Rain Chains Are Sexy & Cheap AND Won’t Get You In Trouble With Your Spouse

Except my spouse.  Rain chains get me in trouble with him.

I don’t know why.  { insert ‘pretend’ innocent face }

TRUTH: Rain chains are sexy and they are cheap.  I was going to say that about my spouse too.  Dang.  I think I just got myself into trouble.

Rain chains are an alternative way for the rain water to travel from your gutter to the ground. By replacing your standard downspout with a RAIN CHAIN, you can create an effective, beautiful ‘waterfall’ .  The rain trickles down in such a pleasing manner with a zen-like sound.  It is a truly a stunning alternative to a standard rain downspout.

Gorgeous.

Sexy.

A no fuss natural.

Eco loveliness.

A moving water sculpture.

Organically stunning.

In my humble, green opinion.  Green with envy opinion.

I have been trying to rip our downspouts off our house for years now and install rain chain loveliness.  Mostly when my husband wasn’t looking.  Married men have some sort of husband sixth sense.  They have eyes in the back of their heads.  ’Wife spy’ eyes. They seem to know when our idea wheels are turning. It must be written all over our foreheads or something.  Note: Wash forehead before speaking to husband. Obv.

This is the biweekly, weekly, bimonthly, monthly YEARLY RAIN CHAIN CONVO that Michael and I have:

Me :   Hey hun, what do you think about installing some rain chains this year?

Michael :   You say that to me every single year.

Me :   Yup.

Michael :   They don’t work.

Me :   They have been working in Japan since ..well…forever.

Michael :  Ohhh really? Mmmmm. Well, maybe next year.

Me : (using my inside voice) Men suck.

CONCLUSION:  I will need to live my rain chain dreams vicariously through you for one more year.  Next year, the temper tantrums will continue begin.

We women suffer.  We suffer because of Pinterest.  And the Internet.  And Google images. Punishment.  Visual punishment.

Do you have any idea how many great rain chain images are out there?

Mind blowing ideas are freakin’ everywhere.

Don’t worry.  I summarized all the goodies here in this blog post. Saved you the leg work.  Maybe it will work on your husband.  Just remember to tell him that the rain chains are sexy and cheap.

 Men like those words.

I will give you the ‘Rain Chain DIY know-how‘ and you can send me pictures.  Deal?

You can send them to me via instagram.  You can find me here.

An instagram friend, David @hurstexteriors sent me some rain chain pix.  He did a paparazzi move and took photos out his car window with his iPhone.

Special delivery.

Instagram is funky.  It takes any photo, and makes you look like you are a photograph superstar.  I dare you to dabble in Instagram.

Good times.

Swear it.

Nice people.

Fab photography.

 Double pinky swear it.

SEND ME YOUR PHOTOS.

I can then glue them all over the side of my house.  That will show Michael how good the rain chains COULD look, if they were ACTUALLY hanging on our house.

I can paint a sentence on the side of the house :

Dear Rain, You Suck.

But rain chains make you SUCK less.

Until the day comes, I can DREAM of RAIN CHAINS.

Dream with me.

  How do you spell G.O.R.G.E.O.U.S ?

You spell it with copper.

Where did the original rain chain idea come from ?  I think JAPAN, but don’t quote me on that one.

{ I had to quote someone else }

What originated in Japan hundreds of years ago, the kusari doi, or “chain gutter,” is a simple way to carry rain to the ground in an aesthetically pleasing manner. The Japanese have used these chains on temples and homes over the years with the sole purpose of embracing the beauty of a rain-filled day.

Big words.  Not mine.  Here comes the real truth.  I researched that about 89 years ago on some stupid rainy day.  Now I can’t even remember who wrote it.  Some smart rain chain originator.  Why didn’t I invent rain chains ?  I could be a bazmillionaire by now…living on some far away island….

….drinking from an umbrella drink, rolling around in the sand on my rain chain money.  I could wear those $$ sign sunglasses, and float in a boat [AKA house].

Either way, I did the research for you.  I didn’t want to just write…

” Look at these rain chains.  Because they are gorgeous.” <— those are my words

{Just in case you were wondering}

Let’s face it, a downspout is not typically a thing of beauty.  But it has beauty potential.

And BTW’s…if you want to get rid of some old gutters while you are roaming around on your rooftop removing your old downspouts; you can make use of the old gutters this way….

That ‘wine cooler’ idea just made me smile.

My picnic table is going to suddenly be missing a board this summer.   When Michael wonders where the gutter in the picnic table came from I will say :

“Don’t look up.  Don’t look at our eavestrough. What you don’t see, won’t hurt you.

Here hun, have a sip of wine”

Or How about this :

Recycled Plastic bottles !

Wouldn’t those recycled plastic bottles make a great RAIN CHAIN ?! Wait.  Maybe not.  They would flap in the wind.

 Darn-it-all-again.  

My rain chain inventor dreams were just shattered.

I love how the chains can quite simply break the fall of the water and can even acquire a natural patina over time.  They age beautifully.  Like nice wine.  Like aged cheese.  Like …George Clooney.

 RAIN CHAIN WATER CAN FLOW :

• into the ground
• or into a gravel/pebble/river rock bed
• or into some sort of catchment (rain barrel, small lily pond )

The rain barrel/pond can also be used for catching frogs.  Or for water fights.  Or having an afternoon dip.  With George Clooney.

If you feel ambitious you can even make these bad-boy chains yourself.  You can do that.  I will watch.  I am not allowed to start this DIY.  Ask my husband. Pffft.

First, you will need to purchase a rain installation kit that looks like this….

The rain chain attaches to the bolt at the bottom .  This way, you may attach the chain to your existing gutter.  Easy, huh?

You have three ways for a rain chain to happen in your life :

1. Purchase a ready-made rain chain.  Here is a link to rainchains.com. That seem’s easy to me.  I like that option.  I am not allowed.  You will have to do it for me.  Order 6 for me. Shhhh.

2  DIY  COPPER RAIN CHAIN : You could give this idea a whirl : How to Make Copper Rain Chains

3. DIY CHAIN :

You could also use a standard aluminum chain.

I first saw this idea created by a contractor friend in British Columbia.  He just bought standard aluminum chain from the hardware store.  His idea was the d’bomb.com.  I LOVED IT !!

Helloooo British Columbia = R.A.I.N

Rain, rain all the time-rain-rain-everywhere, kind of rain.  Rain rain everywhere ??!! The more it rains, the more you swear.

I am a poet, and I didn’t know it.

DIY RAIN CHAIN VIDEO :

Want to know how to make one?  Want to know how to install the rain chains?  But you want to be lazy like me and you don’t want to read about it?  You want to watch it.  Well Michelle Kauffmann covers it all. So watch the video {you lazy sod}.  You and I would make great friends.

Do I get a present for the RAIN CHAIN brilliant idea ?  Even though it wasn’t technically my idea.

Here are some present ideas that you can give me :

Cupcakes.

Or George Clooney.

Pronto.

I am waiting.

Still waiting.