Turn Two Old Terracotta Pots Into A Stylish Side Table With Built-In Storage

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Terracotta pots are wonderful garden resources, and they are also fantastic materials for a variety of nifty DIY furniture projects. If you're in the market for a side table with storage but aren't interested in dumping a bunch of cash on a new piece, there's a sustainable upgrade solution that utilizes old terracotta pots to do just that. Taking only a couple of hours to complete, the result is a fully-functional piece of furniture that looks high-end.

Inspiration for this project comes from Instagram creator incredible_prodigy. In her short video, she takes two large, rounded terracotta planters, as well as a circular wooden tray, some strong adhesive, paint, and wood stain, and turns the various components into a gorgeous side table. To begin, the creator takes her two terracotta pots and applies a strong adhesive, like UniBond No More Nails ($19.01 on Amazon), to the top rim of one. She then stacks the other pot — bottom side down — directly on top of it. She follows this up with a thorough coat of black Annie Sloan Chalk Paint and a protective topcoat of the brand's Chalk Paint Wax.

To protect floors from scratching, she adds a few felt pads to the bottom of the pot, then she moves on to the lid for the table. Taking a round wooden platter, she sands it down and applies her desired wood stain to the wood, as well as a topcoat to protect it. The final clip shows how the side table can be filled with a small pile of books, then covered with the wooden lid to hold a houseplant.

This DIY project is perfect for anyone who loves creating homemade items. It bears mentioning, however, that large terracotta planters like this creator's pots can cost a pretty penny. One cost-effective approach would be to keep an eye on seasonal sales from nurseries. And if you happen to have some broken terracotta pots, don't let them go to waste: use them for a DIY walkway. As far as the wooden tray goes, checking out Goodwill or other secondhand shops might be fruitful.

The finished product as showcased in the Instagram video has a distinctly sleek and modern appeal, but if it's too dark for your liking, you can play around with the color. Painting the pots white instead of matte black, for example, will deliver a brighter and potentially more versatile end product. Similarly, you could skip the dark stain and just use a clear polyurethane coat on the wooden tray, which would complement the white-painted pots nicely.

Once the project is finished, the side table can go inside your home's living room or even a bedroom, where it can instantly be put to work. It also would make a lovely addition to a patio or outdoor living space. If you're having fun with terracotta pots, you can also learn how to transform some into rustic patio decor with a quick and easy DIY.