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DIY Midcentury Plant Stand With Hairpin Legs

Learn how to make a very simple and chic DIY midcentury plant stand with hairpin legs. A plant stand is an easy way to make large plants look bigger and more intentional.

DIY Midcentury Plant Stand

I want to focus more on doing some quick and easy DIYs for those of you who don’t have either the time or the tools required for big builds. The truth is, smaller projects are probably more practical for most people…including me these days, if I’m being honest.

So today I’m sharing a quick and easy DIY midcentury plant stand I made for a beautiful plant I recently brought indoors for the winter. (I shared a post about debugging plants to bring indoors for the winter.) It looked great in the space but was just a hair too short. There’s something about even a small plant stand that makes large plants look more intentional.

large fiddle leaf fig plant
DIY Midcentury Plant Stand

While I whipped mine up using scrap wood from my wood pile, I’m also going to explain how you can make this if you don’t have access to any saws or a KregJig. For those of you with a tool collecting problem—I’ll also include the steps I took to make this using some scrap from my supply 🙂

DIY Plant Stand Supplies

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And here’s how to make a DIY midcentury plant stand with hairpin legs

Always take the proper precautions and safety measures before working with any tools or materials. Wear safety equipment and work with a professional to complete projects when necessary. Read my full terms of use and disclosure for more. Happy making and stay safe!

Step 1: If you’re using scrap wood for your stand…

I decided to work with scrap plywood I had left over from the 4×8 piece I used for my indoor cat house side table, my hairpin leg plant stand, and a hanging plant pot holder. Yes, after all of those projects, I still had materials left over! Talk about stretching one $50 piece of plywood as far as it can go. 

The piece I had was longer and thinner than what I wanted to use. I wanted a square that was no smaller than 12” by 12”, no larger than 14” by 14”. The piece was about 8 inches wide, so I cut two 14 inch pieces from the scrap piece. I then trimmed one of them down by 2 inches, leaving me with one 8 inch piece and one 6 inch piece. 

piece of scrap wood
creating the stand's base
creating the stand's base

If you’re looking for an easier, saw-free option…

There are a few routes you can take if you don’t have a saw—or if your saw isn’t capable of ripping larger pieces of plywood. I’ll list my ideas below.

  • Grab a piece of 2 foot by 2 foot ¾” sanded plywood at Lowes for under $10 and have an employee cut it down for you to your desired measurements. 
  • Find the poplar that you have cut in store and pay for by the foot. Here is a link to what I mean. Get a 1 inch by 12 inch board and have an employee cut off a 12” piece for you. The listed price online at Lowes is $5.48/foot. 
  • If you want to paint the stand and don’t mind not having a wood look, you can get a ¾ inch 2 foot by 2 foot piece of MDF and have them cut it down in stores. It’s listed on Home Depot’s website for about $5.50.
  • If your plant is light enough, check out something from the craft store like this 14 inch by 14 inch unfinished wood pallet plaque or this 12 inch by 12 inch wood panel that’s ¾ inch thick. 

Like DIY planters? Check out my roundup of my best planter DIYs, as well as my DIY plant propagation station!

Step 2: Assemble the plant stand’s main part (if using scrap wood)

Since I was hellbent on using scrap wood, I needed to attach two pieces to one another to create the size I needed. I did this by using my KregJIg K4 to drill pocket holes in the two pieces where I wanted to join them.

I then used 1 ¼” pocket hole screws to join the two pieces together. Since my plant was pretty heavy, I also decided to use the piece I’d trimmed off as a perpendicular support piece. I just drove a few wood screws in to reinforce it. 

You can skip this step if you do not have to join pieces of scrap wood!

drilling pocket holes
creating the stand's base
plant stand base

Step 3: Attach the hairpin legs

This would usually be my last step, but I decided to do it before finishing the piece. I thought elevating it would make it easier to apply the urethane on the sides. 

I attached the beautiful 6 inch hairpin legs using ¾” wood screws. The screws that came in the package with the legs were too long to use.

Simple DIY Midcentury Plant Stand with hairpin legs
Adding polyurethane to the simple plant stand

Step 4: Sand and finish

After giving the entire wooden platform piece a light sanding using 220-grit sandpaper, I applied one coat of my favorite finish: Varathane water-based polyurethane in matte. I love the flat matte finish, and it provides superior protection.

I did three coats total, sanding lightly and wiping the piece down between each coat. After I was done the final coat, I let it dry completely overnight and then popped my plant on…and a few friends 😉

Adding polyurethane
Adding polyurethane

Easy as that! What do you think? You really can’t beat it, honestly. The larger elevated surface area also gives me some more growing space in a higher light area of our home. Gotta maximize all the space I can!

Want plant care tips for my favorite houseplants? Check out my roundup of the easiest houseplants to care for. You can also check out my favorite plants to propagate: snake plantssucculentspothos, peperomia, string of pearlsrubber plants, and prickly pear cactus.

Simple DIY Midcentury Plant Stand with hairpin legs and plants
Simple DIY Midcentury Plant Stand with hairpin legs and plants
Simple DIY Midcentury Plant Stand with hairpin legs and plants
Simple DIY Midcentury Plant Stand with hairpin legs and plants
Simple DIY Midcentury Plant Stand with hairpin legs and plants
Plant stand with plants and text DIy Midcentury Plant Stand with Hairpin Legs
Plant stand with plants and text DIy Midcentury Plant Stand with Hairpin Legs

Pin my DIY Midcentury Plant Stand!

collage that says how to make a simple & modern plant stand with images of the process

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    This blog's content is for entertainment purposes only and is not professional advice. By reading this blog and attempting to re-create any content shared on it, you assume all responsibility. Read my full Terms of Use here.