DIY Plant Stand

Measure, mark and cut your 1 x 10-inch board into two 24-inch pieces. Use a chop saw, circular saw or hand saw. The preference is yours depending on comfort level with tools.

If you use a hand saw, use a scrap board to create a guide for your saw blade. This will ensure a straight cut through your board.

Using your 1-inch hole saw, drill a hole at 90 degrees into a scrap piece of wood (approx. 12 x 6 inches). This will be your jig that will act as a drill guide for the next step.

Line up the centre of your jig hole precisely to the corner of your 1 x 10-inch board. Mark on the jig where the corner of the 1 x 10-inch board points. This will continue to be your guide for the remaining corners. Use a square to help guide your jig position to maintain consistency on all four corners. Clamp the jig and project to a working surface.

Using your jig hole as your guide, drill down into your board. Repeat this step for the remaining 7 corners of the two 1 x 10-inch pieces.

Using a 120-grit sandpaper, prep both boards with a light sand. This helps remove any rough edges created in the cutting process.

Clean the boards from any debris using a tack cloth, brush or vacuum.

To give this plant stand personality, add a wood stain of your choosing to both the prepped 1 x 10-inch boards. Coloured stain allows your project to have personality, while still enjoying the look of wood grain.

Before applying your stain, always make sure to stir thoroughly to ensure all the colour is mixed properly.

Using a foam brush, apply a nice even coat and wipe away any excess. Let dry.

Measure and mark 2 feet on your dowel. Using a mitre box and saw, cut your dowel at the measured mark. Repeat this step for the remaining 3 legs. 

Customize the dowel length depending on the space you are building the project for, or the height of your window.

Using a 120-grit sandpaper, give the dowel tops a sand and smooth out any rough edges.

Measure 4 inches and 16 inches down each dowel leg and mark lightly with a pencil. To ensure the marks are linear with one another, clamp a scrap board behind the dowel as a guide to draw a line down the middle of the dowel. This will ensure that both marks will be exactly aligned with each other.

Using a 1/8-inch drill bit, carefully drill a hole through your dowel at the indicated 4-inch and 16-inch marks.

Once your two 1 x 10-inch boards are dry, add a finish topcoat to help protect the wood from scratches and stains. Let dry.

Apply wood glue into the concave corner of the board. Line up the leg at the first 4-inch drilled mark and use the 1/8-inch drill bit as your guide to further pre-drill into your bench top. Now that both the dowel leg and benchtop have been pre-drilled, secure in place using a #8 2-inch wood screw.

Repeat this step for the remaining corners of your bench.

When ready to attach the second tier of your bench, turn the project onto its side and slide the second board into place.

Add wood filler on top of your screws to help conceal them. Let wood filler dry and softly sand away any excess.