Showerthought: I keep seeing dressers turned into outdoor plant stands around town

Three houses on my street have old dressers on their porches or patios filled with flowers this spring. I've got a worn-out one in the garage that I was going to toss, but now I'm thinking of trying it. How do you prep the wood so it holds up outside, and what's the best way to add drainage for the plants?

3 comments

3 Comments

lucasjackson1mo ago

How is the dresser built? If it's solid wood instead of particle board, it can last a few seasons outside with the right prep. You'll want to drill a bunch of drainage holes in each drawer bottom and then seal everything with a few coats of outdoor polyurethane. Bennett.vera isn't totally wrong about the mold risk, but sealing all sides, especially the ends of the boards, really slows down the rot.

alexsullivan1mo ago

It’s a brutal truth but bennett.vera has a point. Watching a piece you fixed up just fall apart out there is pretty disheartening. You fight the warping and the mold for a while, but the weather always wins. Even with all that sealing work, it never really feels sturdy or right. Sometimes the dump is just where a thing belongs, and that’s okay. Saves you a summer of disappointment.

bennett.vera1mo ago

That trend looks terrible once the weather gets to it. All that work sealing wood and drilling drainage holes just for it to warp and grow mold in a season. Buy a real planter that's made for outside instead of making your porch look like a failed DIY project. That dresser belongs in the dump, not your garden.