DIY Cinderblock Plant Shelves

3 Materials
$40
1 Hour
Easy
This is such a simple project, and it's actually kind of a classic from 80's college dorms, but if you plop some plants on it, suddenly it looks a lot more chic and fits right into your backyard! I love these shelves to hold flowers, herbs, and gardening tools! You can see this project and more easy and affordable DIY ideas on my blog, Love & Renovations
Start by grabbing two of your cinder blocks and laying them out where you're working about 3 feet apart from one another. I highly recommend working wherever you want the shelves to be, because these babies are HEAVY! Add construction adhesive to the top of each block.
Take an 8-foot 1X12 cedar board and cut it down to two 4-foot lengths. Take one shelf and put it on top of the cinder blocks. Give it a bit to dry - you can use the extra cinderblocks as a weight if you want.
Next, take your other two cinderblocks, put some construction adhesive on the top of the shelf, and plop them into place directly above the other ones.
You know the drill - use your construction adhesive to apply the second shelf.
Let it dry, add plants, and enjoy! You can really get creative with the finish on this - you can paint the cinder blocks, paint or stain the shelves - go crazy! I left mine plain because I really like the look, but the possibilities are endless.
Resources for this project:
8-foot 1X12 cedar board
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Love & Renovations
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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Frequently asked questions
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3 of 8 questions
  • Pdmkiss Pdmkiss on Mar 23, 2021

    How about turning the cinder block so the ‘solid’ side is facing out. Then paint & stencil them? Add another dimension to the project?

  • Kathy carr Kathy carr on Oct 25, 2021

    Would this be tall enough for a bench?

  • Pam Galicki Pam Galicki on Oct 24, 2022

    whenever I see pots on a wooden table/board, my mind flies ahead to wet, rotted wood. how long have you had this, and is it holding up?


Comments
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2 of 87 comments
  • Ella Ella on Oct 23, 2022

    Flash back to the 60's, we used to use the same concept as coffee tables and book shelves back in the day.

  • Khawkey Khawkey on Oct 26, 2022

    With more cinderblocks and shelving you can make a staggered look too. Plastic boards will solve any rotting problems by the way. YOu can can them at Lowe's/Home Depot in white etc. YOu could also put trailing plants in the holes to hide that :-)....creeping Jenny or wandering jew etc.

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