DIY faux cement planter

Yeah, you read that right, faux cement planter… made from.. can you guess? A polythene packaging box! Sweet, huh? The gold-dipped concrete/cement planter designs are everywhere and remarkably in trend for setting up your home or patio for the upcoming warmer weather! To build a large cement planter, you’ll have to make a mold and support it using something like wood. If this seems like too much work for you, you have come to the right place! And given that, the current situation doesn’t encourage non-essential shopping, I opted for a packaging box instead of making a real cement planter! And the best part – it’s a DIY, and you can proudly show it off!

I have never tried planting in a box of such material, so I am going with faux succulents! They are great because they require no maintenance, and they DON’T die on you 🙄 😂. You can also replace the plants with flowers and make it a floral arrangement/centerpiece.

I added a gold border at the bottom, and the planter is currently chilling on my work desk! This planter overall is super easy and makes a huge statement for your study desk, patio, window sill, living room decor! It can be of any size, shape, and design! Want to make one your own? Let’s check what we need and how to make it!

What you need:

A box
Grey/cement/concrete color acrylic paint
Paintbrushes
Xacto knife
Faux succulents, small rocks or flowers
Moss sheet
Hot glue gun or floral foam
FolkArt Spanish Moss color paint (optional)
Gold paint if you want to add a design to the planter (optional)

How to make it:

Layout the succulents and plan how wide/deep you desire the planter hole to be.
Cut about a 1″ deep hole in the center of the box.
Paint a cement-like color; It took two coats of paint as my box had a sponge-like texture.
Ensure to give one coat of paint on the interior of the planter hole where your succulents or flowers will go.
Let dry between coats.

Try to achieve the cement-y texture! Trim off the sharp edges, soften up the sides, create tiny holes to imitate an organic cement planter. I used the hot glue gun’s tip and pressed it about 2 cm deep to relax/round off the sharp corners.

Mix in a lighter color and paint the corners to get a worn-out look.
If you like the gold-dipped look, after the grey dries, freehand or tape off 1″ above the bottom and paint it gold.
Arrange the moss throughout the inner edge and glue it.
Start by placing the larger succulents, simply sticking and gluing them down into the box.
Fill in the gaps with smaller leaves, rocks and cover up any corners with more moss. Make the arrangement look lush/full by adding lots of texture and heights.

I love how real it looks, and requires zero attention! It would be super cute in your garden, on an outdoor table as a centerpiece, over a window sill, or on a shelf. 🙂

I’d love to know what shade and design would you paint your planter? Leave a comment and let me know!

Make sure you pin this idea for later! Looking for more inspiration? Take a peep into another planter idea here!