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At The Picket Fence with Vanessa Hunt

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September 9, 2014

DIY Wood Plant Stand

The other night as I was tucking my 11 year old son into bed, he asked if I would lie down with him for a few minutes.

He was listening to an ‘Adventures in Odyssey’ CD and wanted me to hear the latest story in the series.

Now, this was one of those moments that every mom of a tween boy dreams about. Normally at bed time any kind of overtures (a.k.a. kisses) from me are met with “Ew, mom, stop!” I, of course, ignore him and just keep kissing and hugging him. And I especially love going back into his room after he is sound asleep and kissing his cheek over and over since he can’t squirm away from me then! 😉

white wood plant stand atthepicketfence.com
As I lay there next to him I realized that I was starting to get sleepy…very, very sleepy. So, in an attempt to perk myself up a little bit and, let’s face it, to try and make my son laugh, I began to act out the scenes from the story.

I was bold! I was theatrical! I was dramatic! And, the best part…I had him laughing. Ok, so he was laughing and rolling his eyes at me but still!

He said, “Oh mom, I’m totally hilarified right now!” Now I pride myself on being up on the latest slang words but this one was new to even me. “What’s ‘hilarified’?” I asked him.

“You know, like when I think what you are doing is partly hilarious but I’m also partly horrified.” 😉

And thus a new word was added to our family dictionary.

One which came in very handy soon thereafter when I got an idea…

DIY wood planter box turned plant stand from At the Picket Fence.com
I’d been on the lookout for some time now for a plant stand to go in this little corner of my living room. And I thought I had found the perfect one at a second-hand store until I realized that it was just way too short.

Then I had an idea…but I realized quickly that it could either end up looking totally awesome or I could find myself completely ‘hilarified’ by it!

building a wood plant stand or column

I removed the feet from the bottom of the wood column. I’m pretty sure that it’s not a pulpit but doesn’t it remind you of one? Maybe it will come in handy when I need to ‘preach’ a few sermons to my kiddos!

removing feet from stand

Then I attached the wood column to the planter box using wood glue.

using a planter box to make a plant stand

The entire thing received a couple of coats of creamy white paint a little bit of distressing.

wood plant stand atthepicketfence.com

Turns out I wasn’t ‘hilarified’ after all!

DIY wood plant stand atthepicketfence.com

I was thinking the other night about how being a mom of a tween boy is like a ‘dance’. I’ll elaborate on that more in another post.

But, for now, let me just say that being told that I ‘hilarified’ my boy felt like a ‘win’ to me. Because moms of boys know that behind that eye roll and that “Oh mom” they really do love it when you crack them up.

And let’s face it. It’s really just pay-back for all of those times when they ‘hilarify’ us, right? 😉

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17 Comments Filed Under: Decorating, DIY, Good Ideas

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Comments

  1. Marisa Franca @ All Our Way says

    September 9, 2014 at 4:06 AM

    Well I’m not hilarified and it looks pretty darn good to me. Isn’t it amazing how ingenious we can be when we need something. It fits perfectly in that corner. Thank you for sharing — fives me ideas of what to do for future “too short” projects.

    Reply
    • Vanessa says

      September 9, 2014 at 12:27 PM

      Thank you so much Marisa!!

      Reply
  2. Leslie Stewart @ House on the Way says

    September 9, 2014 at 4:07 AM

    Love this project! It’s such a beautiful Plant Stand! Have a great week.
    Leslie

    Reply
    • Vanessa says

      September 9, 2014 at 12:30 PM

      Thanks Leslie! 🙂

      Reply
  3. Donna Martin says

    September 9, 2014 at 5:01 AM

    You just keep on giving your tween kisses and hugs and making hilarified pieces of furniture!!!

    Reply
    • Vanessa says

      September 9, 2014 at 12:30 PM

      Oh I will for sure Donna! Thanks so much for coming by! 🙂

      Reply
  4. Nancy Sharp says

    September 9, 2014 at 5:16 AM

    I didn’t raise boys but I’ve learned a lot from my three grandsons. Their tween and teen years are so mixed with feelings of sometimes wanting to be that little boy and wanting to be grown up. I saw a cute cartoon the other day of a big teenage boy on his mom”s lap, long legs and arms sprawling. The caption said sometimes you just need lap time.

    Reply
  5. Shirley@Housepitality Designs says

    September 9, 2014 at 6:31 AM

    Oh those are great moments of “mommyhood” I so remember those days…and they truthfully never end!…love it when my granddaughter “cracks me up” and she admits that “she cracks herself up”…and vice versa…The way you elevated that plant stand is genius…it is fantastic!…perfect addition to the space!..Great job Vanessa…Have a great day enjoying “hilarity”….

    Reply
  6. Pam @diy Design Fanatic says

    September 9, 2014 at 7:53 AM

    Love the new word and your plant stand! They both are awesome!

    Reply
  7. Marie@The Interior Frugalista says

    September 9, 2014 at 9:05 AM

    How creative and hard to tell that it wasn’t made this way. Definitely not hilarified! Gotta cherish moments like that with our kids, especially when they become tweens and before you know it, leaving the nest.

    Reply
  8. Kathy @ Creative Home Expressions says

    September 9, 2014 at 11:30 AM

    It looks great, Vanessa, I love it! Your fern looks perfect on it, too. Well, hilarified or not, enjoy these sweet moments with your boy. : )

    Reply
  9. Vanessa says

    September 9, 2014 at 4:42 PM

    Vanessa,

    The plant stand looks awesome! I love how you gave it more height.

    Reply
  10. martina says

    September 9, 2014 at 5:26 PM

    Hilarified…love it!! Love that plant stand too…awesome job Vanessa!!

    Reply
  11. Janelle@The Peaceful Haven says

    September 10, 2014 at 9:58 AM

    I am adding the word “hilarified” to my vocabulary! LOVE the plant stand!

    Reply
    • At The Picket Fence says

      September 10, 2014 at 2:24 PM

      LOL! Thanks Janelle! 🙂

      Reply
  12. Cindy says

    September 10, 2014 at 12:36 PM

    Sweet memories, and a new word too! So sweet.
    Love your plant stand!
    Blessings,
    Cindy

    Reply
  13. debbiedoos says

    September 10, 2014 at 7:34 PM

    Well isn’t that clever! I love it and the plant looks perfect on your diy stand. And thanks for the new word of the day:)

    Reply

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