Learn how to make a DIY Pail Planter from an old galvanized metal bucket. Give your front porch vintage, farmhouse style with easy pail planters filled with fresh spring plants and flowers.
Upcycle a few old pails or metal buckets into stylish, farmhouse front porch planters.
It just feels like home when you drive up to a porch filled with flowers, right? I’m Lora, of Craftivity Designs, and I recently moved into a new cottage style home. Though it’s a major fixer-upper, the warm weather has me excited to freshen up the front porch with a set of farmhouse-style pail planters.
DIY Pail Planter
Several weeks ago, I picked up a set of old sap buckets to use as planters for the front porch. With a galvanized metal finish and an affordable price tag, they were the perfect start for farmhouse-style planters.
If you don’t have access to vintage sap buckets or old pails, try looking for metal pails at the dollar store or a superstore. If you find pails that already have handles, that’s no problem. Simply remove the handles for the project (if you need to bend metal in order to remove the bucket handle, try pliers).
Related: Upcycling an old container into a planter is one of my favorite spring projects, check out my rustic basket planter and indoor succulent garden.
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SUPPLIES NEEDED
- metal pails
- permanent marker
- metal drill bit
- drill
- rope
HOW TO MAKE A PAIL PLANTER
- First, mark the pail on each side in order to note where the hole will be drilled.
- Next, using a metal drill bit, drill a hole into each side of the pail at the mark.
- Once the holes are drilled, cut the rope to size. The length of the rope will depend on the width of your pail. For a 9″ wide pail, I cut 2-foot long sections of rope in order to allow plenty of length for knotting each end. You can buy rope by the foot in a hardware store.
- Lastly, slide the rope through the holes, knotting each end and creating a farmhouse-style rope handle for the pail planters.
Aren’t they so charming sitting on our front steps? The galvanized metal is perfectly vintage and the rope texture adds a farmhouse touch.
P.S. You’re getting a peek at our rotted wood sidelights and creaky storm door (yikes!). However, thankfully, it won’t be like that for long. We already have a new door on order as part of the full exterior renovation of our new fixer-upper home. You can follow along with all the details, on my blog.
In the mood to see more DIY planters? Check out Aimee’s Ikea Planter Hack and DIY Wood Planter Box.
IF YOU LOVED THIS PAIL PLANTER, THEN I THINK YOU’LL LOVE THESE POSTS:
Learn how to turn any basic basket into a rustic basket planter.
Plant an indoor succulent garden inside any vintage container.
DIY Farmhouse Style Pail Planter
Learn how to make a DIY Pail Planter from an old galvanized metal bucket. Give your front porch vintage, farmhouse style with easy pail planters filled with fresh spring plants and flowers.
Materials
- Metal pails
- Permanent marker
- Metal drill bit
- Drill
- Rope
Instructions
- First, mark the pail on each side in order to note where the hole will be drilled.
- Next, using a metal drill bit, drill a hole into each side of the pail at the mark.
- Once the holes are drilled, cut the rope to size. The length of the rope will depend on the width of your pail. For a 9″ wide pail, I cut 2-foot long sections of rope in order to allow plenty of length for knotting each end. You can buy rope by the foot in a hardware store.
- Lastly, slide the rope through the holes, knotting each end and creating a farmhouse-style rope handle for the pail planters.