This planter is midcentury modern-inspired, but a little thicker than most other planters with this same silhouette.
It’s pretty simple to make, even if you’re not at all experienced at woodworking.
Plant stands help create vertical interest through displaying your plants at different heights.
All the measurements for this project will depend on the size of your pot. I’ve included some instructions for how I measured my pot, but feel free to customize it to fit your space.
You can make multiple planters for different sized pots or at different heights to create variety in your indoor or outdoor plant display.
If you’re really struggling, just leave a comment below and I’m happy to help you work out your measurements.
Let's get started with the how-to, but don't forget to pin this post for later.
YOU'LL NEED:
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ESSENTIALS:
- Plant Pot — Round or Square
- 4-10 ft of 1"×3" Lumber* — depending on planter size
- 9x – 1.5-2″ screws — you can also just use wood glue if your planter is small
- Stain / Paint of choice - I used "Briarsmoke"
- Sandpaper or Random Orbit Sander
- Jig Saw or Hand Saw**
Optional:
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step 01
measure your pot
Measure the height of your pot and width across the widest part of the circle — a.k.a. the diameter.
Make sure to measure at the widest part of your pot if yours tapers and is larger at the top or bottom
If your pot is a square, measure the width on one side.
Be sure to write these measurements down for later.
step 02
determine your plant stand dimensions
You’ll choose your dimensions based on how high you want your plant to sit and how tall you want your stand to be.
For my pot, I knew I wanted the plant stand to be about 2 ft tall. My pot was 14″ tall and I wanted the stand to come up on the sides of the pot a little more than halfway – so I went with 9 inches.
Then 24″-9″ is 15″ – so that is about how high my plant would sit off of the ground.
You can do 50/50 as well, but I followed a loose design rule of thirds to offset the height of my pot in the planter a little so it wouldn’t be sitting right in the middle.
If you don’t know how high yours should be (and you like the way mine looks) just take the height of your pot X 1.8 to get the total height of your planter.
Then the height of your pot times 0.64 to get the height from the top of the planter to the part your pot will sit on. Round your measurements to the nearest inch.
step 03
measure & cut your wood
You’ll need 2 shorter pieces that are the width of your pot (mine was 12″).
You’ll need 4 pieces that are the height of your planter – the height you determined earlier (pot height *1.8 if you used my method)
Use your Jig Saw or Hand Saw to cut your pieces — Home Depot and other home improvement stores can cut your pieces for you in store as long as they're under 12", so follow steps 1-2 before you go in.
step 04
measure & cut your notches
Your two middle pieces will fit together via a notch in the center to form an X.
To cut this, it will need to be the width of the other board that will fit into the notch, and then cut halfway into the board.
I used a jigsaw, but you can also use a handsaw or other types of power saws.
step 05
build the X for the middle of your stand
Slide your two notched pieces together to form an X.
Secure in place with wood glue, a small screw right through the very middle, or both.
In this photo, there are pocket holes on the edge of each board that I drilled but decided not to use, so don’t worry about these.
step 06
attach the legs (sides) to the middle (X)
There are two options for attaching your legs. The first is drilling pocket holes for hidden screws using something like a Kreg jig.
If you don’t have one of these or don’t care that the screws will show, you can secure the legs with screws from the outside into the end of each of the X boards.
Whichever method you use, make sure to secure in place with two screws per leg — 8 total. The drawing above (X) shows what the planter looks like from the top down.
Note: If your pot is super heavy or wide, the pocket screw method is the most secure for holding the weight.
step 07
stain & finish
You can paint or stain your planter then seal with a wax or matte clear spray paint for a matte finish or polyurethane for a glossy finish.
I gave mine another light sanding before I stained and sealed it. The stain color I chose was Briarsmoke from Varathane, which is kind of my go-to right now and the same color I used on this Corbel Sconce Light and this DIY Blanket Ladder.
psst...
If you put this out on the patio and add some ice and beer instead of a plant, it doubles as an adorable summer ice bucket.
Terracotta pots are especially great for this purpose.
Don't forget to pin this post for later!
What do you think — Did you give this DIY a try? Are you making a MidMod Plant Stand for your space? leave a comment below, or use #neverskipbrunch
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cara newhart
I'm Cara, the designer & diy queen behind Never Skip Brunch. I'm a color & prints obsessed DIY queen who's here to help you create a beautifully lived-in life through home design advice and chic DIY tutorials
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I’m a new plant mom and a long-time midcentury modern junkie! I love how this isn’t too ‘cute’ or inauthentic like many current midcentury styles are.
I really love how easily you broke this down!
Briana
I’ve been eyeing a ton of plant stands to add to my spring decor. Looks like I might be adding it to my list of DIY projects too! Thanks for the tutorial!