How to make a planter from an old wood chair

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I saw an old wood chair at my local Habitat for Humanity ReStore and I thought: DIY planter!

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I love an excuse to plant flowers, and I love to create planters out of discarded furniture or scraps of wood leftover from another project.

So when I saw a charming old wood chair, I thought of how I could transform it into a planter.

How to make a planter from a wood chair

The first step in making this planter is selecting the right chair. While it’s helpful that the wood material is in excellent shape, it’s not important if the chair is wobbly, missing a leg, or has a chipped finish. The goal is to find a wood chair that is an excellent source of material, not to find an excellent chair.

Dismantle the chair.

After assessing the chair, I dismantled the wood chair using one of my favorite DIY tools, Rockwell BladeRunner. Methodically and carefully, I cut the legs and chair back from the seat. All of the pieces will be used to reconstruct a new form.

Sand, prime, and paint.

After all of the pieces were cut and laid out, it’s time to rejuvenate the material. I sanded, primed and painted the pieces a beautiful greenish-blue color from Krylon.

Assemble the planter.

Once all of the pieces were dry, I glued and screwed the planter together with Gorilla Glue and Spax screws. Then, I added some Gorilla Glue tape to the inside of the planter for waterproofing it, and made a few hole in the bottom for drainage.

Plant the plants.

When the planter’s interior was ready, I added soil and planted flowers from my local garden center. After the flowers were done, I planted seeds from Burpee and now I get to enjoy this pretty site every day!

Click here to read more about this DIY planter by Theresa on Habitat.org.

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5_2016_MyFixitUpLife_Habitat_ReStore_Chair_Planter__Gorilla Glue_Spax

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6_2016_MyFixitUpLife_Habitat_ReStore_Chair_Planter__Krylon

8_2016_MyFixitUpLife_Habitat_ReStore_Chair_Planter_Theresa with chair_

14_2016_MyFixitUpLife_Habitat_ReStore_Chair_Planter_Theresa measuring

13_2016_MyFixitUpLife_Habitat_ReStore_Chair_Planter_Cutting chair_Oscilating tool

11_2016_MyFixitUpLife_Habitat_ReStore_Chair_Planter_Theresa cutting chair with Oscilating tool

23_2016_MyFixitUpLife_Habitat_ReStore_Chair_Planter_Gorilla glue

20__2016_MyFixitUpLife_Habitat_ReStore_Chair_Planter_Rockwell_cutting paint stir

19_2016_MyFixitUpLife_Habitat_ReStore_Chair_Planter_Measuring for planter

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25_2016_MyFixitUpLife_Habitat_ReStore_Chair_Planter_Krylon_Theresa Priming

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34_2016_MyFixitUpLife_Habitat_ReStore_Chair_Planter_Gorilla Glue

30_2016_MyFixitUpLife_Habitat_ReStore_Chair_Planter_stir walls

35_2016_MyFixitUpLife_Habitat_ReStore_Chair_Planter_Putting together the planter

36_2016_MyFixitUpLife_Habitat_ReStore_Chair_Planter_Fastening the walls

39__2016_MyFixitUpLife_Habitat_ReStore_Chair_Planter_Burpee Seeds

38_2016_MyFixitUpLife_Habitat_ReStore_Chair_Planter_Fiskars_Planting seeds

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About the Author

Theresa is a handy designer and writer. She shares DIY projects, tool how-to, and home makeovers as a book author, home show speaker, DIY workshop coach, and radio host. Plus, she has a degree in journalism with a minor in architecture, and is a Certified Aging-in-Place Specialist (CAPs) and certified color consultant. She’s created fast-paced makeovers for TV shows, and shares home trends and DIY tips as a freelance writer and guest on news shows and satellite media tours for TV and radio.

Comments (2)

How to make a tiki torch? Grab a pair of old skis and read this.

June 15, 2016 at 7:00 am

[…] After the skis and the wood is dry, I glued everything together with construction adhesive. Just like Krylon, it sets up quickly and is a huge DIY time saver. […]

Freshen up your garden with easy pops of color

May 4, 2016 at 3:01 pm

[…] You should definitely share this with your friends. Tagged garden, Hoss magazine, hosscolor. Bookmark the permalink. « Make a DIY planter from an old wood chair this spring […]