I made a column and planter at the end of last summer out of concrete using sono tubes. I did put a plastic pipe inside to reduce the amount of cement. The planter at the top is hypertufa. I was considering painting it but didnt get around to it yet. I may just leave it as cement another year before I decide. I'm waiting for warmer weather before I plant up the top. We are still getting frosts year and the grass I bought isnt that tolerant. I also have to make a repair. I noticed that the whole thing was out of alignment a bit and pushed too hard at the top. I broke the mortar joint and the top tipped overed. Stupid me. But nothing broke. I just have to put it back together. Here is a link that might be useful:

Morning and welcome to the mix! I'm doing a fair crack of spheres,and most of them are of the water feature type,going from a basketball size to 32 inches.I've so far done two types of bases:pedestal and disc.The first I did as a prototype for our front door feature,using Mymud and mesh over styrofoam.So far,works well.The other is one that's easier to do,but heavier.For them,it's a matter of basic 3:1 mix,colour,pour into a round mold of appropriate size,then make the top surface concave.I use a bowl(stainless mixing bowl) to smoosh down the middle.Let set,cure,and away you go!I believe others,including L&L,do this style. A note on the water feature aspect:For the best look,the cord should pass THRU the ball's side.This is part of planning it as a water feature;otherwise,you have a cord disappearing into the mouth of the ball,giving the feature an incomplete look.I saw a very nice water feature at a local garden centre recently.Nice look,but,that cord...! What I've been doing(I love adapting things!)is building in a hole in the side,above the waterline if possible,using a doohickey that Home Depot would carry.If you've ever built a computer desk,you will recall that round plastic insert that you pass your cords thru.You get that,along with a cover plate(comes as a package),and cement around it on your ball in your first coating.When you're done your concreting,you have a plug-size hole to put your cord(s) thru.Silicone the cover on(use aquarium silicone if possible)on the INSIDE of the ball(the doohickey will be facing that way) and you're done!If you want it underwater,same rig but perhaps(not used it yet but will be)fill the rest of the hole with a quick curing concrete,the kind you can patch cracks underwater with.Coloured as required.This does commit your water feature to that pump.Any breakdown of the pump(if the motor burns out)you're hooped! Good luck with your balls.As Mel Brooks said in SpaceBalls"May the orb be with you".Or,something like that... Cheers from here Rick

I was thrilled to track down the artists for the blue balls - called "Skyball" and ask my question about what keeps people from rolling them down the hills. Here is what he said: Hi Laura, Your perception has been shared by untold numbers of high schoolers who've left broken and bent pry bars attempting just what your imagination suggests. In fact, there is a huge concrete caisson going ten feet into the ground below each "ball" which has a heavy steel tube that connects to a cast in structure in the bottom half and continues up to the top where it indexes into a hole at the very top. Each sphere weighs about ten thousand pounds. They might as well try to roll a house down the hill. Thanks for your interest, Steve Gillman

This is like DeJaVu, I just submitted my response to another poster regarding this topic. I will be repeating myself but here it is anyways. Satin Nickel to ME is maybe not "modern" but something that belongs in a "Sophisticated" kitchen. I feel it goes with Shiny countertops. ORB Hardware I think goes very well with soapstone/honed surface/wood. It mainly depends on the look of the kitchen. As a general rule IMO - ORB fits very well in Farmhouse/old house/vintage style kitchens, SN fits well in Transitional, Traditional, Polished-Sophisticated kictehns. Also, I think you can pull off a kitchen with ORB hardware and Satin Nickel/Chrome light fixtures but I am not sure about SN hardware and ORB light fixtures. Here are pics of some beautiful GWers kitchens that I saved. Kellyg's kitchen Lesmis kitchen Someone's super expensive model home-(countertops are concrete, dont look shiny but SN looks great doesnt it - maybe my theory is wrong :)) jpbrodie's kitchen- (If you are on the fence about ORB then this pic might push you towards ORB :)) But I am a newbie, there are much more experienced posters here that might have better insight for you. HTH