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Reality Daydream

The Dream is Free, The Hustle Sold Separately

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Living Wall Vertical Planter from Wooden Bowls

January 27, 2017 by Bethany Sy

Lately I’ve talked a lot about my love for plants, and how I’m so proud of myself for defeating the dreaded black thumb. I’ve gotten a LOT of questions about that, and what exactly I do to keep my plants alive, so I wrote a post sharing details about HOW I FOUND MY GREEN THUMB! But today, I want to show you a suuuuper fun Vertical ‘Living Wall’ Planter installation made from wooden bowls. It’s freaking amazing.

Use a variety of wooden bowls to make this vertical 'living wall' art installation planter! {Reality Daydream}*this post contains affiliate links*

I find wooden bowls all the time at the thrift store, garage sales, and even on the clearance rack at Target. If you’re looking for them, they’re EVERYWHERE. (if you’re not the junkin type, there are TONS of wooden bowls in all sizes and shades here on Amazon). At first I would buy them because I love wooden things, and I hoard little ‘trinket holders’ like it’s nobody’s business. But once I had accumulated a handful of them, I had the most brilliant idea… CUT THEM IN HALF! #staywithme #asusual

wooden bowl wall planter

We pretty much just eyed where the center of the bowl is, and pulled the tape taut while putting it on the bowl to make sure the tape was straight. Having your tape straight is more important than being perfectly in the center. The reason the tape looks CLEARLY off center, is because we were shooting for one edge of the tape being the center line to cut with the band saw.

Cut wooden bowls in half to make this awesome vertical planter 'living wall' installation! {Reality Daydream}

I found a piece of 1/2” plywood that had cool woodgrain on it, and laid out my bowls randomly to see if it would be about the right size (2’x4’), and it was perfect! If you have more or fewer bowls than me, you’ll want to adjust the dimensions of your plywood accordingly.

Cut wooden bowls in half and affix to a board to make a vertical planter 'living wall art! {Reality Daydream}

I routed the edges of my plywood to be rounded, and stained it a medium chocolatey brown (this shade I think). After that was dry, I laid out my bowls again… this time I arranged them exactly how I wanted them. Using a T-square, I was able to make sure that each bowl was perfectly straight, and used a white colored pencil to trace around each bowl.

wooden bowl wall planter-001

Then we drilled 4 pilot holds in each traced-out section with a 1/8” bit. The reason for this is so that when we’re screwing in screws from the backside, we’ll KNOW that it’s going straight into the bowl.

Wooden bowl vertical living wall planter {Reality Daydream}

In an effort to really seal these buggers on, we applied a strip of this clear silicone before screwing the bowls down tight.

wooden bowl wall planter-002

And repeat, repeat, repeat.

Slice wooden bowls in half and make this vertical planter 'living wall' {Reality Daydream}Wooden bowls turned into a vertical planter 'living wall' for plant lovers! {Reality Daydream}

SO. Using the silicone to seal the wooden bowl to the wooden substrate is one thing. Yessss… it will prevent water from dripping through the crack and running down the entire thing. But you also don’t just want standing water on wood, because it will rot. And so even though I was ITCHING to get some plants in these bowls already (!!!), I decided to take that extra step and spray a rubber coating on the inside to truly water-proof them. Taping is the worst, but we found this tape dispenser that dispenses painters tape AND PAPER THAT IS ALREADY ATTACHED TO THE EDGE OF THE TAPE. I seriously hope whoever invented this device is a multi-millionaire.

wooden bowl wall planter-003

This thing is finally ready to mount on the wall and load up with plants! We used two heavy duty hangers on the back. One on the top, and one on the bottom. Don’t want this sucka to fall!

I threw a few rocks in each bowl, and then lined them with foil… using scissors to cut off the excess (cutting foil actually sharpens your scissors!)

wooden bowl wall planter-004

Then poke a couple holes in the bottom of the foil so the water can drain out. The rocks below hold the foil up so that if there’s any standing water, the roots of the plant won’t be sitting in it. Since we don’t have drainage holes, ya know?

Vertical wall planter using wooden bowls cut in half! {Reality Daydream}

When you’re done popping your plants in, you might end up with a mess. But nothing a quick vacuum job can’t take care of! Look at that poor MCM shelf Nick just built me! Wahhhh!

IMG_20170126_123935

But the final product is sooooo worth it! LOVE.ME.SOME.PLANTS!

Living wall planter made from wooden bowls! {Reality Daydream}

Since each plant is in a little tin foil container, it will be easy for my to pull them out every week or two to check for standing water. Or if I want to put one in a planter in another room for awhile, it will be easy to move them around! But for now, I loooove everything about how this looks in our Master Bedroom.

Make a vertical planter 'living wall' using wooden bowls cut in half! {Reality Daydream}

Make this... Vertical PLanter Living Wall with wooden bowls cut in half! {Reality Daydream}

Also, did you notice we painted the trim in our bedroom?! It’s a super creamy ‘greige’ that leans more to the beige than the gray. I love how subtle it is, yet allows the trim to stand apart from the white walls. I’ll be showing more of it in future bedroom posts! Please don’t mind how we’re not finished painting the trim around the closet in the pic above. (OOPSY!) Also, don’t mind

Let me just say that I’m SO COMPLETELY OBSESSED with this ‘living wall’ vertical planter. Like, I keep going upstairs to my room to look at it. I should probably consider making another one for downstairs, huh?!

I do have a couple ‘bowl halves’ leftover, and I have an idea for a scaled-down version of this. Coming soon!

~Bethany

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You might also enjoy these other plant-related projects and tutorials I’ve done!

Learn-how-to-make-a-cute-mug-or-just-about-ANYTHING-into-a-planter-pot-by-drilling-drainage-hole-1

Cinder-Block-Corner-Planter-with-each-block-stenciled-a-different-shade-Reality-Daydream-5.Make-a-unique-vertical-hanging-planter-using-gutters-and-rope-Reality-Daydream

Step-by-Step-tutorial-for-these-darling-Cross-Base-Terrariums...-with-faux-succulents-or-real-if.Make-this-rustic-centerpieces-with-Birch-Logs-and-Succulents-Reality-Daydream-313x1024 (1).Buy-plain-empty-quart-paint-cans-and-dip-them-in-paint-for-fun-planters-or-cute-storage-Sawdust-3

Thanks for pinning!

Make this 'Living Wall' Vertical Planter our of wooden bowls... CUT IN HALF! Click through for the tutorial {Reality Daydream}

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About Bethany Sy

Nick and Bethany Sy are the creative free-spirits behind DIY/Lifestyle blog, Reality Daydream. They recently purchased a historic mansion and have been documenting the ups and downs of renovation and making this home their own... all while sharing tips and tutorials along the way! When they found themselves in the trenches of infertility, they started a journey that would prove to be their most important DIY project ever, and have 3 beautiful girls to show for it. <3

« Posterized Art Portrait with Stain on a Wooden Canvas
DIY Drool Bibs for Baby or Toddler »

Comments

  1. 9

    Mindy says

    October 29, 2019 at 4:43 am

    I love it!

    Reply
  2. 10

    Michelle says

    April 8, 2019 at 9:53 pm

    I absolutely love this — and my husband snagged a bunch of wooden bowls from my grandparents’ estate sale. Hope they’re still in our attic!

    Reply
  3. 11

    Tracy says

    April 13, 2017 at 12:03 pm

    Such a great idea you are so clever, I would love to do this on a smaller scale with herbs in my kitchen

    Reply
  4. 12

    Andi Cacciatore says

    February 7, 2017 at 5:40 pm

    This is just what I need for my daughter’s patio wall! I’m a plant-aholic and I live with my daughter, SiL and almost 2y/o grandson. All my plants must be out of his reach because he thinks every one I’ve set out needs to be transplanted and have all it’s leaves ripped off. Lol! Shelves are not practical, but this would be so perfect!
    Also, I am constantly picking up, then putting back, those wooden bowls at the thrift stores! Now I can buy them and put them to good use! Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

    Reply
    • 13

      Beth @ Reality Daydream says

      February 16, 2017 at 7:27 pm

      Yessss! Do it girl! My 2 year old doesn’t really notice my plants yet, so I’m crossing my fingers. HAHA!

      Reply
  5. 14

    Jennifer says

    January 28, 2017 at 1:53 am

    You never cease to amaze me!

    Reply
  6. 15

    Hailee says

    January 27, 2017 at 9:54 pm

    I love this! I wish I had a wall that got enough sunlight for this 🙁

    Reply
  7. 16

    Carrie says

    January 27, 2017 at 5:35 pm

    Amazing. Truly. Thanks so much for sharing!

    Reply
    • 17

      Beth @ Reality Daydream says

      January 27, 2017 at 6:58 pm

      Thanks Carrie! <3

      Reply

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We are Nick and Bethany! Welcome to our blog, Reality Daydream where we share our DIY adventures!

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Still can’t get over these shelves. 😍 These Still can’t get over these shelves. 😍

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If ya just need a slab of wood, grab a cutting boa If ya just need a slab of wood, grab a cutting board when you’re at Target or Walmart! They’re made of hard wood!

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