DIY Vertical Wall Planter
I recently built a simple DIY vertical wall planter for our kitchen. I’m obsessed with how it turned out! It’s such a simple project and is a great way to bring a little more green into your home. Learn how to make this easy plant wall shelf today!
Y’all – I’m so excited to share this DIY vertical wall planter with you. Why? Because I did it all by myself. It involves power tools and drilling and creating pocket holes. And, I didn’t even ask for help once. In fact, I started on it after Corey left for work one morning and by the time he got home it was finished and hung on the wall.
I’m practically a pro now.
How to Make an Easy DIY Vertical Wall Planter
Materials Needed:
- (4) 1X6 boards, cut to whatever length you’d like, plus 1 extra for shelves
- Kreg Jig Pocket Hole System
- Pocket hole screws
- Drill + driver
- Ratchet bar clamps
- Wood glue
- Leather strips (I used 4 cut to about 22 inches and 3 cut to about 12 inches)
- Screws (I used brass)
- French cleat
- Stain + sealer
- Small and medium-sized terracotta pots
- Plants
STEP ONE: Attach Boards Together
The first step is to attach your 1X6 boards together. This will create the backing for the vertical wall planter. I used pocket holes to do this! Don’t know how? I have a full tutorial on how to use a pocket hole jig right here.
I used a large ratchet bar clamp to hold the boards together while I was working. You may also notice that I neglected to use wood glue, which is kind of a no-no. Ideally, I would have spread some wood glue on the sides of each board prior to attaching them together. But I didn’t.
Again, beginner. Hot mess. Whatever you want to call it.
STEP TWO: Stain Your Vertical Planter
Once all four boards are attached, you’re ready to stain. Don’t forget to stain both the backing for the vertical wall planter and also the wood for the shelves.
Obviously, you could paint it, leave it bare, or whatever. I wanted to bring some wood tones into my kitchen, so I went with a stain.
STEP THREE: Attach Leather Straps & Shelves
Now comes the fun part.
I created some leather straps for both the shelves and the planters to give it a more unique look. My original thought was to use two-hole straps from the plumbing section of the hardware store for the planters. But, once I got there I realized they don’t sell any big enough to actually hold a planter. I did some quick brainstorming in the middle of Lowe’s (as one does) and came up with the plan to use leather instead.
Sometimes the very best ideas come to you because something goes wrong.
To make the leather straps, I used basically the exact same process I used for our DIY leather drawer pulls. Only, I didn’t dye the leather this time. I won’t go through it again here, but just know that if you have a couple of old leather belts lying around they will accomplish the exact same purpose with a lot less work.
I really just did a lot of trial and error with the length of the straps. For the shelf supports, I grabbed my shelf board and created a little mock-up to see how long I wanted the straps to be. You could easily create yours longer or shorter than mine, it would just affect how high up the supports go on the backing. For the planter straps, I just estimated a length and then tested it and adjusted on the board as I was attaching it to make sure it would fit the planter.
Basically, what I’m saying is it’s a little like cooking. Do a little of this and a little of that and keep adjusting until you find something that tastes good. I mean, looks good. Don’t eat the leather – no matter how good it smells.
To attach the leather, just pre-drill a hole that’s approximately the same size as your screw, then screw it into the backing for the vertical wall planter.
Again, there’s no science to how you lay it all out on the wood. I did a little measuring and playing around with where the shelves would land (for instance, I made sure the top shelf was centered, and I made sure everything else was at least level with each other) but I didn’t spend too much time on it.
STEP FOUR: Attach French Cleat & Hang
Once I was all done, I hung the other side of the french cleat on the wall in my kitchen and popped it into place.
Here’s what it looked like before I added anything to it:
And then? Fill ‘er up.
Keep your fingers crossed for me that I’m able to keep them all alive. According to their little cards, all of these plants need to stay pretty well-hydrated, which is not my forté. We’ll see what happens.
Oh, and I went back after I took these photos and added in some of the little plates under the plants on the shelves to catch any excess water. I’m hoping that if water drains from the other planters it’ll just drop into the plant below it.
I’m kind of winging it here. As usual.
I mean, if I’m gonna have to stop doing DIY projects for my kitchen, this is probably a good way to finish it out with a bang, right?!
Wow, it looks amazing! I love it. Thank you for sharing.
Hi there! Loving the wall planter, but I gotta know – where did you get that dandelion-esque chandelier?? I love it!!
Hi Kelly! Thanks – we love it too! It’s from IKEA. It’s the MASKROS (here’s an Amazon Affiliate link with more info about it).
Thank you!!
You go girl 😀 That looks amazing Amanda. The leather straps and the wood work so well together. You done good
Thank you, Michelle!
This is just gorgeous! I hope you’ll come by and link this up at Talk of the Town at Knick of Time – I’d love to feature it!
Angie at http://www.knickoftime.net
Thank you, Angie!
This is lovely, I really love adding the leather! Found you at the inspiration link up x
Thanks, Sophie!
I love what a statement this makes on your kitchen wall, and I think the leather straps are a great detail – the extra texture is awesome!
What a fun way to display plants…and I LOVE the warmth and texture it brings!!