Don't Toss Old Terracotta Pots: Turn Them Into Modern Planters With An Affordable DIY

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In the age of same-day delivery, it's easy to get swept up in ordering products to decorate your home. A cheaper, more thoughtful approach, however, is to give everyday items a new life with DIY projects. If you are someone who appreciates making the most of what you have, you'll be encouraged to learn that plain terracotta pots are the perfect blank canvas for a modern planter, plus a few other crafting items.

Inspiration for this DIY comes from YouTuber LadyRedCrafting. In a short video, she shows how to take a small terracotta pot and give it a unique textured collar and an overall modern look. Begin by gathering your supplies: a small terracotta pot, some terracotta-appropriate glue (the creator uses Titebond), two small paintbrushes, Crafter's Square Jewel Border Stickers (available from Dollar Tree), and a jar of white chalk acrylic paint.

The first step is to apply some adhesive around the collar of the pot and smooth it with a small paintbrush. The creator then places a jewel border sticker over the still-wet glue, covering the circumference of the collar. Once the glue dries, she goes back in with a fresh paintbrush and chalk paint, coating the whole exterior of the terracotta pot, including the sticker border, until it looks uniform. For a final layer of protection, she uses Rust-Oleum Matte Clear Enamel to keep it looking its best for longer. Now, you know how to turn boring terracotta pots into magical, one-of-a-kind garden decor.

For creative individuals on the hunt for an accessible yet gratifying project, this DIY is ideal. There are also a number of ways to make it feel more personal to you, like switching up your approach to its individual elements. While the creator of the video used a small terracotta pot for her project, you could easily use larger ones; this will require you to scale up your other supplies, but it should be a straightforward process. 

Instead of simply putting the jewel border stickers around the top collar of the pot, another ring of them could be adhered halfway down the pot's body or at the bottom, for a more heavily textured look. You can also use any acrylic paint that you like for the final coat of the pot. While the featured white one gives the pot a crisp and modern appearance, choosing a more colorful hue can create something more playful. For a chic and modern option, a matte black paint would be intriguing, too.

As far as where you can use this updated terracotta pot, there are nearly limitless options. You can place it in your kitchen to hold a small potted herb or in the bathroom for humidity-loving houseplants. Similarly, it could store any variety of artificial plants around the home. If you opt for one of the smaller terracotta pots, it can serve as a pencil holder on your office desk or countertop storage in your bathroom — the mini terracotta pots done up with this DIY could alternately become unique tealight holders on your table. Finally, you can transform larger terracotta pots into rustic patio decor to generate some curb appeal and give your larger plants a comfortable home.