Sweeten the pot

DIY projects from Your Home and Garden

Show your your potted plants off in a self-decorated container using our DIY expert’s step-by-step guide.

Making colourful painted pots

Gather your section of indoor or outdoor pots and vases. These can be new, ones you already have at home or containers you have found at op-shops. Before starting, ensure the pots are well dusted and dirt-free.

You will need

Brushes
Resene Waterborne Sureseal pigmented sealer for glazed pots or Resene Aquapel & Terracotta Sealer for terracotta pots
Resene Non-Skid Deck & Path paint or Resene Sandtex Mediterrranean effect coating
Resene Quick Dry waterborne primer undercoat
Resene testpots in colours of your choice
Painter’s masking tape

Tip: For an extra glossy finish on exterior pots, finish in Resene Clearcoat. It will help protect bright colours and make the pot easier to clean.

Step-by-step instructions

Step 1 Step 1
For glazed pots, first cover them with a coat of Resene Sureseal pigmented sealer. Alternatively, if the ones you’re using are terracotta, you can use Resene Aquapel & Terracotta Sealer.

Step 2 Step 2
Allow this to fully dry, then apply a coat of Resene Quick Dry waterborne primer undercoat. I decided to make my vases textured so I applied a coat of Resene Non-Skid Deck & Path paint instead of primer. Allow this coat to dry fully before applying your colour.

Step 3 Step 3
For the indoor vases I took a bunch of random vases and unified them by painting them all with the Resene Lumbersider in Resene Foundry to give a dramatic effect.

Step 1 Step 4
For the outdoor pots I did various designs, some of which I drew freehand and some I used painter’s masking tape to create crisp, contrasting strips. You’re really only limited by your imagination.