So, the other day, I was looking at my sunroom, and honestly, it was getting a bit out of hand. Plants everywhere! Which, don’t get me wrong, I love my plants, but it was starting to look less like a cozy green space and more like a badly organized nursery. My better half was starting to give me that look, you know the one. Something had to be done.
I remembered I had a stack of old terracotta pots tucked away in the shed, just gathering dust and probably spiders. Been meaning to do something with them for ages. So, I figured, why not try and build some kind of stand? Keep it simple, use what I’ve got. I’m not exactly a master craftsman, more of a ‘give it a go and see what happens’ type.
Gathering My Bits and Bobs
Didn’t need a whole lot, which was nice. Here’s what I rummaged up:
- A few terracotta pots of different sizes – I think I used three, one big one for the base, a medium, and a smaller one for the top.
- A couple of terracotta saucers, the ones that go under pots.
- One of those long threaded metal rods. Had one leftover from another forgotten project.
- Some nuts and washers that fit the rod. Always good to have a stash of these.
- Maybe some strong glue, just in case. I ended up using some heavy-duty outdoor construction adhesive I had lying around.
Finding a rod that was long enough but not too long was a bit of a faff, had to dig through my “useful bits” box for a while. You know how it is, you keep things ‘just in case’ and then forget you have them.
Getting My Hands Dirty – The Actual Making
Alright, so the first thing was cleaning the pots. They were pretty grubby from sitting in the shed. Gave them a good scrub with soap and water and let them dry out in the sun. Didn’t want any mossy bits making things wobbly.
Then, the main event. I took the biggest pot, flipped it upside down. This was going to be the base. Drilled a hole through the bottom, big enough for the threaded rod. Did the same for the other pots and the saucers I planned to use as spacers or platforms. Word of advice: go slow when drilling terracotta, it can crack if you’re too rough. I learned that the hard way on a previous pot, sadly.
Next, I pushed the threaded rod up through the base pot. Put a washer and a nut on the end inside the pot to hold it firm. Then, I threaded on a saucer (right side up), then the next pot (upside down as well, to create a tier), another saucer, and then the smallest pot on top (this one right side up for planting). I used nuts and washers underneath each saucer and pot base to lock them in place and adjust the height between tiers. This was the fiddly bit, getting everything level and tight. Took a bit of adjusting, unscrewing, re-screwing. My patience was tested, I’ll admit.
For extra stability, especially where the saucers met the upside-down pots, I put a good dollop of that construction adhesive. Didn’t want anything toppling over if the cat decided to investigate, you know? Let that set properly for a good 24 hours before I even thought about moving it.
The Big Reveal – How It Turned Out
And you know what? It actually looked pretty good! For something cobbled together from old pots and a bit of hardware, I was quite chuffed. It’s got that rustic, earthy look which I quite like. Not too polished, just honest.
I put it in the corner of the sunroom, and it’s perfect for holding a few smaller plants, like some trailing ivy and a little succulent. It definitely helped tidy up the plant explosion and made that corner look a bit more intentional. Plus, it feels good to have used up those old pots instead of them just sitting there.
Final Thoughts, You Know
Overall, it was a pretty straightforward project. Took an afternoon, mostly, not counting the glue drying time. It’s not going to win any design awards, but it does the job and it was satisfying to make something useful with my own hands. If you’ve got some old pots lying around, I’d say give it a whirl. Just take your time with the drilling and be prepared for a bit of fiddling to get it all straight. Definitely cheaper than buying a fancy stand, that’s for sure!
