DIY Wood Lath Barrel Planter Ikea Hack

13 Materials
$40
3 Hours
Easy

Well that's a mouthful but it's a great project to create taller planters using an Ikea metal stand!

Buy supplies


A bit ago I purchased two of these super cool Ikea plant stands. The neat thing about them is you can flip it top to bottom depending on the plant pots you have, a larger circle for bigger and the indent for smaller.


I didn't get annuals this year so these have been a tripping hazard on the front porch. I figured too, with the railing we have around the porch, taller planters would be better visually from the sidewalk.


Enter leftover wood lath from another (upcoming) project!


If you don't have a stand, have no fear, you can make your own legs for this, get creative! Unfortunately I don't remember the name of the stand and I'm unable to find it on their website.

Collect plywood


I dug up some scrap plywood pieces (man this project is great for using up leftovers!), two pieces, half inch or 3/4" is fine. Here I used both.

Trace the circle


Here I traced the circle onto the plywood making sure I kept the pencil straight up and down, not tipping it inwards as that would've resulted in a too small circle.

Attach plywood together


Just a couple a' screws, hold the two pieces together for cutting.

Cut out circles


Ok sure, using a jigsaw isn't the neatest way to cut The Most Perfect of all circles but it works since they're inside and not seen.

Drill out drain holes


Next up, drill out some drain holes. I did this randomly and with whatever larger bit I grabbed first. I used a Forstner bit but you can also use a paddle bit. Be sure to do this atop a piece of scrap wood so you don't blow the holes out completely on the opposite side.

Seal the plywood


I used an outdoor spar polyurethane, sealed the top and bottom as well as in the holes.

Assemble the spool


Ok, there's a lot going on here!


To hold the planter securely atop the Ikea stand, I raised the bottom piece of plywood 3" up from the top edge of the Ikea stand, that way it sleeves right over.


I then cut 7" pieces of 2x2 to hold the whole barrel part together, screwed those in from the top and bottom.


That tub is just a weight to keep things from moving around on me but absolutely make sure that your surface is level here.


Be sure to visit the blog Flipping the Flip for all sorts of other fun, easy, and cool projects!

Trim the lath


I know, lath is not outdoor wood. But, these will be mostly out of the weather and not waterlogged.


I cut the lath strips to 18", creating a little block that I screwed to my work table so that each grouping I cut would be the same.

Tack on the lath


I used my compressor and an 18 gauge nail gun for this, checking for level constantly otherwise (as I found) the lath will get all angular and will throw the whole thing off.

Cut last piece


Of course I was still off because I'm me and not perfect so I had to custom cut a piece on my band saw for the last spot.


All you've gotta do next is stack the barrel on top of the Ikea stand!

Stain or paint it


I used outdoor solid color stain in gray first then dry brushed on outdoor solid color stain in black.


Looking for more details? Swing by the blog by clicking here!

Build 2!


I built two, ya know, for symmetry.

Have fun!


The cool thing too is you can change out the plants so easily and the whole thing has a modern look.


Super fun project that dressed up our front porch that was cheap, easy, and used up lots of scrap!


Be sure to swing on by the blog for more outdoor projects!

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Becky at Flipping the Flip
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