Thrifting Hack / Make Your Own Decorative Plants

Hello sweet friends! Today I’m sharing a quick post on one of my favorite thrifting hacks.

When you love plants as much as I do, you have likely encountered the hefty price tags that come with planters and saucers used to display your pretty greens.

Let’s face it, everything is expensive these days, but there’s no reason why we have to break the bank to enliven our home with plants.

Re-Think and Re-Purpose

When I visit a second-hand store, I take my time and try to picture unconventional possibilities in random items. Re-thinking the way you can utilize something can turn a throwaway piece into a salvaged treasure.

During my last trip I went on a hunt for pieces with potential to serve as decorative pots and saucers. I could have bought cheap plastic saucers for my newly acquired house plants, but I wanted something with more of a design impact.

If you haven’t yet watched the show For The Love Of Kitchens, you must! The artistic talent and the decor is absolutely mesmerizing. One of the many things I fell in love with from this show is how they use large bowls as saucers for their plants. Having a planter sit in a wide bowl with a contrasting color or sheen takes the plant presentation to a new level.

I have traditionally placed my pots on tiny saucers. But after seeing how thinking differently about your bases can transform a house plant into a showpiece, I will never going back to using puny saucers!

At my local thrift store I found these bowls which I thought would look lovely as planter saucers. I liked the subtle hammered metal look and the shallow, yet wide aesthetic. One was gold and the other was more gray.

At $5 and $6 a piece I felt these were affordable finds that could add a touch of elegance if used with the right planter.

I also found a couple pieces that I could use as pots. This kitchen utensil holder could easily be repurposed. I could turn it around to hide the letters from sight or show them off for a fun touch depending on the mood of the room. But what I really liked was the marble-like stone finish and the shape. I thought this would work very nicely as a decorative planter.

Don’t be quick to overlook items that look tired or rough. Sometimes all they need is a good cleaning. Once I scrubbed out the layers of gunk that had dried on the surface of this ceramic bowl, it became a lovely pot with vintage charm.

Making Drainage Holes

For a healthy house plant you will want to make sure that you have drainage holes in your pots so that the plant does not sit in water.

To give my kitchen utensil holder some drainage holes, I used special drill bits made for glass or tile. You want to make sure you are using the right drill bit so you don’t crack your vessel.

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Once you have your bit on your drill, slowly drill into the ceramic (or glass). As the bit cuts through the material, ceramic dust will pile up around the hole. Keep going until you make it through all the way. Then put your drill in reverse and slowly pull your bit out.

Repeat the process to create a few small drainage holes.

Plants Feed The Soul

Now it’s time to get our plants into their vessels. I like to make good use of a single plant by separating any root offshoots to make more plants. To do this I remove the plant from the plastic container to expose the root system.

Then I slowly wiggle the roots back and forth, careful not to break the plant stem off from the root, and separate the plant where there are offshoots.

I add some good soil to my planter and drop a couple offshoots in the new vessel. I think a snake plant will look good in the utensil holder. The tall foliage in the cylinder-like vessel will stand out nicely and the dark and light green veins in the leaves will tie into the veins of the ceramic.

Snake plants have a striking, unique look. They are also one of the healthiest plants to have in the home. Snake plants remove air pollutants in the home and are a great oxygen-producing plant.

When you are working with your hands, touching the plants and soil, you are earthing or grounding which is a way for the body to feel better and even reduce inflammation.

It is amazing how even planting a few plants can reduce my joint pain and overall improve my mood.

I hope you enjoyed this post and I’ll leave you know with some views of our new house plants! I am loving all the green in my decor. To learn more about picking the right plants for the right space, check out my Decorating With Plants post.