This yellow door is inspiring all kinds of projects for me. First among them…planters. I knew I needed to get some yellow flowers in front of the house to go with the fun yellow front door, but when I bought these Mums from Costco for $14 each, I wasn’t happy with the wimpy round containers that they came in.
Enter Ana’s $20 planters. Except I built them for free. Well, almost free. I had the screws on hand but I had to buy a new bottle of wood glue. The glue cost about $6, but since I only used about an eighth of the bottle, I don’t think it really counts as a cost. The wood itself was free — I took it from a pile of old fence wood at a friend’s house. One of my favorite things about my friends is that they are all good DIYers. This friend, in particular, loves to re-purpose old wood and he builds stunningly beautiful furniture from it. Thankfully, he was generous enough to let me pick from his pile of wood so these planters were nearly FREE to me! What could be better? Rustic planters, no money. I know I’m a dork, but this is my idea of fun.
I modified Ana’s plans to fit my mums, so the panels are 17″ wide, making the planters about 21″ square and 20″ tall. Because the wood is old and wonky, I also added a trim piece to the tops of the planters to help them look a bit more finished.
For the 2×2 legs, I used some 2x4s from the bargain bin at Home Depot. I’d had them around a while, waiting for a project like this. They were new cedar — bright golden yellow like new cedar is. I ripped them down to 2″ wide on my table saw and then oxidized them with this solution which has been sitting in a jar in my garage since May, but works just as well as ever. I just keep adding more vinegar to it. I love how the new legs match the old weathered wood perfectly.
With these new pops of yellow, I think the shocking yellow door fits in a bit better. Clearly, I still need some yellow among my perennials, but that will have to wait until spring. For now, these Mum-filled containers will do the trick.
“This yellow door is inspiring all kinds of projects for me.”- Who would not get inspired with this good looking door? Yellow is a very bright and cheerful color, and it definitely adds to the appeal to every space. And it’s a good thing you add a touch of nature on it. Anyway, it’s almost a year now, did you keep this color or have you changed it already? #Danielle @ VinylumeInc.com
Love these planters! I am finishing mine this weekend using the oxidizing solution I learned about on this site, however, did you finish the planters with anything? I’m not sure what to as they will be outside. Thanks!
Hi, Kevyn. Nope, no finish. The wood was outside for the past 15+ years without anything on it. I’m sure it will be fine for many more. I don’t plant directly on the inside — I put a container inside. If you’re planting inside you might want to line it with plastic to prevent rot.
Thanks for your reply! I do have one more question though. I have mixed my oxidizing solution Thursday night, and looking at it in the jar, it looks the exact same as it did when I first poured the vinegar in. It isn’t dissolving as I thought it would. Could it be that I have added too much steel wool? There weren’t any exact measurememnts, so I just put in one pod that came in the plastic bag. I was wondering how many days it taked you to get the exact consistancy. Thanks again! Love this site!
Hi, Kevin. A day or two is all it takes for the solution to be effective, but it won’t look like mine (with the steel wool dissolved) until it’s been sitting around for a while. It will work just as well, though!