Earlier this year, I put out a build that got a much bigger response than I expected. That kind of feedback tends to send me looking for the next project in the same vein — something practical, approachable, and worth someone’s weekend. So I went looking for another beginner-friendly build.

I spent a while searching before I landed on the right idea: a vertical wall planter I found on Etsy, listed around $135. It was a nice piece — tiered bins, clean lines, the kind of thing that looks great on a porch or an exterior wall. But $135 for what amounted to a few boards and some hardware felt like a lot. That gap between what it was and what it cost is usually where a good build idea comes from.

So I opened up SketchUp and started drawing my own version.

I wasn’t trying to reverse-engineer the exact listing — just capture the idea: a three-tier planter that mounts flat to a wall, works for flowers or herbs, and doesn’t require anything beyond basic tools. A few iterations later, I had a design that used just two 1x4x10 boards, some screws, and a handful of hardware most people already have sitting in a drawer.

From cut list to finished, hung-up planter, the whole build took about 3 hours — not counting time for paint to dry. Total cost landed right around $20, plants not included. That’s the number that made this one worth sharing: an Etsy-listing-quality planter for a little more than the cost of the wood.

One thing I liked about the design once it was done: it scales easily. If you want it wider, or want a fourth bin instead of three, you’re just adjusting a few measurements — the same basic method still applies. It’s a flexible starting point, not a one-size-fits-all pattern.

Overall, it was a fun, quick build, and it’s now hanging on my own exterior wall doing exactly what it’s supposed to — holding flowers and looking better than something that cost $20 has any right to look.

If you want to build one yourself, I’ve made the full plans free to download in my store — cut diagram, shopping list, and step-by-step instructions included. And if you’d rather watch the whole process first, the build video is linked above.