This project was really quick and easy, as far as furniture building goes, since I decided to use brackets in lieu of attempting any wood joinery techniques. The difficulty level and cost varies depending on whether or not you wish to make your own wooden circles. I’ll talk a bit about the options below. And guess what? I’ve heard your cries and am working harder to include more information on the approximate cost of supplies, so you can better decide if this project is right for you.
-2 10″ or 12″ wooden pre-cut circles at least 1/2″ thick. (Don’t buy ones with beveled edges.)
-4 3/4″ or 1″ square dowels (I used 3/4″ x 36″ long dowels and cut them down to 28″.)
-white paint + primer
-wood stain
-power drill
-tape measure (not shown)
-pencil
-8 1/2″ wide L-brackets
If you are cutting your own circles you will also need:
-1″ x 12″ x 2′ piece of solid wood instead of the wooden circles listed above. (A piece 2x the size you need is $18 at Lowes.)
-jig saw
-sandpaper (I began with 80 grit and finished with 180 grit and used a rotary sander.)
-10″ plate for tracing, or a compass for drawing the circle
Total cost: $25 (approximately broken down according to the portion of supplies purchased):
-wood: $15 – I used half of the $18 board, leaving a 1′ x 2′ board for another project, and four 36″ dowels at $2.49 each.
-hardware: $4.50 – Includes two packages of 4 brackets which include mounting screws.
-paint & stain: $3.50 – I used 1/4 of a $5 can of spray primer, 1/4 of a $5 can of spray paint, and less than two ounces of Minwax stain, which costs $4.77 for an 8oz can.
-sandpaper: $2 – I used one sheet of a $4 4-pack of 80 grit sandpaper and 1 sheet of a $4 4-pack of 180 grit sandpaper.
Note about the wooden circles:
The following steps will include the process of cutting your own circles. I decided to cut my own because I had difficulty finding pre-cut circles in the size I wanted that didn’t have beveled edges, and since I already have a jig saw, I knew it would be easy to do. You may be able to find wooden circles at the craft store, but they might not be thick enough to handle the length of screws that come with your brackets. If you do use thinner wooden circles, keep in mind that you will need to buy shorter screws to attach the brackets. You also have the option of gluing together two of the same size wooden circles to make a thicker, nicer looking shelf on the plant stand. I found this piece of wood on Amazon that doesn’t look too bad, although the edges of plywood are notoriously full of chips, so I would want to fill those up with wood filler and sand it down before painting. Who knows? You may even be able to find two inexpensive round cutting boards that would work perfectly for your shelves!
Step Two: Cut along the lines you traced with the jig saw. Slowly but surely wins this race! If you go too quickly, you might not be able to trace the line exactly, and then you’ll just end up with a wonky circle. While I cut, I hold the edge of the board firmly onto a table with my left hand while I cut with the jig saw in my right hand. Of course, as I cut, I need to move the board so that I don’t end up cutting into the edge of the table.
Step Four: Prime and paint the wooden circles. I lightly sanded down the second coat of primer with 180 grit sandpaper to give it a nice smooth finish for the two coats of paint I applied next.
Step Five: Stain the square dowels. When you’re purchasing the dowels at the store (I got mine from the craft store), try to find ones that have similar looking grain. They are more likely to take the stain evenly. I applied the stain with a paper towel, and after I was finished, I allowed the stain to cure completely. Only then did I throw away the dry paper towel. If you throw it away while the fumes are fresh, you risk spontaneous combustion. Never work with stain while pregnant or nursing and always wear a mask. If you are especially concerned about the fumes, you may want to look into natural wood stains.
Step Seven: Lay out the brackets so that their holes are centered up with the lines you marked in step six, drill pilot holes right on the line, and then insert the screws to connect the brackets. On the bottom shelves, I used longer brackets with two screws for each side, and then I used smaller brackets on the top, since they would be more visible. For the brackets with two holes, I simply lined up the bottom hole with the line I marked, and then drilled the pilot hole for the top hole after filling the bottom one with a screw. Do make sure your brackets are facing the right way on the top and bottom.
Step Nine: Drill pilot holes for the bracket connection points on the bottom of the white shelves by centering a bracket with the lines you marked in step eight and then marking where the bracket’s hole is. These need to be precisely drilled and should be as perfectly centered as you can get them! Then screw each of the brackets (which by now have been attached to the legs) onto the bottom of the white shelves where you drilled the pilot holes. This was a bit awkward to do while managing all of the long legs, but it can be done with just one set of hands and minimal swearing.
When I first finished this stand, the legs were a bit wobbly because I wasn’t fastidious about the screw placement. So I redid the screw holes (a couple of inches aside from the original holes) and also cut the legs down while I was at it. The image below shows what the plant stand looks like now. Perfectly straight, sturdy, and a bit shorter at 28″ tall instead of 36″. I love it!
If you’d like to have an extra set of hands for assembling your plant stand, it could be fun to split the cost of supplies with a friend and spend a nice spring afternoon (that eventually will be here, right?) making two stands, so you won’t have to worry about stashing leftover supplies.
This little Arts & Crafts meets Mid Century style project was a nice, simple solution for my plant stand needs, but it would also make a great side table! You can adjust the height, width, and even the number of legs to suit your needs. You could even add another shelf in the middle for another plant. The more the merrier!
-Mandi
Credits // Author and Photography: Mandi Johnson
59 Comments
Mandi, you are the best one!
Such a lovely idea to make a special stand for your plants! Great diy!
http://fragilityofbeauty.com
You guys have such a knack of making things look simple…but I can’t probably say mine would look nothing like this!
http://vodkaandarose.blogspot.co.uk
Oh, how lovely! I love everything mid-century 🙂
xo
Camilla
http://kapteinmoe.blogspot.no/
I just love the simplicity of the design you created! And I’ve been meaning to take a woodworking class of some sort, so this may just push me to finally do it! 🙂
I love all the DIY projects I read about on here, but I they always seem a little too complicated for me. I’ve never used a jigsaw and I’d be too afraid to. I’ve never used wood stain, either! I think, for the price, for me, I’ll stick to letting other people make these and me buying from them! 🙂 But it’s a great idea and I’m sure other people will have awesome plant stand that they made themselves in their houses now!
this is so neat! with a one and a half year old myself, i’ve been leery of adding plants to my home. right now we have 4 hanging plants cause i know he can’t reach those 😉 i’m excited to give this stand a try!
Oh my, i want to make this! It doesn’t look too hard, I should be able to do this..
I love the stand but love the run even more! Where did you score that beauty???
I love this idea! I have so many plants that I have to bring indoors for the winter. This would be great to make for them and even make them different heights to arrange in front of my windows. Keep the great ideas coming!
I would have never thought I could make an end table like this, but this looks very do-able!
Love this!! Maybe I can talk my hubs into making one for me.
http://www.wernerbeauty.com
really cute and original plant stand!!!
http://www.stelstyle.com
You are awesome! I love your posts!
I’m not usually one to leave comments but I just wanted to say what a fantastic contributor Mandi is to ABM. I just can’t get enough of her DIYs – they’re always so clearly explained and well thought out. This one is a particular favourite and one that I will most certainly be trying my hand at. Thank you, Mandi, for such a great post!
Love this so much.
This is so awesome. I couldn’t believe it’s a handmade project at first.
Much love, Eva
I LOVE this! I think I’m going to have to make one if I can just find some circles…Or maybe it’s time to invest in a jigsaw!
I know what you mean, Julie! Some of these projects can be intimidating for someone who has never used any of these tools. I hope you enjoy the wide variety of projects we share, some of them being pretty simple, while others involving a few more tools or steps. If you’d like to take the time to read through the beginning of this project, you’ll see that a jigsaw is actually not necessary for this project if you buy pre-cut wooden circles. Then essentially all you’re doing is painting them and screwing the store-bought dowels onto them. It’s a great option for someone who doesn’t like extra steps.
I’m assuming you meant rug. 🙂 It’s a Turkish rug I got on eBay, but we’re actually not sure if we have room for it in our home any more! I might be selling it on my blog soon, so keep a lookout!
Thanks so much for the encouragement, Sarah! I really appreciate it!
Ah, this is so perfect! Love, love, love it!
This is adorable! It’s great that it’s a diy project and something that I think would be really tough to find in stores…especially affordable ones. Thanks for the tutorial!
Lovely idea!
http://talisatalksbeauty.blogspot.co.uk/2014/03/show-stopper-hair-and-where-ive-been.html
This reminds me so much of a little wooden plant stand I picked up in a thrift store one time. Actually, I think it was originally an ashtray stand, but the hole in the top was perfect for the right sized plant pot and it had a shelf on the bottom just like yours. And…well, not to make you lose hope, but I stopped using when my oldest was about a year or so. When he started walking, he would try to use it to pull up on and it was so unstable. I can’t tell you how many time he and the plants on it came tumbling down. I shoved it in a closet for a few years and when we moved, ended up selling it at our garage sale.
Beautiful and elegant. I love it.
I know what you mean. I am wondering if I should just get a jigsaw already.
It looks really pretty!!
i love anything mid century modern, so of course, i love this! always looking for new ways to display my green babies. thanks for sharing 🙂
xo jac
thesunshinedistrict.blogspot.com
Love it!
definetly gonna try this myself
Looks so chic!
http://everydayingrace.blogspot.ca/
This is super cute
Lauren
livinginaboxx
love this!! it turned out great!!
xxoo,
nikki
http://www.dreaminneon.blogspot.com
Love this! I’ve been looking for plant stands, but can’t find any that I love. I’ll be making one of these for sure! Thanks!!
I love this plant stand. I have wanted to put a plant in the corner of our dining room, but knew it needed some height. All the plant stands I’ve found so far are blandville. Love this one. Thanks for the idea!
Since I live in a studio, I appreciate how slender this is. 🙂
I really love this and so want to make it! Perfect timing as I was looking for something and the stool just didn’t look right!
I love this! I’m in serious need of some plant stands too.
Stunning! My spring project in our new home! Thank you
I love the idea of sprucing up the house with plants. My kiddos are past the pulling down stage, but I would have to worry about the cats. This plant stand is perfect! I love the style of it and how simple it is. Well done. Pinned 🙂
This is beautiful, definitely going on the to-do list sometime in the future!
http://stainsofpaint.blogspot.com/
Love it! I love having tons of plants around, and I never have enough space for them.
Pure class !!just incredible..no words!
It’s so precious ! I absolutely love it !! Looks simple to make it perfectly… I want to try it as soon as i have a nice home with a little bit of space ! i’ve just put it on my pinterest 🙂
This is great!
I have plants all over my house because they are fairly inexpensive, make a bold statement, and add “life” to the space. I love them – the stand is terrific. I bought one, but if I had seen this sooner, I would have made one.
Pinned this immediately! The sunroom is coming right up on my home-reno list and this would look great in there!
I love this! My boyfriend and I have been looking for cool ways to show our plants off and this will be awesome! Plus, we’ve been dying to build something with our own bare hands! haha.
xoxo
Taylor
http://www.welcomehometaylor.com
The plant stand looks great! My sister has a nearly identical mid-century one from my grandparents which was actually originally an ashtray stand. It has a shallow divot on top to holf the tray.
Love it!
I like this. Clean and simple.
A nice trick I learned as a painter for staying safe with stains and varnish rags (or any oil-based paint cleanup for that matter) is to soak it in water before you throw it away (outside your house, always). Dip it in a bucket or run it under the sink. A house can burn to the ground because of mishandling rags so don’t neglect this step!
I love it!!!
I am SOOO making this, but I have 3 little terrors, I mean doggies.
So in order for mine to survive, I will need to weigh it down.
After it is assembled, I am going to stand it in a mold (probably an old cake pan) and add cement.
When it dries, I will probably paint the base to match the shelves, or speckle the shelves to match the base, who knows!
It may take away a bit from the clean lines, but at least it will have a fighting chance!
Thanks for the idea!
I’ve been online all morning looking for a tiered plant stand for my mom, and didn’t even think about building one. I mean it really doesn’t look all that complicated to make. Plus, homemade things really come more from the heart than if you were to buy it.
http://www.suzysgiftshop.com/default.asp?dept_id=45140
Hi Mandi, I just LOVE your site!! I too have been looking for plant stands that could fit in any corner of my apartment since I have limited space and I SO have been wanting to make my own. I want plants in every room of my apartment, not only to create a more calming and Nature-like effect but also, to help clean the air for me and my family. Thank you SO much for this and I am a new follower!! 🙂
I am in LOVE with this DIY. I am having a hard time finding 8 1/2″ wide L-brackets. Do you have a link to where I can get these? Thanks!
Just found your post and am stoked to make my own! Quick question though what type of plant is the tall one you have in the photo with the new and improved stand?
Beautiful stand, quick question, do you happen to know what color stain you used? from this stand http://abeautifulmess.com/2014/03/mid-century-inspired-plant-stand-diy.html . . I realize it was a few years ago but just thought I’d check
I just made two of these… one short 18” and one the 28” from one set of garden stakes for $4 and scrap wood. Thanks for the great instructions.
http://www.walmart.com/ip/Greenes-Wooden-Garden-Stakes-5-Ft-pack-Of-4/983093657