I’ve wanted a hanging plant in my kitchen window ever since we moved in nearly two years ago, but somehow never got around to finding the perfect plant for the spot! Recently, it finally happened. She was a ‘Satin Pothos’ at Lowe’s, and it was love at first sight. Her pretty sagey green, velvet-like leaves are unlike any I have seen before in “Pothos Form.”
Naturally, I wanted to find the perfect pot in which to display this newfound Love. I decided that I wanted something: a) lightweight and b) something with an attached tray, so I could just water without actually taking the plant down every time. I found the perfect, three dollar solution at Target! But, I wanted my new planter to look more expensive/more like stone or cement, so I decided to try my hand at painting it to look as such! I also knew I’d have to find a good way to hang it without having to macrame my way through it. Ha!
Want to see how I did it? Follow along below!
Supplies:
•plastic planter
•white paint
•taupe, grey, or stone colored paint
•sand or fine dirt
•cotton cord
•scissors
•hot glue
Step 1:
I drilled three holes in the pot, about an inch from the top, making sure that the holes were evenly spaced apart. This is where your rope will go for hanging!
Step 2:
I (somewhat sloppily) painted the entire pot with my stone/taupe color. You could do this project even with $1 acrylics from a craft store, or really any paint you have on hand! It’ll truly work with whatever you’ve got. You may consider priming first, but I skipped that step, knowing that I wasn’t really ever going to be handling it/risking chipping it, thanks to the tray that’ll catch the water.
Step 3:
After your first coat dries, dip your brush in your taupe paint again, and then dip it gently in the sand/dirt. Smooth it over the pot one more time, spreading the dirt evenly (weird, I know!).
Step 4:
Once you’ve allowed that to dry, gently remove any large pieces of dirt that you don’t want. If you don’t mind the larger pieces, skip this step! I just found that I preferred the dirt on mine to be a bit finer. Don’t worry if you see “polka dots” -they’ll be covered up with the final coat of paint.
Step 5:
This part will need to be done fairly quickly, and it’s best to do it in sections. One section at a time, smooth the taupe/stone in a horizontal motion. Then, while this is still wet, dip your brush in your white and gently smooth it over in a vertical motion. This will blend the colors, but still create some dimension because of the opposite brush strokes. Continue this step until every section of the pot is covered, then allow it to fully dry.
Step 6:
It’s time to add the cord! This part – adding the cord (referred to as ‘string’ in my photos) and tying it all up – is tricky to explain, but I did attempt to take some photos that would make it easier to understand. The first thing you want to do is know what length you want your planter to hang at. Mine was about 27 inches.
I began with a piece of cord that was about 60 inches long (a bit more than double the hanging length). I threaded the cord through one of the holes I’d drilled and then double knotted it on the inside of the pot. Then, I threaded it through another hole (either of the other two holes is fine). I then measured to assure that, once hanging, the cord would be about 26 inches on both “sides.” The extra inch is accounted for later on. I tied my other double knot to secure the cord on that side.
Step 7:
Take another piece of rope (mine was about 35 inches) and thread it through the last hole. Tie the double knot securely on the inside of the pot. This next part was a bit tricky as well, but it would have been much easier if I’d had an extra pair of hands to help me. Bring the rope up to meet where the other rope “peaks” when hung (as seen in the photo above).
What you are going to do next is create a loop at the top of this rope, but INSIDE that loop with be where your first rope “rests.” I secured the “tail” of the last rope with hot glue and then trimmed off any remaining.
Step 8:
Lastly, I took a small piece of rope and wrapped it underneath the loop, securing it with hot glue.
That’s it! I know it seems like a lot of steps, but they’re truly simple and quick! It probably took about an hour on this all together, including dry time for the paint! I LOVE that this plant will be low maintenance and happy in a sunny window! Will you give this DIY a shot?!
