it up by dry brushing it with burnt umber and a verdigris coloured paint. And once it was all done, give it a coat of sealer in matt to protect it, then place it on a beautiful stand to make a feature out of it.

Hope that helps some.
Bright Blessings

[tzel]

Thanks! Actually, some sort of veneer was my first thought, but contact paper might be cheaper and easier.

[deagan_the_wolf]

YOu could try a simpler mod.

Tape off the buttons and controls. using a combination of paints spray it an antique metal type and finish with rub-and-buff. Add brass corner guards and decorative feet from a jewelry box. You can add "rivets" by gluing simple wooden rounds which you can purchase in bulk from most art stores. Finish them with Rub-and-buff as well.

[tzel]

Thanks! I am thinking the painting route with a few added "rivets" or something like that may be the way to go.