How to Make Faux Bois Planters

Creating your own planter lets you adjust its size according to your needs.

A faux bois planter provides a creative way to display your potted plants and flowers both indoors and out. A faux bois planter features a wood grain texture to its exterior, which gives the planter a look of real wood. Many faux bois planters are fashioned to appear to be tree stumps. Instead of purchasing expensive commercial planters, create your own faux bois planter using relatively inexpensive products you can purchase at home improvement stores. Does this Spark an idea?

Things You'll Need

• Carpet tape
• 4 wood-grain-texture mats
• 4 15-by-20-inch plywood pieces
• Wood screws
• Power drill
• 20-by-20-inch plywood piece
• Cardboard
• Duct tape
• Mold-release spray
• Rubber gloves
• Dust mask
• Peat moss
• Perlite
• Bucket
• Portland cement
• Sand or pebbles
• Rubber mallet
• Plastic
• Masonry bit
• Planer file

Instructions

1. Place several pieces of carpet tape on the underside of a wood-grain-texture mat. Position the mat against the bottom right corner of a 15-by-20-inch piece of plywood.

2. Repeat Step 1 with the remaining three wood-grain-texture mats and the three remaining 15-by-20-inch pieces of plywood.

3. Attach the four pieces of plywood at right angles to form the mold. Use wood screws and a drill to secure the pieces of plywood together. An end of each piece of plywood will extend out from the mold. Make sure the mats do not have gaps between them. Secure a 20-by-20-inch piece of plywood to the bottom of the mold with wood screws.

4. Construct the interior mold with cardboard. The interior mold will sit inside the wooden box constructed in Step 3 and will form the interior of the planter. Cover the entire exterior of the cardboard mold with duct tape.

5. Spray the wood-grain texture mat located inside the box with mold-release spray. Put on rubber gloves and a dust mask.

6. Pour 16 qts. of peat moss and 16 qts. of perlite in a bucket. Add 16 qts. of portland cement and stir thoroughly. Add water a little at a time while stirring continuously until the mixture achieves a consistency similar to that of yogurt.

7. Pour the mixture carefully in the mold until it is about 2 inches deep. Place the interior mold inside the exterior mold and center it. Add sand or pebbles inside the interior mold to steady it.

8. Add more mixture between the exterior and interior mold until you reach the desired height. Tap the exterior mold gently with a rubber mallet to remove bubbles.

9. Cover the entire mold with plastic and let dry for 36 hours. Carefully lift the interior mold out of the exterior mold. Let it set for 12 hours.

10. Use a power drill to unscrew the screws securing the sides and bottom of the exterior mold. This will release the planter from the mold.

11. Secure a masonry bit on a power drill. Turn the planter over carefully and drill a few holes in the bottom of the planter with the power drill. Use a planer file to gently smooth the top edge of the planter.

12. Cover the entire planter in plastic and let it cure for about a month.

Resources

• Read this Article in Spanish