Main Project Aesthetics: Plans and Alternative

For my main project I want to make a planter box where I can plant flowers and herbs indoors. I want it to be a reasonable size for an apartment and I am planning on adding a drawer at the bottom to store gardening supplies that I might need to keep up with the plants. The drawer would hopefully be the moving part of my project. I decided on this project because I thought it could be fun to practice some woodworking skills which I haven’t done in a long time. I also have never stained anything so I thought that part could be exciting to try out. Also, I was excited to make something that I would use on a day-to-day basis if it turns out the way I want it to. I’m hoping to make something like the picture below by Vineta Jackson (1). 

Right now I’m planning on making the planter box in the modern farmhouse aesthetic because that had been my favorite aesthetic for awhile and that is what my room aesthetic is already in. I talked a little bit about what features make the modern farmhouse aesthetic in my last post, so keeping true to that, I would stain the wood to make it look more rustic and make sure to use clean lines and simple shapes. I would make sure the stain was also a lighter and earthy tone to fit with the color palette of the modern farmhouse aesthetic. I may also add in an iron handle for the drawer to make it look like it better fits into the modern farmhouse aesthetic. Below is a sketch of the current design I’m thinking of trying to make.

After thinking about another aesthetic I could create the planter box in, I thought of brainstorming ways to make it fit into the industrial aesthetic. Industrial aesthetics are known for “taking something old, commercial, vintage, or recycled and giving it a second lease on life, without stripping it of its original character” (Kocharian, 2). The aesthetic is typically created from dark colors and paired with a lot of metal like iron and steel. Industrial aesthetics typically add texture by using brick and concrete and have a modern finish with accent vintage elements. For an industrial look, I would probably make the flower planter more out of metal and make metal shelves that I could add planting pots to. My idea for the industrial aesthetic is below.

I think both of these ideas seem interesting to work on, but since I am hoping to get better with my woodworking skills, right now I plan on sticking with the modern farmhouse style planter.

Sources:

1. Vineta Jackson, 2023, https://www.thehandymansdaughter.com/diy-railing-planters/
2. Kocharian, Anna. “Here’s Everything You Need to Know About Industrial Style”. Apartment Therapy, Aug. 2020, https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/industrial-style-36771433