DIY Indoor-Outdoor Bowling Lane

In my neck of the woods, it has been cold and snowy — which is beautiful but also makes me look forward to spring and being outside! Our guest today has a great DIY project that you and the family can use indoors now, and then move outdoors once it warms up outside: an adorable indoor-outdoor bowling lane! 

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How to Build a Kids’ DIY Indoor-Outdoor Bowling Lane
by Ashley from Handmade with Ashley

Hello, my name is Ashley Grenon and I’m the author of the blog, Handmade with Ashley where I document my crafty adventures. I love making things.  Woodworking is one of my favorite hobbies, but I also enjoy crocheting, sculpting with polymer clay and casting with resin.  I have a little boy, and I really enjoy making things for him. One of my favorite projects I worked on is a geometric themed art table I built for him.  He is also my inspiration for the project I’m sharing with you today:  a kids bowling lane!

One day husband and I were discussing how fun it will be to take our little boy bowling when he is old enough to enjoy it.  From that conversation I got the idea of building a miniature bowling lane.

What you will need

The following items are some of the tools and supplies you will need to build the kids bowling lane:

Bowling Pins

• White Spray Paint
• Spray Paint Gun
• Washi Tape
• Mod Podge
• Triple Thick Gloss Glaze
• 10 – Large Wood Bowling Pins (available here, too)

Bowling Lane

• Lumber
  • 1 – 46″ long 1×12 board
  • 2 – 46″ long 1×2 boards
  • 2 – 9.75″ long 1×2 boards
  • 1 – 9.75″ long 1×4 board
  • 2 – 23″ long 1×4 boards
• Kreg Jig (for joining boards)
• Sander
• Dremel (for sanding the rounded guard edges)
• JigSaw (for rounding guard edges)
• Wood Filler
• Handsaw (or circular saw)
• Paint
• Silhouette (for creating stencils for lane markers)

Cost

I made use of scrap lumber in garage to build the bowling lane.  For the project, I needed to purchase the bowling pins, a wooden ball, washi tape and spray paint.  The project cost me about $30-35 to make.

Time

This project can be completed in a day.

Decorating the Bowling Pins

I purchased 10 unfinished wooden bowling pins (there’s a similar set available here, too).  The pins looked pretty bland and in need of a serious makeover.

I took the following steps to update the bowling pins look:

1. Spray paint the pins white
2. Wrap a piece of washi tape around the neck of the pin
3. Coat the pin with a layer of triple thick gloss glaze

The gloss glaze adds a really nice touch to the pins.

Building the Bowling Lane

To build the bowling lane I took the following steps.

Step 1:  Round the ends of the lane guards

Grab a cup and trace a curve onto one end of each 23″ long 1×4 board.  Use a jigsaw to cut along the curve.   These two boards act as the lane guards.   The curved edges make for a really nice finish.

Step 2:  Attach the 1×2 boards to the 1×12 board

Attach the 1×2 boards to the sides of the 1×12 board with glue and nails creating the base for the bowling lane.

Nailing the 1×2 boards to the 1×12 board

Step 3:  Attach the lane guards to the bowling lane base

I used a Kreg Jig to create pocket holes for joining the pieces of the lane guard together.   If you use the Kreg Jig you will want pocket holes in the following locations:

• At the un-curved end of each 23″ long 1×4 board
• On each end of the 9.75″ long 1×4 board
• At the bottom of the 9.75″ long 1×4 board and the 23? long 1×4 boards

Once the 3 1×4 boards were joined, I then attached the lane guard to the 1×12 board.

Two pieces of the guard being joined together

Finished guard

Guard attached to bowling lane base

Step 4:  Apply wood filler and sand

Fill any gaps with a bit of wood filler.  Once the filler has dried take time to sand the surface.

Step 4:  Paint a base coat

Now it’s time for the really fun part:  decorating the bowling lane!   I covered the surface of the 1×12 board with painters tape and newspaper.  Once that was in place I spray painted the bowling lane with Krylon Satin Sea Glass spray paint.

Step 5:  Add a washi tape border

To tie in some of the colors from the bowling lane pins to the color of the bowling lane, I wrapped the perimeter of the lane base with striped washi tape.

My little washi tape helper

Step 6:  Add bowling pin placement markers and arrows

For a nice final touch, I created stencils for lane arrows and markers for the bowling pin locations with the Silhouette editor.   I used Contact paper to create the stencil.  I followed the Shanty sister’s tutorial on creating a stencil with contact paper to get the perfect cut setting on my Silhouette.   To complement the Sea Glass paint, I painted the lane markers with neon orange paint.

The Silhouette cut files are available here for download:

• Bowling Pin Locations Cut File
• Bowling Lane Arrows Cut File

Step 7:  Seal the bowling lane

Once everything has dried, seal the project with varnish.  I used a satin varnish.

Kids Bowling Lane

The bowling lane was a really fun project.  It has been a hit for my little guy, and the adults enjoy it too.  To increase difficultly, use a smaller ball and have the bowler toss the ball from several feet away.

If you build the bowling lane, please leave a comment below or tag me on Instagram as @handmadewithashley or Twitter as @handmadewithash.   I’d love to see your pictures!

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Ashley, thank you so much for sharing with us! Such a cute project and I can tell your little guy loves it!!

Remodelaholics, be sure to go check out Ashley’s site to see more of her builds and projects — you won’t want to miss her awesome kids’ art table! And if you’re a bit of a geek, be sure to check out her geeky projects, too, like this Star Wars tie fighter bookshelf.

Published: February 4, 2016Filed Under: Design Inspiration

About Cass

Cassity started Remodelaholic with her husband, Justin, to share their love for knocking out walls together. Since then, Remodelaholic has become a great community and resource for all those wanting to know how to make their builder-grade home BEAUTIFUL on a budget!