Yahoo Lifestyle 
DIY Bunnings planter box saves shopper thousands
A Bunnings shopper decided to get crafty after discovering that her dream outdoor planter boxes were just a little bit too far out of her price range.
“I wanted two tall skinny planter boxes for my Mediterranean-style alfresco/pool area,” explained DIYer Tara, from Victoria, in a Facebook post.
“But buying either fibreglass or concrete ones would have cost $500 to $1500 each,” she added.
It’s true, a quick internet search for ‘tall fibreglass planter box’ turns up several options at eye-watering prices — Tara’s budget, however, was just $150.
Undeterred, she picked up a pair of standard steel raised garden planters from Bunnings at $45 each. The next step was to disguise the legs by enclosing the planters in panels of corflute, a lightweight and affordable material typically used for signs.
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“It’s polypropylene so it won’t warp if it gets wet like timber might, plus you can cut it with a Stanley knife,” Tara tells Yahoo Lifestyle of her choice.
After giving the panels a light sand and cutting them to shape Tara used liquid nails and renderers tape to enclose each planter on three sides — she left the back of the planters exposed as they were going to be positioned against a wall.
She also made sure to leave a tiny gap at the bottom of each planter to let the water run out.
Time to paint
Then it was time to transform the plain white corflute into something a little more chic and stylish. For this, Tara used Dulux texture exterior paint which she applied using gloved hands instead of a brush or roller to amp up the concrete-like effect.
“The consistency of the paint is kind of like grainy porridge so you really need to use your hands for the most part.
“You could use a roller but it just spreads it too much and at least with your hands you can control the coverage and texture.”
After letting the paint dry it was time to move the planters into position and pop in some greenery. Tara was so pleased with her project that she shared some snaps to Facebook — and got an unexpected response.
“I’m a bit amazed at the response I’ve had for my little ol’ planter boxes,” she says.
The pics have received over 4.5k likes and hundreds of complimentary comments from fellow DIYers so far.
“Wow clever you, they look great,” wrote one.
“I love it! I have two of these planters and was wondering how to make them better. Now I know! Thank you,” added another.
One fan was convinced that Tara had a burgeoning business of her hands:
“Great job, you should take orders,” they suggested.
DIY Bunnings planter materials:
2x Pinnacle 1020 x 265 x 800mm Charcoal Raised Garden Planters, $45
Several panels of corflute for the sides, from $6
Stanley knife to cut the corflute to size
Liquid nails
Renderers tape to join the edges
Dulux texture exterior paint (fine to medium texture)
Disposable rubber gloves
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