Building decent custom pieces for your space doesn’t have to be that complicated. With some simple tools, a small workspace, and an idea you can make something nice looking, is easy to make, that fits a space perfectly for a low price.

I have accumulated some plants in my apartment but found a lack of good spots to put them. I figured building my own small plant stands would be a quick and enjoyable project that would fit my apartment well.

The design for these stands is simple. I bought some stained wooden legs online that were slightly at an angle (I prefered how that looked and I didn’t feel like trying to make my own like that), 1x 6 ft 2″x4″, and 2x 6″ wide fence picket, some 2″ screws, and wood stain. For each stand I cut down 2x 2″x4″ to 14″ and 3x 6″ fence picket to 16″. I was able to cut all of the wood with a chop saw, a circular saw would also work, or if you had dimensions ready you can have them cut at home depot.

Once the wood was cut down to size, I laid out a tarp to set out the wood once I was done staining it. If you don’t have a tarp, trash bags can also be used to catch drippings. I used the end caps of PVC pipe to keep the boards off the tarp itself, I have also used little cut up pieces of circular wooden dowel for the same purpose. When actually staining, I’d recommend wearing nitrile gloves. Also think about which side of the wood you’d prefer to have facing out (or whichever side is most visible) to not be on the PVC/dowel so it dries the cleanest.

After staining and leaving to dry for a few hours, I prepared for the final assembly. I use a paper towel to wipe down all of the stained surfaces to remove stain from getting all over my hands.

To assemble, I centered the first 6″ picket on the 2″x4″s then drilled one screw into each 2″x4″. Always drill pilot holes. After the first board was secured, I used some scrap of the picket to space the boards on either side. Once the main top was assembled, I flipped it over and attached the legs.

It’s as easy as that. I feel that a lot of time building stuff like this is made out to be super difficult but I think most people would be surprised with what they would be able to make themselves. It’s very fulfilling to complete even a small project like this. In total I think I spent ~$45 to build each stand, and they fit perfectly into my space.