DIY Large Planter Hack

I am finally getting caught up on tutorials from our One Room Challenge makeover. If you missed the DIY Art Ledge or the Cable Railing tutorials, make sure you check those out! This week I revisited a project I started and sort of finished during this makeover. My DIY Large Planter Hack. This was one of those projects I had high hopes for, but wasn’t one hundred percent sold on when it was finished. Which is why I gave it another go this week. Spoiler alert, it involves fottery!

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DIY Large Planter Hack Supplies

Large Plastic Tub 
Joint Compound 
Flat Chip Paint Brush
Flat White Spray Paint
Flat Black Spray Paint
Satin Tan Spray Paint
Plant (real or faux)
Duct Tape
Electrical Tape
Small Trash Can
Spanish Moss

*Note: You can also use craft paints, but I prefer spray paint.

Ok, so let’s talk about how this project came about. When I was planning the family room makeover, I knew I wanted to change up the fireplace and add a plant to the corner. But if you know me at all, you know I am a serial plant killer and faux plants are all I can handle. Trust me. Its better this way. The good news is, faux trees have come a long way, but they come with a hefty price tag! I couldn’t bring myself to spend $200+ on a fake tree so when I found this guy on Facebook Marketplace for $20, I knew I could transform it.

The tree itself wasn’t bad, but the planter had to go. 

Step 1

Pick up one of these large plastic tubs. They are usually used for storage but for the price, they make an incredibly affordable large planter! I bought mine in person at my local Walmart for $4.98, but unfortunately they don’t ship them for that price.

Step 2

Cut off the handles. I wanted this to look like a high end large ceramic planter, so the handles needed to go.

Step 3

Use electrical tape to cover the holes where the ropes were.

Step 4 (optional) 

Paint. As I mentioned above, I initially made this for our family room makeover but it wasn’t 100% what I wanted but I did not have time to change it. My initial stab at this large planter was with textured spray paint. For some this might be the answer, but note, this spray paint doesn’t go very far and you will likely need more than one can. It does provide texture, but doesn’t make it look like pottery or fottery as I have coined it. But if you are happy with the texture, this is the last step!

And this is a picture of what the planter looked like in place before I continued the makeover. 

Step 5

Fottery it. I have become somewhat obsessed with fottery and have made over more than a dozen vases with it and some Christmas trees, so it should come as no surprise that this large planter would be my next victim, haha! This method is very simple. All you need is a flat chip paint brush and joint compound.

Simply cover the entire outside and top inner rim with the joint compound. I brushed mine on making sure to give it good coverage and texture. 

This will need to dry for several hours or overnight, depending on how much joint compound you use. 

Step 6

Paint the large planter. Like I mentioned above, I like to use spray paint. You could use craft paint but I prefer the combination of these three colors. I layer the color until it is varied and aged looking.

Let the paint dry before moving on to step 7. It should be dry within an hour or two. 

Step 7

Plant your tree in the large planter. Mine is faux and upcycled. I wanted to be careful not to make the planter too heavy, but also make sure it wasn’t top heavy. I filled the bottom of the tub with lava rocks we had on hand from our fire pit makeover.

I then secured the base of my faux tree with some duct tape and foam I had from when we built our bed. My tree had multiple stems and I wanted to make sure they would stay together when I replanted it.

Then I planted the tree in a small trash can that I got from the dollar store. I filled in the sides with additional foam. 

Then I placed the entire thing inside the large planter and filled the edges with more foam. This created a nice nest for the plant.

Note, I chose to plant mine this way because these were all items I already had. You could definitely do this differently and would have to if you have a real plant. 

To hide all the foam, I covered the base with a black trash bag and tucked it in on the sides.

To finish it off, I added three bags of Spanish moss to the top, covering the trash bag and foam.

This was a super easy and affordable way to breathe new life into a dated faux plant and get a large planter on a budget! If you enjoyed my DIY Large Planter Hack, please share it on Facebook or hover over an image and save to Pinterest! And if you don’t already follow me on Instagram, Pinterest, or Facebook, I would love for us to be friends!

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