Okay, so my plants were looking a bit rough. Especially the ones stuck in that darker corner of the living room. Not enough sunlight, plain and simple. I knew I had to sort something out if I wanted them to perk up.
Getting Started
First thing, I started looking around for ideas. Saw these plant stands online, some looked decent. Then thought about lights. Grow lights specifically. Seemed like the way to go. Didn’t want anything too complicated, just something functional.
I ended up ordering a basic metal plant stand, you know, the tiered kind. Nothing fancy. Found some simple LED grow light strips too. The kind you can stick underneath shelves. Seemed easy enough.
Putting it Together
The stand arrived first. Flat pack, of course. Laid all the pieces out on the floor. The instructions were mostly pictures, pretty straightforward. Bolted the frame together. Attached the shelves. Took maybe half an hour. One leg seemed a tiny bit wobbly, but I tightened the screw again and it felt solid enough.
Then the lights came. They were these thin strips. Checked they worked by plugging them in quick – yep, bright light. Good.
Adding the Lights
This was the slightly fiddly bit. The light strips had sticky backs. I measured where I wanted them under each shelf, aiming for the center. Peeled off the backing and pressed them firmly in place. Had to hold one end for a bit longer, it didn’t want to stick right away. Classic sticky tape problems.
- Cleaned under the shelves first. Figured dust wouldn’t help them stick.
- Pressed hard along the whole strip.
- Used a few small zip ties I had lying around to secure the wires neatly along the stand’s legs. Didn’t want cables dangling everywhere.
Plugged everything into a power strip. I got one with a timer, so I didn’t have to remember to turn them on and off. Set it for about 10 hours a day to start.
The Result
Moved the sad plants onto the stand. Arranged them so they all got some light from the strips above. Stepped back. Yeah, looked much better. The corner wasn’t so gloomy anymore, and the plants were bathed in that purplish-white glow.
Did it work? Well, it’s only been a little while, but they definitely look happier. Some new leaves showing up already on a couple of them. It wasn’t a huge project, just took an afternoon really. Found a spot for it, put it together, stuck on the lights. Done. Pretty happy with how it turned out. Simple fix for a simple problem.
