How to build a wooden plant stand

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Elevate a plant to create more of a statement piece in your home, with this simple and gorgeous do it yourself plant stand. Here’s how to make your own:

Tools and materials

120-grit sandpaper

Cloth

Drill

Drill bits

Eye protection

Gloves

Hand saw

Interior wood glue

Measuring square

Measuring tape

Paint and varnish

Painting equipment

Pencil

Sanding block

Tape

Timber dowel (32mm x 6mm)

Timber lengths (30mm x 30mm)

Timber Top (285mm x 285mm x 20mm)

Wood screws

1. Choose and cut your timber

Bunnings have a huge range of timber in a variety of different grains. Pick out the pieces that match your decor and cut to size – in our case, we cut four pieces to 22cm, four pieces to 28.5cm, and we cut the legs to 50cm to form the height of our stand. Once everything’s cut (you can use a handsaw to do this), give the ends a sand with sandpaper and a block, and varnish.

2. Choose the top of your plant stand

For the top of our plant stand we chose a piece of timber cut to 28.5cm x 28.5.cm. You can experiment with a variety of tops, but timber looks particularly good painted the colour of your choice.

3. Mark out your joins

Once you’ve got all your timber lengths cut to size, you’ll need to mark where everything joins. We are affixing the top and bottom frames with wood glue and timber dowel for a beautiful, seamless finish. Use a square to find the centre of the ends of your short pieces of timber – we’ll be drilling a hole here. Then mark the sides of your longer pieces – this is where your dowel will connect the two edges.

4. Drill a hole for your dowel

Use a drill bit the same size as your dowel. You only want to drill half way the length of your dowel, so line your dowel up against your bit and mark the halfway point with a piece of masking tape – this is the point you’ll be drilling to. Use a clamp to secure your wood to a table, then drill your hole – wear safety glasses for this bit.

6. Assemble plant stand frame

Grab all your sides and connect together using the above method, making sure your corners are lined up. Once this is done, this will be your plant stand base. Wipe away any excess glue with a microfibre cloth – the glue should set within 30 minutes.

7. Screw legs to the base

Using clamps, secure your base and legs to the table before you screw them together (choose a slightly smaller diameter bit than the screw you’ll be using). Because we are using dowel, make sure you drill slightly off-centre to avoid it. After you’ve made your pilot hole, you’re ready to drill your screw. Repeat the same process for the other three legs.

8. Add your top piece

Once you’ve secured all your leg pieces, you’re ready to add your top plate. We painted our top piece a grey colour to match our décor, but you can choose any colour you like, or choose to stain or varnish it instead. Once it’s dry, place your top plate face down on an even surface and line up your base. Drill four pilot holes from the base into the top plate, then screw together. Handy hint: so you don’t drill your hole too deep, mark it up with a piece of masking tape, as you did earlier.

9. Admire your handiwork

Pop your favourite indoor plant on your stand, and you’re done! And doesn’t it look fantastic? Your plants are now the heroes of your room. Trust us – they’ll thank you for their elevated status.

Watch more from the home office episode

For more handy projects, check out Home Office makeover by Kiera Rumble from Make It Yours season one.