Repurpose A Wood Log Into A Glowing Backyard Feature To Illuminate Your Space

One of the best ways to transform a dark and uninviting outdoor space into somewhere you actually want to spend time in once night falls is to spruce it up with lighting. While there are many different outdoor lighting options you can buy that will light up your yard at night, they're often expensive and require access to outlets — which your backyard might not have. One rustic and unique way to illuminate your backyard is to transform an old wood log into a glowing lantern. All you'll need for this DIY is a wooden log, battery-powered lights, a hammer, a chisel, and a chainsaw.

To create this log lamp, you won't need any advanced woodworking skills. However, you will need to know how to safely use a chainsaw. The first step of this DIY is to hollow out the stump. To do this with a chainsaw, you can cut a cross-hatch pattern into the bottom of the log, making the cuts close together to weaken the inside. Then, hit the wood with a hammer and a chisel to get the bigger pieces out, and finish up hollowing it out with your chainsaw. After you've created a cavity in the wood, use your chainsaw to make a few thin splits into the sides of the wood. Split it just enough so that the log won't fall apart, but light can still shine through. Finally, add battery-powered lights to the hollow inside of the log, flip it back over so the hollow section faces the ground, and light should flood out from the split pieces, giving the log a gorgeous glowing effect.

While the easiest way to make an old log into a beautiful DIY that will light up your backyard patio is to cut simple splices into the sides of the wood, you can also take it one step further and cut unique patterns into it. For example, if you're handy with woodworking, you can drill circular holes through the sides of the wood so the light can shine out of the wood in a star-like pattern. However, you should probably only attempt to get fancy with the designs if you have logs to spare and don't mind needing to start over if you accidentally completely split one open.

Another way to make this log light fixture unique is to get creative with the way you illuminate it. While standard incandescent lighting will give the log a glowy and natural look, you can also get a little funky and experiment with different lighting colors. These Hoofun LED Battery-Operated Fairy Lights are a good option for the interior of the log if you want to be able to change its color into fun green, red, purple, pink, and blue hues. Or, you can mimic the flickering appearance of a fire with this Fake Fire Bulb Battery-Operated Ember Orange Light and fully embrace the simple, rustic beauty of your wood light fixture.