Before you splurge on an exxy flower pot, consider this: could you create something beautiful and unique yourself? These DIY pot decoration ideas will harness your imagination and push you out of your creative comfort zone using classic materials like paints and pens and repurposing surprising household items (we hope you’ve held onto your old dishes!) As these pot ideas are designed more to be decorative than practical, it’s best to keep your plants in their inner plastic pots, removing them for big drinks.

A Tea Towel Transformation

A clever DIY pot decoration idea: use a patterned tea towel to give a plant pot a chic makeover.
A clever DIY pot decoration idea: use a patterned tea towel to give a plant pot a chic makeover.

If you have an old plant pot that needs a new life, a patterned tea towel will do the trick! Using glue, all you need to do is smooth the tea towel directly onto the pot, leaving a spot for drainage at the base. Adding glue over the top of the cloth will add a bit of water resistance, but to prevent it getting damp, keep this pot indoors.

Step 1: Wrap the tea towel around the pot to see how much material you need and where it will overlap, then cut to size.

Step 2: Paint all over the outside of the pot with a craft glue, then smooth on the material so that it sits nice and flat.

Step 3: Make small incisions in the material around the base so that it is easy to overlap the fabric and press onto the pot without bunching, and the same works for around the pot's rim, too.

Step 4: Add another light coat of glue over the tea towel. Allow it to dry completely before use.

Glue an old patterned tea towel onto a plant pot as an affordable and chic DIY pot decoration idea.
Glue an old patterned tea towel onto a plant pot as an affordable and chic DIY pot decoration idea.

What You'll Need

A patterned tea towel, glue, scissors and a paintbrush transform a plant pot.
A patterned tea towel, glue, scissors and a paintbrush transform a plant pot.

Just Add Rope

Affordable and chic DIY pot decoration ideas: a rope covered basket.
Affordable and chic DIY pot decoration ideas: a rope covered basket.

A laundry tub with handles makes a fabulous home for a plant pot, and rope will give it a chic, nautical feel. For a small tub like this one, around five packs of rope and 10 packs of extra hot glue sticks should do the trick. Pop on a TV show and sit down for the meditative craft work.

Step 1: Take the tub and flip it upside down, so you can start with the base. Add a small line of glue, following the shape of the tub and press the rope down onto it while the glue is still hot.

Step 2: Keep adding glue and rope, slowly working your way around the tub. Flip it back up and continue gluing the rope around, inching your way to the top. You may need scissors to trim the ends of the rope if it is particularly frayed.

Step 3: If your tub has handles, add hot glue, then tightly pass the rope under and over the handles, so they are wrapped up as well.

A rope-covered basket makes for a nautical pot decoration idea.
A rope-covered basket makes for a nautical pot decoration idea.

What You'll Need

Use a hot glue gun to wrap rope around a laundry basket for this DIY pot decoration idea.
Use a hot glue gun to wrap rope around a laundry basket for this DIY pot decoration idea.

SEE ALSO: Celebrating the Creative Process with Billie Justice Thomson

Create Your Own Clay Pot

DIY a clay pot for an affordable and chic DIY pot decoration idea.
DIY a clay pot for an affordable and chic DIY pot decoration idea.

This pot decoration idea is for the serious craft lovers – you make the plant pot from scratch using air dry clay. No baking or ceramic turntable needed; just regular kitchen utensils, creativity – and a bit of sunshine will help, too.

Step 1: Take a large lump of air dry clay and roll it out on baking paper. Add a little water if you need to smooth out the clay as you work.

Step 2: Take scissors or a kitchen knife and, using a ruler, cut edges to make a big rectangle of clay. Take the clay scraps, roll a small ball, then flatten and cut out a circle for the base.

Step 3: Join the short edges together of the rectangular piece of clay to form a tube, then attach the round base to one end. A paint brush dipped in water can smooth out the joins.

Step 4: Before the clay dries, add a drainage hole in the base of the pot by pushing a pencil gently through the base. Allow the pot to dry completely.

Step 5: Paint the pot using a trio of colours in the same shade family, like pinks and oranges or blues and purples. ‍

Step 6: Add several light coats of varnish inside and outside, allowing each to completely dry before the next, to seal the clay without moving the paint.

Transform a lump of air dry clay into an affordable and chic DIY pot decoration idea.
Transform a lump of air dry clay into an affordable and chic DIY pot decoration idea.

What You'll Need

Use paint and air dry clay to make a pretty clay holder for plant pots.
Use paint and air dry clay to make a pretty clay holder for plant pots.

Repurpose Little Dishes

Use old jars and dishes to create an affordable and chic DIY pot decoration idea.
Use old jars and dishes to create an affordable and chic DIY pot decoration idea.

Empty jars and dishes are a sweet way to display plants like succulents and little botanicals, just give them a hot rinse to clean them and make sure they are completely dry before you start your project. Then, let your inner creative experiment with paints and permanent markers.

Step 1: If the dish you are using has a gloss surface, give it a spray of a matte white paint to create a flat texture to paint on.

Step 2: Create your design using paints and add extra shadows and dimension with permanent marker designs over the top.

Step 3: Finish with several light mists of a matte fixing spray, allowing each coat to dry before adding another to avoid the paint running.

Get creative with paints and markers on small pieces of old crockery to make chic DIY plant pots.
Get creative with paints and markers on small pieces of old crockery to make chic DIY plant pots.

What You'll Need

Give old jars and dishes a new lease on life with paint and markers as a DIY pot decoration idea.
Give old jars and dishes a new lease on life with paint and markers as a DIY pot decoration idea.

SEE ALSO: 5 Cool Custom T-shirt Design Ideas to Try

Upcycle Old Plant Pots

Recycle an old plant pot for an affordable and chic DIY pot decoration idea.
Recycle an old plant pot for an affordable and chic DIY pot decoration idea.

A weathered pot will instantly look like new with a couple of coats of spray paint. Get creative with painters tape to make a border or play with block colours in fun shapes. Spray paint dries fast, making it a perfect afternoon activity.

Step 1: After scrubbing the pot clean and allowing it to dry, give it one full coat of spray paint.

Step 2: Create shapes using painters tape, and press them onto the pot, making sure the first coat of paint is completely dry.

Step 3: Spray another coat of paint in a different colour over the entire pot, making sure the tape is covered. It’s better to do several light mists to cover the pot rather than one thick coat as the spray paint can drip.

Step 4: Gently remove the tape to reveal your coloured border or pattern. Finish with a light mist of a clear setting spray, being sure to do very light coats to ensure the paint underneath doesn’t run.

An easy DIY pot decoration idea is using painters tape and spray paint on an old plant pot.
An easy DIY pot decoration idea is using painters tape and spray paint on an old plant pot.

What You'll Need

Use painters tape and spray paint for this clever pot decoration idea.
Use painters tape and spray paint for this clever pot decoration idea.