Garden Home Art
One-of-a-kind creations for a richer life
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Indoor Fountains - Styles and Materials Available on the Net
Return to our main Fountains page
Choosing a Fountain
The Trend in Fountains
Indoor Fountains II
There are countless styles of indoor fountains available on the net, however there are only several materials used in the making of indoor fountains. This article discusses those materials and displays an assortment of the different styles. The intent is to give you a sampling of the many fountain designs available to you from others, as well as to show what we offer in our store, and to provide you with some information on the materials and methods with which indoor fountains and table top fountains can be made.
The popularity of fountains - both indoor fountains (also called tabletop fountains, indoor water features, etc.), as well as garden fountains has grown tremendously in recent decades and for indoor fountains, especially during he last ten years or so. (Another article on this trend is discussed here). You are probably here, on this site from an interest you have in indoor fountains. Possibly you are thinking of adding a fountain to your home decor. Other articles on this site discuss the materials and methods we use. Here we look at a selection of fountain creations available elsewhere on the net and examine how they were created.
The materials used in the creation of indoor fountains as found on the internet, in the order of their abundance, are resin (plastic), ceramic, metal and glass. Natural stone is also found in some fountains as a component of their structure but almost no fountains are made wholly from stone.
There are many outdoor fountains made from cement, (which they usually called 'faux stone' or 'textured stone' ) but these are not commonly made for indoor use. Most indoor fountains use for the same purposes (that is, the purpose of imitating a natural material), resin which is a kind of plastic that is usually cast in a mold and can be given different textures by manipulating the molds.
These, to the right and below are such fountains. In this to the right, a very detailed plastic sculpture rises over a textured plastic bowl. Because these are mass produced they can sell for quite little.
The fountain to the right is made of the same material, textured plastic, including the tree, the bowl and the figurine and sells for several hundred dollars.
It's a nice idea (apart from the plastic angel) but, to my way of thinking, utterly artificial and consequently, undesirable.
Below is a much better quality fountain, made of copper and stone.
Though not to my liking, style-wise, it is still a well made fountain and
sure to please some people. The fountain's bowl is copper, as is the curving piece from which the water emerges to flow over the cut stone. The glass pieces in the center of the inner bowl of the fountain are to hide the pump. What this picture hides is the fact that the cord from the pump goes over the edge of the opposite side.
Any type of fountain placed in the center of a table is going to have a visible cord, but when it comes over the top of the fountain it is particularly unappealing.
The great, great majority of indoor fountains have this sin of an overly obvious cord, but not all. I developed a method of running the cord out the bottom of the fountain yet permitting the replacement of the pump and all the fountains of Garden Home Art are made this way. But alas, we're not quite alone.
Another online site that sells good quality fountains is Armchair World. Though their fountains are not as individual as ours and appear to be essentially mass-produced, (none of them are one of a kind or handmade) they nevertheless offer some very pretty fountains and some of their fountains also have the cord emerging fr
om the bottom. (If it doesn't say it does, it doesn't.) Here is one of their more expensive models but they have other fountains under $90.00.
So why am I promoting a competitor's fountains? Partially a sense of fairness. I want to educate people who come to this site and for that I must be fairly inclusive. But I don't really consider them competition. I try to make beautiful fountains, one fountain at a time. I value the individual, unique quality of my fountains and that is something their fountains, in fact, almost no other fountains have, though I've no doubt there are a few.
Below is one of my recent creations. You can see other images of this fountain here.
This is a ceramic, handmade fountain of stoneware and enameled copper. Natural (really beautiful) seashells cover the pump, there is a built-in planter and the cord from the pump goes into the planter on the inside and exits the fountain through the bottom.
I have this on one end of my piano. It make a gentle, lovely sound of water falling into water and is a delight to see. The copper 'waterflowers' curve around, each from opposite sides and meet in the middle where the upper pours its water into the lower which pours into the fountain.
Choosing a Fountain
The Trend in Fountains
Indoor Fountains II
There are countless styles of indoor fountains available on the net, however there are only several materials used in the making of indoor fountains. This article discusses those materials and displays an assortment of the different styles. The intent is to give you a sampling of the many fountain designs available to you from others, as well as to show what we offer in our store, and to provide you with some information on the materials and methods with which indoor fountains and table top fountains can be made.
The popularity of fountains - both indoor fountains (also called tabletop fountains, indoor water features, etc.), as well as garden fountains has grown tremendously in recent decades and for indoor fountains, especially during he last ten years or so. (Another article on this trend is discussed here). You are probably here, on this site from an interest you have in indoor fountains. Possibly you are thinking of adding a fountain to your home decor. Other articles on this site discuss the materials and methods we use. Here we look at a selection of fountain creations available elsewhere on the net and examine how they were created.
The materials used in the creation of indoor fountains as found on the internet, in the order of their abundance, are resin (plastic), ceramic, metal and glass. Natural stone is also found in some fountains as a component of their structure but almost no fountains are made wholly from stone.
There are many outdoor fountains made from cement, (which they usually called 'faux stone' or 'textured stone' ) but these are not commonly made for indoor use. Most indoor fountains use for the same purposes (that is, the purpose of imitating a natural material), resin which is a kind of plastic that is usually cast in a mold and can be given different textures by manipulating the molds.
These, to the right and below are such fountains. In this to the right, a very detailed plastic sculpture rises over a textured plastic bowl. Because these are mass produced they can sell for quite little.The fountain to the right is made of the same material, textured plastic, including the tree, the bowl and the figurine and sells for several hundred dollars.
It's a nice idea (apart from the plastic angel) but, to my way of thinking, utterly artificial and consequently, undesirable.
Below is a much better quality fountain, made of copper and stone.
Though not to my liking, style-wise, it is still a well made fountain and
sure to please some people. The fountain's bowl is copper, as is the curving piece from which the water emerges to flow over the cut stone. The glass pieces in the center of the inner bowl of the fountain are to hide the pump. What this picture hides is the fact that the cord from the pump goes over the edge of the opposite side.Any type of fountain placed in the center of a table is going to have a visible cord, but when it comes over the top of the fountain it is particularly unappealing.
The great, great majority of indoor fountains have this sin of an overly obvious cord, but not all. I developed a method of running the cord out the bottom of the fountain yet permitting the replacement of the pump and all the fountains of Garden Home Art are made this way. But alas, we're not quite alone.
Another online site that sells good quality fountains is Armchair World. Though their fountains are not as individual as ours and appear to be essentially mass-produced, (none of them are one of a kind or handmade) they nevertheless offer some very pretty fountains and some of their fountains also have the cord emerging fr
om the bottom. (If it doesn't say it does, it doesn't.) Here is one of their more expensive models but they have other fountains under $90.00.So why am I promoting a competitor's fountains? Partially a sense of fairness. I want to educate people who come to this site and for that I must be fairly inclusive. But I don't really consider them competition. I try to make beautiful fountains, one fountain at a time. I value the individual, unique quality of my fountains and that is something their fountains, in fact, almost no other fountains have, though I've no doubt there are a few.
Below is one of my recent creations. You can see other images of this fountain here.
This is a ceramic, handmade fountain of stoneware and enameled copper. Natural (really beautiful) seashells cover the pump, there is a built-in planter and the cord from the pump goes into the planter on the inside and exits the fountain through the bottom.
I have this on one end of my piano. It make a gentle, lovely sound of water falling into water and is a delight to see. The copper 'waterflowers' curve around, each from opposite sides and meet in the middle where the upper pours its water into the lower which pours into the fountain.
