Painted Front Door & DIY Planter Box Tutorial

Moving into our home brought on much needed TLC projects to freshen up the space.  

Our front door is wood, and was stained a dark finish that was peeling from the heat and weather exposure.  It was in desperate need of being stripped and refinished.  The original stain was dark; however, I wanted to paint it black to coordinate with the black shutters and wrought iron handrails out front.  Here it is all freshened up - 

 I wanted to incorporate some black on the other end of our home to help balance out the use of the color.  I thought in-between our garage doors would be the perfect spot for a black planter box. 

After seeing Kate from Centsational Girl's criss cross flower box, I knew that was the one I wanted to do!

Kate's turned out beautiful with pretty lemon trees planted inside -

 

I wanted to copy the look; however, decided to change a couple things.  Due to our changing seasons here in Utah, I wanted to be able to set a pot inside of it for easy transporting throughout the year.  Also, I wanted to use a little cheaper wood to cut the cost down.  My total cost was $40 for the one planter. 

I started by cutting 2x4's to create two squares (size varies, I did mine to accommodate the size of my pot) - 

To connect my two squares, I cut supports - 

I screwed them together using wood screws - 

Next I cut and attached two base supports across the bottom -

I used a thin wood panel to cover the exterior that I cut to fit each side of the square -

Using 1x2's, I framed the outside of the squares - 

Then created my x's using Kate's tutorials for all the correct angle to cut - 

I priced out bunn feet and I found I could make them for a fraction of the price.  I purchased a 2x2 and cut 3 inch sections off and marked the center - 

Next I drilled a hole and screwed in a two side threaded bolt -

After pre-drilling holes on my base, I screwed the bunn feet in -

Finally I was ready to caulk and fill nail holes -

Here it is, all painted and filled!  The pot just sits inside the box.  I did spray a waterproof protect-ant inside to keep water damage from occurring.