Magazine Stand Turned Tiered Planter

Magazine Table Turned Tiered Planter. A great way to upcycle an old magazine rack, fill it with flowers!

I was recently at the thrift store and came across a small side table with a built in magazine rack and I couldn’t pass it up. I don’t need a side table but I had other plans for it.

It was only $7 and it was in pretty good shape.

A few afternoons later, I ended up with this tiered planter, which fit perfectly next to my front door. I love that once all the plants have grown in, it will be a large vertical wall of flowers.

Plant stand from thrift store magazine table

The transformation was pretty straight forward, but I have a few tips that may come in helpful if you are going to make your own version.

Magazine Rack Planter

Before and after magazine rack turned plant stand

Supplies:

Magazine table (or side table)

Drill and Paddle Bit (these are the brands I use)

Jig Saw

Random Orbit Sander

Paint Sprayer (I used my FinishMax)
Staple Gun (I used the Arrow T50x)
Landscape Fabric (I used the lightweight Easy Gardener brand)
Flowers & Potting Soil

I wanted to suspend pots through the tabletop, and so I made sure I had picked the plants I was going to use BEOFRE cutting the holes. You can obviously use standard pot sizes and guess at the hole sizes, but I found it easier to trace my pots (the tops of the pots NOT the bottoms) and make the holes just slightly smaller.

I used these disposable pots that the plants came in, but you could also use clay or plastic pots and replant you flowers.
Flower pot outline for holes in table

To make the holes I first drilled a large hole in the center with a paddle bit.

Then I used my jig saw to cut along the line. Cutting hole in thrift store furniture

Just be careful your holes aren’t too close to the edge of the table, you need enough support for the weight of the pots, you don’t want the table top to collapse. Also make sure you check out what you are going to cut into from the bottom of the table, so you don’t hit any support rails.

The pots will hang through the table (and I Love that when I water them, they drain into the flowers below. Suspending flower pot in table top

At table level they are flush with the table. Once they grow out it you won’t even see the pots, it will just be a layer of flowers! Flower pots hanging through table top

Now I wanted to freshen up the table. I used my random orbit sander (you could also use a palm sander, here are the pros and cons of each type) to rough up the finish. This piece wasn’t solid wood so I didn’t want to sand too much! Sanding thrift store furniture for plant stand

Sanding thrift store furniture for plant stand

Next I used my FinishMax paint sprayer to paint the piece. I used paint with primer in one, otherwise I would have primed first. Homeright paint sprayer to paint furniture

Homeright paint sprayer to paint furniture

LOTS of thin layers worked best, and the paint sprayer was great on those thin rails along the magazine rack at the bottom of the table. Painted repurpopsed magazine stand

Next I used a staple gun and some light weight landscape fabric in the bottom of the piece to hold in the potting soil. Landscape fabric and staple gun to make planter out of furniture

Landscape fabric and staple gun to make planter out of furniture

A heavy duty stapler works better since you are shooting staples into some really hard particle board.
Stapling landscape fabric inside planter

Stapling landscape fabric inside planter

After the bottom was lined, I added my soil and my climbing plants.
Table lined with landscape fabric to grow plants

I cut little slots into the fabric and inserted individual plants. The plants you choose should be the type that would do well in a strawberry pot type container.
Flowers growing in magazine stand

The finished planter looks a little thin now, but as those plants grow out and being trailing over the side it will look amazing!

I also love that this is double sided. You could use it out on a porch or deck and it looks great from both sides.