easy DIY: painted planter
It's been a while since I've really done anything crafty or decor-ish. I've been painting everything and sanding and staining the floor and doing various home improvements (all only half-finished!), but never have any time or energy left over for smaller details. But when my Fiddle Leaf Fig tree called out for a decent pot (yes! it speaks!), I listened. I thought about DIYing a concrete one, but might leave that to the front porch when I work out what plants I want out there. Instead, I looked around for some simple shaped pots and found the perfect white egg-like one at Bunnings. It was only $9 - an unbelievable bargain. And it was unbelievable, because when I got to the counter, they told me it was actually $35 and had been sitting in the wrong section. Bit of a difference I wasn't banking on, so I handed it back and looked again. I found this heavier, grey-painted terracotta planter for $14.
The shape and size was perfect and I knew I could paint it with some white spraypaint that I had handy at home. So I did just that. And realising it had a similar shape and base to other dipped pots I've seen around, I thought a wash of colour would finish it off nicely. So I grabbed a reject sample pot of lilac paint from Bunnings (most paint places have these when they've been mixed wrong or people changed their minds) for $3 and mixed in some grey paint I had to darken it a little. A bit of freehand painting and few hours of drying time later and I had a new planter for $17. Now while I occasionally get the guilts for doing my own version of other people's things, I just cannot justify spending over $100 on the same thing. Sorry. And in my defence, it is not an incredibly unique design - it's simple and highly likely something I'd have done if I just decided to paint a pot plant one day. There's that. And then there's this: I'm a real person on a real family budget. And I like DIY. So if I can do something as frivolous as painting a pot plant myself - and save myself some money to go towards paying my mortgage off earlier, which is our ultimate goal - then I will do so. And I just might happily share that with you too. Because most of us - and most of my readers - are of a similar nature. And sharing is caring, right?!?
The deets:
Northcote Terracotta egg pot 25cm, $13.98, Bunnings
Rust-Oleum Universal White Spraypaint in Satin
Lilac tinted sample pot, $3, Bunnings (it was a rejected sample so much cheaper)
Fiddle Leaf Fig plant (which could probably do with a drink), $23, Bunnings. Yep, I live at Bunnings
Candlesticks, from Ikea a few years back, spraypainted gold (they were black)
Fizz table lamp, $39.95, Freedom
PS: Ignore grubbiness of wall and weird pinkish colour. I haven't painted the living room yet. I haven't painted any rooms really, except for my own bedroom. And that is STILL NOT FINISHED.