Repurposed Lantern Planter
Every summer I challenge myself to come up with unique ways to plant my flowers. Yes, clay pots are great, but they’re so much more interesting in the landscape if they’re with other, more unusual containers. Today I’m going to share a Repurposed Lantern Planter, if you’ve jumped on the lantern craze that’s been around for a few years!
This idea is part of a monthly Pinterest Challenge inspired by Cindy from County Road 407. A group of creative bloggers use one inspiration photo found on Pinterest and put their own spin on it. If you’re visiting from Decor to Adore, welcome! I’m sure you enjoyed Laura’s seascape-vibed table. I love her themed creativity!
This month, we’re all decorating around an inspiration photo from Kelley at Kelleynan.com:
This pic is part of a summer home tour where Kelley used neutrals and naturals as a soothing, subtle decor scheme. I love the classic colors and textures of this picture. Gray, black, and white with soft green organics is totally my comfort zone! But I’m just starting to enjoy summer now that we are through our big Graduation Party, so I wanted to do a lantern to enjoy outside!
Since my one and only lantern was looking a little sad from it’s outdoor winter assignment (which looked a lot like the above picture), I had to start with a little refresh before any pretty could happen:
Begin Repurposing Your Lantern with a Good Cleaning
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Once I emptied the winter remains, I scrubbed up my lantern with a soapy metal pad ( get them HERE) and rinsed. BTW…I use these all. the. time. Then I cleaned the glass sides with glass cleaner.
Place Potting Soil and Plants in Your Lantern
To imitate a terrarium, I placed potting soil right into my lantern, without the top. You could drill drainage holes in the bottom; my creation is going to be under the porch, so I skipped this step. Small stones could also be placed at the bottom under the soil for drainage. I planted some clearance succulents that I picked up at Walmart that looked a little worse for the wear, but I think they’ll revive just fine. (You can grab a nice variety for yourself, HERE)
The dirt didn’t leak out the door at all, so my plan worked! There’s something appealing about seeing the dirt through glass, isn’t there? Usually terrariums are a winter thing indoors, but it’s kind of fun to recreate the look for the summer on the porch! The glass will probably make this container hot, but I think that will make the succulents happy;)
Some small stones were the finishing touch to cover the soil on the top. I fully intended to add the cover of the lantern and gave it a brush of outdoor poly ( I use THIS type for my outdoor projects) to seal in the peeling finish. But once I placed it on the top, I realized it just wasn’t going to work; the plants would be too high. At first I was mad I made the dirt so deep, but then my repurposing juices kicked in and decided the lid needed a new life, too!
The extra bags of stones were calling to me, and Kelley’s pic did have a candle…
Repurpose the Lantern Lid into a Candle Holder
Japanese design style must have hit, inspired by my Peonies blooming, because the lantern lid became the perfect tealight candle display. Citronella candles could also be used. So simple, so easy. All repurposed!
I added a fresh bouquet of peonies, placed on one of our “Repurposed Wood Lath Runners”. With a pretty pink and green tablecloth blowing in the wind, this summer porch table setting can be enjoyed all day long, even into the evening!
If you look closely, you can see some other repurposed flower containers. I lined a couple wall pocket baskets with cocoa liners and planted them to hang on an old garden gate. The shade flowers coordinate with the ones I planted in my “Vintage Bicycle Garden Art”, hanging right around the corner.
Here are some other vintage finds that have been repurposed as planters and garden art in and around our yard:
“Repurposed Garbage Can Planter with Vintage Fencing”
“Repurposed Birdbath as Succulent Planter”
“Repurposed Vintage Fencing Squares DIY”
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Are the gears of your mind churning with what you could use as a repurposed planter? Maybe you’ve got an old lantern that’s seen better days and needs some new life breathed into it. I’m sure my friends will have plenty more lantern inspiration and ideas, too. If you’re going in hop order, pop on over to Bluesky at Home and enjoy Carol’s ideas for styling lanterns in your home decor. Hope this Repurposed Lantern Planter idea spurred your creative ideas!
Please Pin, Share, and Enjoy the Rest of the Inspiration!
Lantern Decor Pinterest Challenge
Sharing at these lovely parties:
I love your decor idea. You transformed the lantern beatifully.
Love it, Lora such a great idea for repurposing an old lantern! My nephew did something like this for his wedding for each guest table centerpiece and it looked so pretty. Pinned
They would make beautiful centerpieces for a wedding, Marie! And lanterns are starting to show up at thrift stores in my area, too:)
That lantern lid has such a Zen look to it with the round stones and candles! Love the pinks of the peonies and flowers in the tablecloth. Wish I could score a garden gate like that!
Wish you could too, Kathy! They’re so fun to decorate with!
The succulents look lovely inside that lantern. Very pretty. Creative use of the lid by turning it into a small candle holder. Its a two for one project! Very pretty!
Thanks, Audra!The creative juices just started flowing;)
So lovely, Lora! Love the tablecloth, too! Thanks for sharing at Vintage Charm!
Your welcome, Cecilia!
You did a lovely job putting your succulent twist on this challenge, Lora! And I love the tealight holder… even glass votive cups could be used! 😉 Pinned to my summer decor board!
Glass votive cups probably would have helped the flames stay lit a lit longer, Julie;) It was a super windy day when I was working on this! Thx!
You were so smart to use the lantern base as a terrarium and then the top to hold candles. You always are so creative and I so much enjoy seeing how you style your home with your creations.
Thanks, Paula! I just wasn’t feeling like imitating this one exactly; needed some re-interpretation to get me motivated!
Lora, I love how you’ve repurposed this lantern and you’ve really come up with creative ways of reusing the whole thing. Love your terrarium and candleholder!!
Happy summer to you,
Barb 🙂
Thanks, Barbara! It was a fun project!
How cool, Lora! I love how you came up with something completely unique in terms of styling. That repurposing of the lid is really impressive. It’s like it was meant to hold tea lights. I always enjoy getting some inspiration from you. I now need to find some pocket baskets like those…what a great statement they make hanging on your wall! It’s been fun hopping with you.
So glad you enjoyed it, Crissy! I took a little more license with this one, but love when there’s a lot of variety on these hops! Good luck basket hunting; I got them secondhand, so can’t help you out:(
Now, I’m on the look out for a lantern that I can turn into a terrarium. The top into a candle holder is genius. I love this and the vignettes. Beautiful.
Thanks, Katie! I’ve been enjoying my peonies in bloom to the fullest!
This is so pretty, Lora! And I love the baskets on the gate, too…pinning!
Thanks, Linda! We used to have that gate on our veggie garden; decided it needed to be enjoyed more fully!
Lora, you should be the star of you own HGTV show! I love how creative you are. Love how your lantern/Terrarium turned out! So stinkin’ cute! Thanks so much for joining us.
You’re too funny, Cindy;) Yep…me and skinny Joanna could do it together…L.O.L.! I’m just loving all the variety that came out of the simple picture we were all working from! So fun to look through all the posts. You’ve rounded up a great group of talented ladies, girl! So much fun!
Lori I love what you did with the lantern. Turning the top into it’s own decor was genius. Happy Tuesday!
I couldn’t leave that part out, Terrie;)
Lora, how resourceful you are. I love the idea of making the lantern base into a terrarium. My mom made and displayed them when I was a kid so this brings back great memories. Turning the lid into a candle holder was another creative idea. Love seeing what you create on these Pinterest Challenges.
Thanks, Carol! I just needed a more summery version, since I’m just starting to enjoy summer!
A darling lantern to chic terrarium! You are truly so clever and creative. I adore it.
Thanks, friend! I’m really enjoying it on the porch:)