Pillar Box Blue

You are here: Home / DIY Upcycling / How to Make A Beautiful Painted Wood Pallet Planter

How to Make A Beautiful Painted Wood Pallet Planter

by 71 Comments

Moroccan Style Painted Wood Pallet Planter

I love my Victorian brick-walled garden it looks charming and is full of character, however, the brickwork can be a bit dark. That’s why a made a painted wood pallet planter for my garden to brighten up and add colour.

I’m really into Moroccan tiling at the moment and decided that I wanted to recreate the effect with paint. Also, I just love the colour blue, last week I even did some indigo Shibori dyeing on my outdoor sofa.

To recreate that Moroccan tiled look I stenciled a wooden pallet with a Moroccan style stencil. I then added plant pots to create a bright summery walled planter. My new walled garden definitely makes the garden feel more summery.

It’s hard to remember it’s summer here in the UK sometimes. We are having a typical unpredictable British summer at the moment. One minute is scorching hot the next is raining and cold again. Mind you if the weather was predictable we Brits would have to think of something else to talk about.

The whole painted wood pallet was a really affordable way to brighten up the garden it took me only a couple of hours to do. The pallet was free, I already had the pots and I used left over paint.

Being made of sturdy pallet wood the planter should hopefully last a good few years too.

Upcycle an old wood pallet with a Moroccan tile stencils, to make an bright painted wood pallet wall planter to add colour to your garden.

This post contains Amazon affiliate links for your convenience. Click here to see my disclosure policy.

What You need to make a Moroccan painted pallet garden

  • Pallet – I just pick mine up from skips(dumpsters).
Pallet
  • Moroccan Tile Stencil – This was a large 12″by 12″ stencil which made the stenciling quick.
  • Paint – I just used paint left over from decorating. White emulsion (latex) for the background and two different shades of blue paint for the stencil one was a latex paint and the other was chalkboard paint. You could also use acrylic paints with the stencils.
  • Masking/painters tape
  • Jubilie clips /hose clamps – large enough for the plant pots you use.
  • Wood screws
  • Terracotta pots – I used five 17cm pots.
terracotta pots

How to make a painted wood pallet garden

Stenciling the Wooden Pallet

1. The first thing I did was paint the pallet white. This was to be the background of my garden. I used white emulsion (latex) paint as I had some left over from decorating the house. Any white or pale colour will do.

white painted palllet

2. Once the white paint was dry I began my stenciling. The first thing to do is to tape down the Moroccan tile stencil at the edges in the corner of the pallet. This is to stop it moving when stenciling.

3. The stencil is divided into 9 Moroccan tiles. I painted the tiles in 2 different blue paints one light and one dark. Alternating each tile to create a checkerboard effect.

Good tips when stenciling is not to have too much paint on your brush and to paint with a stippling motion. This will stop the paint smudging and spreading under the stencil.

How to create a Moroccan tile style effect on painted wood pallet using a stencil. To use as a wall planter.


4. Whilst the stenciled pallet wood was drying. I painted the terracotta plant pots in the same colours as I used for the Moroccan tile stenciling.

Blue painted terracotta pots for an outdoor wall planter.

Attaching your plant pots to the painted pallet wood

1. You will need to drill a screw hole in each jubilee clips to be able to attach them to the pallet.
Hole in jubillee clip

2. As I had quite large pots I only used 5 for my planter. If you have smaller pots you may want to use more. Each clip was screwed to the pallet wood in a 5 dot dice pattern.

I closed the jubilee clips up. As the plant pots are tapered they simply just slot into the jubilee clips. This makes them very easy to change and remove when needed.

Upcycle an old wood pallet with a moroccan tile stencils, to make an bright painted wood pallet wall planter to add colour to your garden.
Add some colour to your garden with this stylish affordable Moroccan tile painted pallet wood planter. It's really simple to do full step by step tutorial.

I’m really pleased with how this painted wood pallet has turned out. It looks awesome in my garden and I love the Moroccan feel that the stencil gives to the planter wall.

Upcycle an old wood pallet with a moroccan tile stencils, to make an bright painted wood pallet wall planter to add colour to your garden.

If you like this you should check out some of my other more colourful garden tutorials.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Connie

    I’m not very artistic so I’m not sure I would do well with the stencils; however, you have me a wonderful idea. I could just buy some tiles and attach them with a strong adhesive. What do you think?

    Reply

      • PJ

        Maybe, but the thin wood may not have the strength to hold the weight. Perhaps thinner lighter substitutes – aluminum, or vinyl tile-like material? Craft shop perhaps? If whatever you’re using isn’t already precut, then you should get some kind of straight-edge cutter to make exact cuts, or it won’t look like tiles. I would find that hard to do.

        Re stenciling, I’m not a bit coordinated, but got great results the first time I did it, on my kids’ closet doors and furniture. Really all you have to do is apply the paint over the holes in the stencil. You do not have to do it perfectly; excess will stay on the stencil, and if you miss a little you just have slightly softer edges on your project. You are not painting within the lines by guiding the brush horizontally, you’re dabbing the paint over the holes; a stenciling brush is somewhat stiff but with soft tips, and by dabbing I mean sort of poking the brush downwards repeatedly.

        My concern re painting on pallets is that the wood is not only thin, but also splintery and fuzzy. I have no idea how stenciling that is going to hide that.

        Reply

        • Claire Armstrong

          Thank you for your tips. Pallet wood however is not thin wood it’s is very strong as it is designed to carry large loads. The pallet planter has bow gone through it’s second season in my garden and still looks great and is a s strong as the day I painted it.

          Reply

  3. Kathy A

    Absolutely beautiful. I have wanted a pallet planter using the slots for the plants to come through with landscaping cloth stapled to the back, but this is gorgeous. I’d paint 4 more and make a little patio with a bistro table and 2 chairs!

    Reply

  4. Chloe Crabtree

    How creative! At first glance I was thinking you painted each of those square individually and was thinking how much time that would take, but using a stencil! Brilliant! What a great addition to your outdoor decor! Thanks so much for sharing at Celebrate Your Story!

    Reply

  7. Amberjane

    I love this so much Claire I clicked through to by the stencil but it doesn’t ship to Ireland – darn it Amazon. I have a pallet that desperately needs updating too – still love yours though 🙂

    Reply

  12. Angie ~ Ambient Wares

    I don’t think this could be anymore beautiful! It just catches my eye and I want to look at it all day. Wonderful job, Claire! Thank you so much for sharing this with us at Funtastic Friday. Pinned & sharing!

    Reply

  17. Jelica

    Love how this project turned out. You really created something far more creative than your typical vertical planter with this Moroccan theme. Absolutely gorgeous!

    Reply

  18. Jan

    Hello Claire!

    Just saw this at the Vintage Charm Link Party and I LOVE it!! The blues are beautiful! Good job! Thanks so much for sharing!

    Reply

  22. Shirley

    Claire ,You did a great job. They look like tiles. I painted a pallet with a white washed effect to give a beachy effect & used plant pots with hangers on.

    Reply

  26. Carol ("Mimi")

    This is a fabulous vertical planter! I’ve seen photos of lots of pallet planters with the wood left natural. But, this one really goes above and beyond. I love the Moroccan tile look. So creative!
    Carol (“Mimi”) from Home with Mimi

    Reply

Trackbacks

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

shares