Make a mid-century modern wooden plant stand, for real

It's no secret that I might have a small (ok maybe massive!) obsession with plants. They breathe life into indoor spaces and add a natural element to your decor. WIth my plant collection growing, finding homes for them has become a challenge. There are definitely companies that make gorgeous plant stands, but I thought why not try to make one yourself! A custom option at a fraction of the cost is always an idea worth exploring.

This DIY is pretty straight forward but I'd say it's about a "medium" in the challenge department. It does require some power tools and some handy work but I think you can do it if I can!

Here's how:

* You can rent miter saws from larger hardware stores. The rental fee is about  $28-$40 depending on the rental period. A 10-inch miter saw is perfect for this project. Make sure to get a run down of the machine and how to operate it if you are a first time user — I definitely was, but it is not as scary as it looks. I recommend wearing safety glasses and you can also wear ear protection if you are sensitive to loud noises. Safety, safety, safety!

** The size of your plant stand will depend on the size of your pot. These are the measurements I used for to make a stand for my 9-inch plant pot.

Here's what you'll need:

• For the legs: 4 3/4-inch x 1 1/2-inch wood planks (I used Red Oak and cut my pieces 12 inches in length)**
• For the crossbar:  2 3/4-inch x 1 1/2-inch wood planks (I used Red Oak and cut my pieces to 10 inches in length)**
• 4 1/4-inch hardwood dowels
• A drill with a 1/4 bit
• A compound mitre saw*
• 4 nails
• Hammer
• Gorilla wood glue
• Minwax Wood Finish (I Used Jacobean 2750)
• Gloves to protect hands from stain
• Old rag
• Sandpaper (I used 120 Grit)
• Minwax Polyurethane
• 1  9-inch planter pot**

Here's how to do it:

1. It's best to start by measuring the diameter of the planter pot that you would like to use for your stand. My pot measured 9 inches in diameter so I decided to make my crossbar 10 inches in length so my pot would fit perfectly. This will be the piece your pot sits on.**

2. Cut two pieces of wood 10 inches in length with your mitre saw. Measure twice, cut once! Don't forget to accommodate the width of your blade. Our blade will cut a 1/8 inch slot into the wood. Which means every time I make a cut, I lose this much wood from my piece. So add 1/8 inch to your measurements if needed.

3. Now let's make our crossbar using the pieces we just cut. Mark off the centre point on the length (3/4 inch side) on each piece of wood. Next, measure 3/8 of an inch on each side of your centre mark. We will be cutting this area out of both pieces (3/4 of an inch down).

4. I used the mitre saw by continually sawing down until my area was cut out. Since the blade won't make a flat plane, flip your piece of wood around and repeat on the other side. Repeat on other piece of wood. Now our two pieces will fit together creating our crossbar.

5. Now it's time to measure out where you want your crossbar to sit on the legs of the stand. I wanted my crossbar to sit 7 inches beneath the top of my stand legs. I thought this measurement looked great with the height of my pot. Measure down 7 inches on the 3/4 inch length side of your stand legs and mark. Now mark 1 1/2 inch from your previous mark.  Find the centre point of this area and mark an x. Repeat on all 4 legs. We will be drilling holes for our dowels on this X mark.

6. Find the centre point on our crossbar ends and mark with an X. We will be drilling holes for our dowels here.

7. Drill holes on all X marks. Since our dowels are 1/4 inch we want our holes to be 1/4 inch. I started drilling with a smaller bit and worked my way up to 1/4 inch.

8. Secure our crossbar pieces together bar adding glue and pushing together.

9. Now put a little wood glue in each hole of our stand legs and push in dowel firmly. Add a little glue to each of our holes in our crossbar and begin securing legs to our crossbar. I reinforced the integrity by adding a nail on the bottom side of crossbar end into the leg on a 45 degree angle.This will keep the legs from shifting. You could also do two dowels on each leg instead of one. For extra snug joints, we can add pressure by using a c-clamp, but our nail should hold this all into place. Wipe off excess glue with wet rag right away. Our wood finish will not take to any area that has glue on it. Bummer right? Let dry overnight.

10. Sand entire stand lightly. I like to round out my edges a little. Wipe off dust lightly with rag.

11. Let's add our wood finish. I like the look of a dark stain. I used Winwax Jacobean. Use gloves and apply with an old rag. Let sit for 5-15 minutes and rub off excess stain. Let dry. We can finish our stand with a coat of Polyurethane. Let dry.

12. Place potted plant into stand and sit back and check out your fancy work! It looks goooooood!!

Lady Hayes is a designer, photographer and mama, known for her beautiful floral inspired projects and lifestyle. Her love of flowers shines through her couture crafted Flower Crowns and Petal Pop, her line of Floral Confetti with sun dried roses and gold confetti glitter.  Hayes' crowns have been seen on celebrities like Lights and Ariana Grande and are available in Canada's top bridal boutiques. Hayes works with CBC as a contributing writer and also hosts a garden show with Canada's top greenhouse Terra, featuring Garden inspired DIY's as she documents her gardens at her studio, a turn of the century church in the country. Hayes' gathers inspiration from flower markets, vintage botanical books, 60's fashion, bohemian nooks in the west coast of California, looking through photo libraries with her husband Matt, and playing dress up with her two lovely little girls, Goldie and Coco. Stay connected! Visit Hayes over on her instagram @ladyhayes or visit her website www.ladyhayes.com to shop and say hi!