Handmade Home: Build a Simple Flower Box

Inexpensive wood, a few tools and a little handiwork can yield a fresh look for your windows

Susan DuaneMarch 13, 2012

This DIY flower box adds charm and curb appeal almost instantly. And once you've got the basic steps down, you can easily customize yours by making your own brackets, adding decorative molding, angling the ends of the box, creating a curved edge or adding any other unique details that make it feel like your own.

Materials:

• 1-by-8-by-10-foot plank in #2 pine (this is what I used)
• Pair of saw horses (I used two old benches)
• Tape measure, T square and hammer
• Drill with large bit
• Nails (I used #6 penny-finish nails)
• Circular or hand saw
• Primer, paint and brushes
• Metal or wood brackets (available at home improvement stores)

Step by Step

1. Measure your window and determine the length of your flower box. Mine was 30 inches. Measure and mark with a pencil.

This grade pine is the least expensive, but it has a few knots in the wood — with a little paint they can be camouflaged. You can always use the premium pine, but the cost for the same size plank is about three times as much.

Use the square to make sure your line is straight, and mark it in pencil.

2. Saw along the line.

Your local lumber yard or Home Depot may be able to make straight cuts for you. If you have the dimensions, a pencil, tape measure and square, all you have to do is make all your markings and have someone cut the wood.

Use the first piece as your template for the next two. You should end up with three pieces of the desired length, one for each long side and one for the bottom.

3. Nail the sides to the bottom. It's much easier if you start the nails before putting the pieces completely together. This way, you have to hold the pieces together only while hammering them in, and you don't have to worry about holding the nail in place.

The nails I used have small heads. When they're hammered in, they aren't too noticeable.

This is what you'll have after attaching two of the boards you just cut.

Do the same thing to attach the other side.

4. With the leftover piece, measure and mark the short end pieces.

Again, use the T square to make sure the line is even. Draw your line and use the piece as a template for the other end.

5. Start your nails as you did before and nail in each end.

6. Drill drain holes. Using a ⅜-inch drill bit, drill at least three holes in the bottom of the box for excess water to drain out.

7. Add finish. If desired, prime and paint the box in the color of your choice.

Optional: If you want to make your own brackets, you'll need:

Additional wood
Scroll saw

To create a more detailed box, you'll need:

Router
Decorative molding

8. Line the box with clear plastic. Staple lining into place to prolong the life of the box.

9. Fill your new box with potting soil. Choose a loose soil, the same type you'd use for a pot or other planter, from any home improvement store or nursery.

Susan Duane

10. Hang it! Here is my finished box. I did this project during the winter. Come spring it'll be filled with beautiful and bright blooms.

Tell us: Do you have a window box or a place for one? Please share a photo below.

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