Turning an Old Shelf Into an Outdoor Planter

Melanie
by Melanie
6 Materials
$8
2 Hours
Easy

I am fondly known in my family as a junk collector and from time to time they send me pictures of things that are put out on the curb or in the bin at our local dump in my hometown to see if I want them. This little shelf was one of those items. It is tiny so it wasn't something I could actually use for storage, but after spotting some small planters at my Dollar store I had a pretty good idea what I was going to do with my shelf.

So my first step was to wash my shelf to remove the dust and dirt to prep for painting.

Normally I would use a brush to paint things like this, but it was a hot day and I was feeling kind of lazy so I opted for my good ole can of Rustoleum spray paint in one of my favorite colors Satin Green Apple. I laid the shelf down on an old roller blind I use for spray painting and gave it one coat.

Here it is painted. It dried very quickly in the heat!

Here are the two small planters I found at the Dollar store. They have a flat back and are the perfect size for this shelf. I wanted to brighten up the dull black, but you can leave as is.

So my next step was to bring some color to my planters. Using a paper plate and some plastic wrap I poured some antique white paint on to my plate and scrunched up the plastic wrap , gently dipped it into the paint and started to randomly blot it onto my planters.

Here it is after the antique white, I then added two more colors, aquamarine and light green using the same technique.

Here is the planter after the three colors were added!

My next step was to determine where to place my planters. They had pre drilled holes in the back of them. Once determined I attached them using small wood screws.

Last step is to add some flowers. I used petunias in a bright pink and a white filler. Now is a great time to buy flowers as they are all on clearance.

I love how this turned out. It cost me less than $8.00 to do and adds a pop of color to my shed where it hangs.

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  • Dorothy Sittler Dorothy Sittler on Aug 10, 2019

    Lovely and Fresh! I am curious why you did not take the top one up to the upper part of that shelf. This would allow you to use the doors there for accessible storage as well.

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  • Sandys SYCmail Sandys SYCmail on Sep 06, 2019

    I love your project!! It really does demonstrate how one person's trash can become another's treasure!! I was really impressed by how your painting technique turned out on the planters!! I enjoy seeing people use what they have, without buying special tools to work with. Thanks for sharing!

  • Jana Vaughan Jana Vaughan on Jan 04, 2020

    How creative!!!! I love it!!!!

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