Do you have a rusty old grill pitched somewhere out of sight — say, under the deck or behind the garage? I know I did for many years, and thus did user Beverly Gardner. Her grill was failed and rusty, she had stopped using it, and it was aging rather ungracefully in a corner of her lawn. 1 day inspiration struck. “I had the idea to turn it into a planter, since I enjoy craft projects, I like to garden, and I had to do something with this eyesore,” she says.
With a joyous planter in your mind, she searched for the correct pair of colors. She wanted a glowing green as a background for those blossoms that would cascade down the front of the grill, but fought with the complementary color. When she walked into work one day in a green shirt and watched a coworker in a lavender shirt, then she found her pairing.
Project: Changing a decrepit grill to some vibrant planter
Cost: $40
Time: One weekend
Gardner’s old grill hadn’t managed to stand up to the components. She made a visit to Home Depot to get ready for her project.
Materials and resources:
Garden hose with spray nozzleOld kitchen knife for scrapingScrub brush and bucket of soapy water with ammonia for cleanup greaseSpray-on primerPainter’s tape1 may green spray paint (Gardner selected Valspar’s Satin Everglade Glen)1 can of lavender spray paint (Gardner selected Rust-Oleum’s Painter’s Touch Ultra Cover in Satin French Lilac)
Gardner down everything, scrubbed down charred parts and got rid of grease with the soapy ammonia-water mix. She removed the grates and lid, and gave a coat of spray-on primer. Then she carefully recorded off the areas for one color, sprayed several coats — allowing dry time between — and then repeated the process for the second color.
Gardner covered the holes in the bottom of the grill with small rocks and landscape fabric. This allows water to drain while keeping dirt from falling through the floor. She stuffed the grill with potting soil and transplanted flowers into it by a hanging basket she’d purchased. This was an inexpensive and effortless way to receive blossoms that would fill the grill and then cascade down the front. “Putting potting plants and soil in it actually put life back into it,” she says.
The grill currently serves as a planter and handy side table for morning coffee, afternoon tea or evening cocktails. Occasionally she uses the side shelves for additional potted plants. “This project was simple to perform. It was rather inexpensive, and the results are amazing,” she says.
She looks forward to utilizing the repurposed grill yearlong. “I decorate for the seasons, so it is very likely that I will place something wintery with lights, possibly — I like lights,” she says.