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Thursday 18 June 2015

Faux Cement Look For Plastic Flower Pots

It's still raining here and I suppose I should start building an ark for my next project. Luckily, I have a good start on filling it with cats and chickens.

There isn't much to show you in the yard unless you are interested in puddles, weeds and wind debris, so I thought I'd show a little faux cement planter project I did.

Last year a friend gave me a bay laurel tree. Really, it was just a teeny, weenie stick with two leaves sprouting from the top. It has to come indoors for the winter and, since I have absolute faith it will grow into an actual tree, needed a big pot to hold it.


It looked a little lost in the big pot so I planted some basil around it. It's growing ever so much better now that it's outside and the cats aren't chewing on the leaves!

Of course, buying a new pot just isn't my style. I had a perfectly good one, with a built-in drip tray, that would do fine with a bit of a paint makeover.

Here's the sad before picture. ~


This is the kind of paint project that benefits from a slapdash kind of treatment. It will look more authentic if you don't fuss over how you are applying the paint.

Latex paint stands up well outdoors and adheres well without primer on any plastic that has weathered enough to become porous.  I've had it last for years on plastic patio furniture.

Start daubing on grey and taupe latex paint and try to get it on a little thicker in some areas for texture. ~



Keep layering paint until there's fair coverage of the pot. Then, cover it overall with a light grey. I used Benjamin Moore Silver Fox for the all over coat. When applying the overall coat of paint, lift the brush slightly when you come to the daubed sections and let bits of colour show through.

Carry the paint over to the inside as far as your soil line will be. ~



Don't worry if it looks too dark or light in spots. You can add daubs of colour wherever it is too light and dry brush light paint on anyplace it looks too dark. Honestly, it's impossible to mess up this project!

To give the pot a look of age, I daubed shades of green on in spots to simulate moss. ~



I dry brushed some of the light grey on top to tone the green down.

All done and at a cost I like. $0.00!!! ~



It looks real enough, sitting on the cement patio, that someone asked me how I was going to haul a cement planter indoors every winter. I think the mud splatters add to the look. At least, that's the attitude I'm going to adopt for this rainy year!

Now, I'm off to brave mosquitos the size of dragonflies and pull those weeds around the patio!



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