Do you want to add beauty to your surroundings and save an old, unwanted, or unused wooden chair from ending up in a landfill? If yes, then this is an ideal project. Learn how to repurpose an old chair into a charming garden planter with this easy and inexpensive DIY project.
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It Starts with a Chair
To create a chair planter you obviously need to start with a chair. I picked up an old dining chair from a thrift shop years ago for use in my Halloween display. To transform it into a throne for Halloween, I removed the seat and spray painted it black. Check out this blog post to see how I originally used the old chair.
After Halloween, I didn’t want to throw the chair out for sentimental reasons (I put a lot of time and effort into that that display). As a result, I kept the broken chair, but it sat neglected in my side yard until I came up with a way to repurpose it. I decided to turn it into a chair planter for my growing succulent collection!
You can find chairs for free or next to nothing in a variety of places. If you don’t have broken chairs tucked away in your own attic, basement, or side yard, check with family or friends to see if they have any. You’ll be doing them a favor! You’re saving them the trouble of disposing of the old furniture. Other options include Nextdoor, Craigslist, or Facebook Marketplace (check the free items first). You also can pick up chairs at a thrift store, flea market, yard sale, or garage sale.
How to Make a DIY Chair Planter
Here’s What I Used
Materials
- Old chair
- Coconut fiber liner for a hanging basket
- Decorative chain
- Potting soil
- Plants
- Spray paint (optional)
Tools
- Staple gun
- Pliers (2 pairs)
Project Steps
Time needed: 1 hour and 30 minutes
Transform an old wooden chair into a beautiful garden with this easy and inexpensive DIY chair planter project.
- Remove Chair Seat
First remove the seat from an old chair. Wooden chairs work better than metal chairs for this particular design. If desired, give your chair a fresh coat of paint.
- Add a Hanging Basket Liner
This project uses a fiber hanging basket liner (also called a coco, coconut, or natural fiber liner). Liners come in various sizes. The liner should fit in the opening where the seat of the chair used to be. For example, my liner was 16″.
- Attach Liner to Chair Frame
Staple the natural fiber liner to the inside of the chair frame using plenty of staples. An electric stapler works well.
- Make Sure Liner Is Secure
Here’s how the liner looked after I stapled it to the chair frame.
- Add Soil
Fill the liner basket with soil. I used succulent soil because I was planting succulents in my chair garden.
- Add Supporting Chains
Support the underside of the liner with 3 strands of light-duty chains. I used a 10-ft decorative chain made for hanging plants and pots. I divided the 10-ft chain into three separate smaller chains.
- Secure the Chains to the Frame
Wrap chains around the edges of the chair frame. Secure it by hooking the end of the chain to another chain link. Run the chain under the liner and hook it on the other side of the frame. Repeat the process with the other two chains.
For my chair planter, I ran two chains from corner to corner creating an “X” under the base of the basket. Then I added the third chain down under the middle of the basket for additional support.
- Using Two Tools is Helpful
Splitting and closing the chain links is easier with two pairs of pliers. Use one to grip the link securely and the other to open/close the link.
- Add Plants
Now it’s time to bring your garden to life. Select a variety of plants for your garden (different colors, variety of shapes, contrasting heights, etc.).
When planting my succulents, I added some taller ones towards the back of the chair. In the front of the chair, I added plants that would cascade down over the front edge of the chair as they grew. I also tried to plant a mix of shapes and colors.
- Find a Special Place for your New Garden Chair
Place your beautiful planter on your front porch, your patio or somewhere in your garden. You just transformed it from the worst seat to the best seat in the house, so place it somewhere you can enjoy it. Also, you can move it around if you determine your plants prefer more or less shade or you just want to change up your space.
Note: water will drain out the bottom of the fiber liner when you water the planter, so make sure you place it in an area that can get wet.
More Succulent Planter Ideas
Check out some of my other succulent container projects:
Repurposed Chair Planter Project Video
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Other Chair Planter Ideas
Wire Baskets
Instead of using a fiber liner and potting soil, you could replace the chair seat with a chicken wire basket. Attach a single or double layer of chicken wire (depending on its strength) into seat area and fill the wire basket with water soaked sphagnum moss and succulents.
Colorful Paint
In addition, you could have fun with paint. Instead of painting the chair with black paint or gray paint, experiment with different colors.
Other Chair Styles
As another idea, you could could use different types of chairs. For example, an old rocking chair could be transformed into a wonderful vintage-style planter!
Have you planted a chair garden? Please share your experience!
