Since there are probably kids of driver’s license age who think clocks are nothing more than a smartphone app, the phrase “modern analog wall clock” might sound like nonsense to some. So when TikTok DIYer and crafter extraordinaire @my_home_by_kendra decided to make a modern wall clock, a bit of retro flair was inevitable. What wasn’t inevitable or even predictable was her choice of materials—a pizza pan, a hula hoop, a craft board, and a clock kit. We’ve seen beautiful clocks made from wooden pallets and stunning DIY clocks made from old books before, but this may be a first for a pizza pan and hula hoop. We valued everything, minus the black and gold paint, at just $7.92—cheaper than the pizza would have cost.
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The project is simple by almost any standard. Start by painting the ¼ x 2 x 48-inch poplar board from Lowe’s ($4.23) black. The 12-inch pizza pan from Cooking Concepts ($1.25 at Dollar Tree) is spray-painted gold, then a hole is drilled through the center of the board and pizza pan into which a clock kit like this $1.19 model from Walmart is installed. The hula hoop (you can buy 4 in various sizes for $1.25 at Dollar Tree), also painted gold, is mounted behind the board, concentric with the pizza pan. Voilà! At worst, this under-$10 clock will keep correct time twice a day.
Make the modern wall clock your own
The style of @my_home_by_kendra’s creation isn’t specifically retro, but it would fit into virtually any modern or minimalist design. Given the main elements of a black bar and some circles, there are plenty of ways to use this design historically. The gold makes it look like a stripped-down Art Deco piece. It also has a bit of Bauhaus flair, which isn’t something you see every day. The point is that simple shapes can be timelessly modern much more easily than more complicated ones. That gives you a lot of leeway if you decide to make something similar but better suited to your own space. Here are a few ideas, but there are endless possibilities for artistic wall clocks you can emulate.
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As it is, the design is vaguely reminiscent of a wristwatch, but if you move a circle to the bottom of the panel, you’re immediately reminded of a modern pendulum clock. Add a small white circle to the top of the clock and you’ll see Nathan George Horwitt’s 1970 clock design from the Museum of Modern Art’s design collection. Two concentric hula hoops and a couple of PVC pipes bring you close to this modern Art Deco design. And you can imagine using the entire four-pack of hula hoops to mimic something like this classic mid-century modern design. It’s time to brainstorm what you’d already know if you had a clock.
