How to Make A Beautiful 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.

Moroccan Style Painted Wood Pallet Planter

To recreate that Moroccan tiled look I stencilled 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 typically 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 leftover paint.

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

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What You need to make a Moroccan-painted pallet garden

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

• A sealant for the paint, varnish or clear furniture wax.
• Paint brushes and stencil brushes.

How to make a painted wood pallet garden

Stencilling 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 leftover from decorating the house. Any white or pale colour will do.

2. Once the white paint was dry I began my stencilling. 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 from moving when stencilling.

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

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

Attaching your plant pots to the painted pallet wood

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

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. 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.

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.

I fancy using paper doilies for a lace pattern next time, just like I did with these painted plates.

I love making upcycled planters to brighten up my garden often I use tin cans to make planters. One of my favorites is the beautiful colorful Marimekko decorative tin can planters that sit in the corner. Next to my second favorite garden upcycle my unique Marimekko bench.

Since making this painted wood pallet planter I have been inspired to paint my shed with color and pattern. Which has brightened up my garden more, even on the dullest of winter days.

Update & FAQ’s

Three years on and I still have this painted planter in my garden. Both the paint and the pallet have held up well to all the British weather that’s been thrown at it over the years. Though I have changed the potted flowers a couple of times.

I’ve used the same stencil again this time on fabric to make a cool DIY denim table runner.

Can I Make This On Other Wood ?

Only if the wood has been treated for outside use. That is the great thing about pallet wood it has been treated so that it lasts outside, just like garden shed wood.

Why Not Just Use Real Moroccan Tiles?

The pallet was quite heavy as it was, tiling instead of painting would have made it even more heavier. At the moment it is quiet easy for me to move the pallet around the garden if it was tiled that would have been difficult.

Tiling would have been more expensive and it would have been difficult to attach the jubilee clips.

This pallet planter was featured in the A to Z of clever upcycling ideas and resources and in the 50 garden upcycling ideas.