When I first heard of air plants I thought they were fake.  How could a plant survive off of just air?!?! I mean, a plant that you don’t put in dirt and doesn’t need water – surely this is a dream plant for those of us whose green thumbs  are a bit challenged.  Am I right?  Well, as it turns out, air plants are real and do require water.  Even though they are not maintenance free, I thought this would be a plant even I could handle.

Air plants are a super trendy plant.  If you’re cool, you have an air plant in your space.  I think what’s so great about these little guys is you can get super creative with the type of vessel they are housed in.  Since they aren’t required to be anchored in dirt, you really can get creative with how you display them. I think this is why air plants really appeal to creative types – we can think outside of the box by placing them in terrarium or showcasing them in a metal sculpture hung on the wall.  There are so many different ways to display air plants!

I took a trip to the nursery to purchase my very own air plants.  Once I got the air plants, they spent a couple of weeks just chillin’ on my windowsill while I decided what kind of plant stand to make.  I found some really cool ideas, but loved one I saw at  West Elm.  The idea was simple and looked super easy to create.  Since I’m always on a mission to create the “look for less”, I went to the Dollar Store and bought a metal pan.  You know, one that you would bake lasagna in and take to a potluck?  Yeah, one of those.  The metal was sturdy enough to hold my lightweight air plants, but pliable that I could bend it with my fingers – no special tools required!

Supplies:

– Metal Baking Dish (I got mine from the Dollar Store)

– Gold Metallic Spray Paint

– Scissors

Air Plant Template

Here’s how to create your own DIY Metal Air Plant Stand:

1. Cut out the center of the metal tray.  Then, cut out the air plant templates and lay them on the tray.

2. Cut around the templates.

3. Cut out points on all 3 ends of the stand – this will help hold the air plant in place.

4. Add 2 coats of spray paint to both sides of the metal stand. Let the paint dry in-between applications.

5. Once the paint is dry, use your finger to fold the prongs up.  You’ll be able to play with these so they are in the right position to support your air plant.

6. Add your air plant!

This DIY was SUPER cheap to create and I think the end result is chic and sophisticated. You can make a metal air plant stand larger or smaller to accommodate any size air plant.   If you feel like you need to reinforce the metal so it’s sturdy enough for a heavier air plant, just glue 2 templates together with e6000 glue.

BTW…I’m now one of the cool kids with my two air plants.