Tired Nightstand Turned Shabby Chic Planter - Easy DIY

5 Materials
$30
2 Hours
Easy

For the first time in years, I have a covered front porch again and the perfect place to showcase an herb garden. I looked at lots of commercial patio herb garden planters but decided, in the end, to go a different way. I’ve been wanting to plant something in a piece of upcycled furniture for a while now, and an herb garden seem like the perfect opportunity to put that idea into action.

I’m in love with how it looks next to our front door on our porch. It would also make for a great balcony herb planter.

First things first, find your beautiful, but damaged-beyond-repair, piece of furniture. When I started my search I was originally looking for a chest of drawers with 5-7 drawers or even an old vanity, but I ended up falling in love with this nightstand (and its mere $20.00 price tag).

It was already painted white and even had cute hardware to boot. And, it clearly had a rough previous life, so, no guilt about my plan to leave it exposed to the elements on my covered porch. My best guess is that it lived with an unruly rabbit, guinee pig or other small furry animal as the paint (and a good bit of wood) had been chewed/scratched away at the base of the legs and the smell was definitely in need of a good airing out. But, nonetheless, it was perfect. It took less than a day outside for it to stop smelling like pets and after a thorough wipe down, it looked way more than adequate for its next task.

Once we had it in position, it was time to convert it to a planter. First, we had to add some support to the drawers, so they would hold up to being left in a permanently extended position. I wanted the bottom drawer to be almost fully extended and the top drawer to be extended out about half that far. To add our support we first removed both drawers fully:

Then we added some scrap 2X2s vertically to the inside on either side.




Now you're ready to fill your shabby chic nightstand planter with plants!


To see all the details in how I planted in mine, check out my full article here.

In my top drawer I planted two types of basil and cilantro.

And in the bottom drawer I planted my rosemary, sage, and dill.


Leaving chives, parsley, and thyme to be planted in my basket on top of the nightstand. See how I converted this old basket into a planter here.


The upcycled basket planter and the tall pineapple sculpture really added the perfect final touches!



Suggested materials:
  • Nightstand   (Marketplace or Thrift Store)
  • Basket   (Marketplace or Thrift Store)
  • Herbs or other plants
See all materials
Allison - Darling & Dapper Life
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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  2 questions
  • Tiffany Ray Tiffany Ray on Sep 08, 2021

    I am absolutely going to do this! Precious!!! Question…did you do anything to keep the bottom of the drawers from warping quickly when u water?? We don’t ever use fresh herbs but I LOVE this!!!!

  • Lor33914481 Lor33914481 on Sep 09, 2021

    The picture of the animal-damaged bottom shows this isn't solid wood. How did you seal the OSB to prevent it from swelling?

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