How to Build an Indoor Planter
Even in winter, your home can feel fresh and alive if you grow houseplants. Maximize the visual impact of a group of plants or create a space for them in your decor with an indoor planter. Only simple skills and tools are necessary to build an indoor planter, making the project good for a beginner. Enliven your space with an indoor garden spot you created yourself.
Determine and record the dimensions of the indoor planter. Measure the diameter of the largest flowerpot you want your planter to hold to determine the planter's width. Measure the space you plan to put the planter to determine the planter's length. Choose a width of interior-grade lumber that will make a planter as deep as you want it. One-inch interior-grade lumber usually is available in widths from 2 to 18 inches.
Cut interior-grade lumber into two pieces for the planter's length and two additional pieces for the planter's width. Use the length and width measurements you determined previously for your planter.
Calculate the size to cut wood for your planter's bottom. Draw a diagram of a rectangle, which has two long sides and two short sides, using your planter's dimensions. The drawing will help you calculate the size of your planter's bottom. If, for example, your planter's short pieces are each 6 inches long, then to accommodate 6-inch diameter pots the planter's complete width will be 6 inches plus the thickness of both of the two long sides. So if you use 1-inch lumber, add 2 inches to the 6 inches to determine the planters' full width. Because of shrinkage, however, actual lumber widths and lengths are slightly less than stated dimensions. Calculate 1 inch as 7/8 inch for complete accuracy. Therefore, 6 + 7/8 + 7/8 = 7 3/4 inches total width. If your planter will be 18 inches long, then cut a bottom piece 18 inches long by 7 3/4 inches wide.
Cut interior-grade lumber or 1/4-inch thick plywood for the planter's bottom.
Form a corner by holding the butt end of a side piece, or short piece, of lumber you cut earlier against the surface of a long piece of lumber you cut earlier. Drill three spaced holes through the long piece into the shorter piece. Connect the pieces with screws. Repeat the procedure of connecting wood pieces until you have completed all four corners of the planter.
Place the rectangular planter frame on a flat surface. Set the bottom piece in place on the planter frame, ensuring the corners are square. Drill three or four spaced holes through the bottom piece into the lumber on the planter's sides. Attach the bottom piece to the planter's sides with screws.
Attach four, tap-on, small casters to the planter's bottom, placing one at each corner, or cut two or three pieces of lathe strip as long as the planter is wide. If you use lathe strips, attach them to the planter's bottom with screws about 2 inches from each end of the planter. The lathe strips let air circulate under the planter, preventing rot from spilled or leaking water under the planter. Two lathe strips provide adequate support for a planter up to 18 inches long. Add a third lathe strip in the center of a longer planter.
Sand your planter with sandpaper. Paint or stain the planter. Allow the stain or paint to dry thoroughly.
Cut a piece of plastic sheet several inches longer and wider than your planter. Press the plastic sheet into the inside the planter, and anchor it in place with a few staples. The plastic sheet provides some protection against spilled or leaking water. Trim any part of the plastic sheet that shows above the planter's top edges.
Pour a 1/2-inch layer of florist or nursery pebbles in the bottom of your planter. The pebbles increase air circulation around pots that will be in the planter. Place plant-pot saucers or a plant-pot tray on top of the pebbles, and set your potted plants on top of the saucers or tray.
- If you use casters on the planter's bottom, use the kind you would for the bottom of chair legs.
- Group plants with the same light and water needs together in a planter.
- Trim your finished planter with motifs in your decor. Edging the planter with an inexpensive strip of molding that resembles your home's woodwork, or stenciling a flower pattern related to the room's textiles, will give the planter an established appearance.
- Fiberboard is an alternative to lumber for making an inexpensive planter.
- Inspect the bottom of your planter every six months for signs of water damage, rot or insect infestation. Replace the bottom as needed.
Janet Beal has written for various websites, covering a variety of topics, including gardening, home, child development and cultural issues. Her work has appeared on early childhood education and consumer education websites. She has a Bachelor of Arts in English from Harvard University and a Master of Science in early childhood education from the College of New Rochelle.