I’m excited to share today’s DIY West Elm plant stand project with you because it is so easy and inexpensive! As we work to decorate our newly tiled patio, I have had my eye on the cute ceramic planters on wood stands that have been trending lately. If you’ve been wanting one too, you’ve probably noticed that they are quite expensive. For example, West Elm’s Tall Ilya Turned Wood Planter (15″ Dia., 20.5″ H) retails for $160, and World Market’s Ceramic Sevilla Large Outdoor Planter (17.7″ Dia., 25.25″ H) retails for $99.99. Yikes! The good news is that anyone can make one of these for less than 30 minutes and under $10!

For this project, we first picked out a planter that we liked. We were planning to use it to plant a small tree, so we decided on the Trendspot 16-inch Matte White Cylinder Ceramic Planter from Home Depot. There are so many cute pots to choose from at different price points! Some budget-friendly possibilities include the Novelty 14-inch Full Depth Round Cylinder Pot from Amazon or the 12.5-inch MUSKOT Plant Pot from IKEA.

Tip #1: The planter is where the majority of the expense will come in for this project, so choose the material, size, and design of pot that you like best and that fits your budget.

Next, we purchased 6 pressure-treated 2x2s for $0.87 cents each at Home Depot. We decided that we wanted the planter to be about a foot off of the ground, so we cut 4 of the boards at 22 inches long to be the legs of the stand. 

We then cut the other 2 boards at 16.25 inches; these are the cross timbers and they were cut to fit a 16-inch diameter pot. 

Then, we cut slots 2 inches across and 3/4 of an inch deep in these cross timbers and used a wood chisel to chisel out the center so we could fit them together into a cross shape.

Then, we drilled a very small pilot hole in the center and screwed in a 1.25 inch deck screw to hold the two pieces together.

Tip #2: Deck screws are not required; feel free to use any screws you have on hand.

The next step was to drill the 4 legs into each side of the cross timbers, with the top being 10 inches off of the ground (our personal preference for the stand). Again, we drilled a small pilot hole in each side and then used 2.5 inch deck screws and put some wood glue between the pieces to make sure they were sturdy.

Finally, we lightly sanded the stand and then painted on a coat of Thompson’s WaterSeal Timber Oil in Teak to give it the color we wanted and protect the wood from water and UV damage. We already had the wood chisel, drill, screws, wood glue, and timber oil from previous projects, so we were able to avoid these potential added expenses.

Tip #3: You can use any stain or sealer that you prefer for this project. An 8-ounce sample can of Behr Exterior Wood Stain and Sealer costs under $5.

Here’s how our DIY West Elm plant stand turned out:

It’s the perfect addition to our newly updated patio and creates a nice focal point for this beautiful crape myrtle, but the best part is that it was a fraction of the cost of similar planters.

We’d love to hear what you think! Post a comment and share with others that you think might want some inspiration for showing off their indoor or outdoor plants.