How to Make an Outdoor Planter Umbrella Stand

On the 4th of July, we hosted a little BBQ and right before everyone arrived, our umbrella stand broke. Through the whole party, the umbrella kept almost falling over- so annoying. So we decided to use the top from the old stand to make a new one. Pretty recently, we made an umbrella stand that worked like an end table. So this time I thought I’d share hot to make an outdoor planter umbrella stand. 

how to MAKE AN OUTDOOR PLANTER UMBRELLA STAND

SUPPLIES

• Green Planter
• 2 Bags of Concrete
• 4 Casters
• Steel Pipe
• Flowers and potting soil
• We used spare wood for the inside of the base, but if you don’t have any you’ll probably need a 2×4 and a 2×6 board.

Note, we spent about $50 on supplies (including $17 in flowers). A good umbrella stand is around $40-$55, but then you get the decorative aspect of the planter so I think it’s worth it. Let me show you.

step 1

Start by cutting two 2×6 pieces of wood to fit in the bottom of the planter. We cut ours 11″ wide. Then we cut 45 degree angles 2 1/8″ over (if you look close, you can see the measurements written on the wood). We test fitted it to find where the tabs were, marked them with a pencil, and then cut 1″ in so the wood would fit snug in the base.

Below is a picture of the wood in place.

step 2

Next, after you have the wood fitting snug in the planter, pull it out and turn it over. Cut a 2×4 to be 7″ long. Attach the 2×4 centered to hold the two pieces of wood together.

Make a box of 2×4’s to hold the umbrella sleeve. We cut two pieces 5″ long and two pieces 2″ long. If you’re not using an umbrella sleeve, you can also use a Steel Pipe.

step 3

And now, attach the box to the 2×4 with screws at an angle.

Place it in the planter. The base piece of wood is so that if you want to add casters later, the screws have something to attach to. The box is to keep the umbrella holder level while the concrete gets poured.

step 4

Pour two bags of concrete (we actually use 1 and 3/4 bags) into the planter base. Read the instructions on the bag to mix the correct amount of water. Let dry.

Attach casters to the base. These make it so you can easily push the umbrella stand around to get the shade where you want it.

step 5

Finally! It’s time to make this planter cute! To be 100% honest, I shouldn’t have bought a green planter. Why?  Don (my 5 year old) favorite color is green and he didn’t want me to paint this. Or I would have (which I think would have made it more expensive looking). Instead, I used my Cricut to cut out decals to give the base a pattern.

I also added potting soil and planted a bunch of petunias. They look a little sad now, but I think they’ll perk up in a few days.

after

Ta da! Here’s this cute little planter! The flowers are my favorite part. And, like I said, I think they’ll get even better!

I think the decals are fun but also possibly too much? I’ll just go with fun 😉

In case you’re wondering, the umbrella I got last year is now out of stock. But this one is super similar!

If I was to do this all over again, I’d get a more expensive looking planter. And paint it white. But I still love it! And sometimes it’s ok to give in a little about decor (I’m telling myself that- ha!).

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