Crate Planter Tutorial

When I went to SNAP blog conference this year I got to preview the new colored stains from Minwax. They are bright and fun and I snagged some to bring home. I had to wait until they were available in stores though before I could share and projects I used them on. If you love color even a teeny tiny bit, you are going to love them!

I had built a crate planter and I wanted it to make a statement, not just blend in. I don’t have all the colors that are available but these are the ones I grabbed and had to choose from.

After testing them on some scrap wood, I chose the Navy Blue but I was really torn between the blue, coral, and yellow.

Planter Tutorial

The planter is very simple to build. Decide how big you would like to make it and cut some 1x4s to that length. Drill some pocket holes using a Kreg Jig. Half of the boards will have pocket holes that will connect the corners together and half will have holes drilled down to connect the boards together. This will make more sense as you see the following steps.

Screw the boards together at the corners to create a square.

Repeat the process until you have as many square frames as you want. The more you have, the taller your crate will be.

Then you will screw each of the square frames together through the downward pointing pocket holes.

Creating the bottom of the planter can happen one of two ways. One option: You can trace the outside of the crate onto some plywood and use the pocket holes to attach the bottom to the crate. The downside is you will see the board used for the bottom. Second Option: You can trace the crate on the inside (so the bottom piece will fit snugly on the inside of the crate) and use a nail gun to attach the bottom. You will need to fill the nail holes with sandable, stainable putty.

If you are going to add dirt to this and put the plant directly in this, you will need to add a drainage hole. But I prefer to keep the plant in a regular pot and set the plant inside the crate without a drainage hole. This way when I water the plant, if any water seeps out the bottom, it stays in the crate and doesn’t go on my floor.

I love that I can have a fun, saturated color but still see the wood grain. If bold and bright are not your style, they have a ton of other colors to pick from. The colored stains are water based and are mixed in the store for you.