Our first trip involved some hands-on research in the lumber department. We quickly ruled out pressure-treated wood because it can’t easily be painted. We ruled out Cedar because it comes in weird sizes and is crazy expensive if you want high-grade.

This left us a little stumped and somewhat downtrodden, but after some googling I stumbled upon this tutorial, and we finally set out to build some simple, affordable planter boxes out of good-old-fashioned plywood. The great thing about this design is that it’s inherently simple and can be built to fit any area with a little adjustment. It can also be embellished and trimmed to any degree you see fit.

We were shooting for approximately 10 linear feet of 9″ by 9″ boxes, so we began by having a HD associate rip our plywood into 9″ strips on the horizontal. We then had the 9″ x 8′ strips cut to 4′ and 2′ lengths, but admittedly, we wish we hadn’t. The cuts weren’t perfectly square on the ends, and a few were more than 1/4″ off in length. This isn’t a huge deal, since all of the seams will be trimmed, but I’m confident that I could have done a more precise job at home.

Supplies needed:
4′ x 8′ plywood, cut to 9″ strips
45′ door & window corner trim (to trim finished boxes)
8 – 6″ L brackets
galvanized 1 5/8″ screws
finishing nails
paintable caulk (with appropriate gun)
Zinsser Bullseye 1-2-3 primer
exterior semi-gloss paint
2 mil plastic drop cloth (for lining)

Tools used:
miter saw
hammer
drill(s) with spade bit, screwdriver bit, and countersink bit
electric sander
tape measure & square
paint brushes

All of these tools and products are pretty straight-forward. Our goal was to spend under $100 on materials, but it ended up a little over budget and came in right around $120. (Keep in mind, we purchased everything, down to the last nail for this one. We just so happened to be out of supplies that we normally have on hand, except for the primer.) We actually found this to be quite a nice price point, as many of the 48″ solid wood boxes we found online were upwards of $100 each. We ended up with two 48″ boxes and one 24″ box for nearly the same price.

As with any of our projects, if you’re not comfortable safely operating any of these tools, please enlist the help of someone who is. We certainly don’t want anyone getting hurt in the name of patio flowers.

Enough about materials. On to the fun part! As I mentioned, the design is really nothing more than a plywood box. All of the cuts for the box can be simple chops of your plywood strips. Just remember to measure twice and cut once, since we always try to plan things so that we waste as little material as possible.

Again, we weren’t out for perfection on this one, as the boxes will sit outside our deck’s railings and will be mostly out of view. We were however concerned with a sturdy final product that looked good, and could be safely supported to hang 20′ off the ground. We jumped right in and started measuring and cutting our desired lengths.

Our small box, which is designed to grow a few tasty herbs, measures out to around 9″ x 9″ x 24″. Here’s how the dry fit looked. Again, incredibly simple.

We again put our entire line-up of Milwaukee drills to the test, with one drilling pilot holes, one countersinking (or chamfering if you prefer) and one driving screws. This is certainly a job that can be easily accomplished with one drill, but we had 3 on hand, so it was easiest to have one bit on each drill for speedy construction.

Remember to assert a bit of pressure when joining the end pieces to the bottoms and sides. This will ensure a tight fit. Oh, and remember to hide your face.

Here’s how the 24″ box came together. Once we had our cuts made, it was assembled in just a few minutes. Total time for this simple box, start to finish was around 20 to 30 minutes.

…And just for scale, here’s how the 3 boxes turned out. Admittedly, they’re a little larger than we initially envisioned. We think 7″ to 8″ would be more than adequate width x height, but again, the most important thing here is scale. Like I said, we’re going big this year.

Here’s the approximate screw pattern we ended up using. Again, not pretty, but the ends will be trimmed, caulked and painted when it’s all said and done. If you end up with any unsightly gaps in your corner junctions, don’t worry too much. We’ll be caulking everything later to keep it all as water-tight as possible.

A quick sand (with our new Ryobi sander that I convinced Kim was absolutely necessary for this project, mind you!) to remove splinters and ready things for primer is a good idea at this point.

Next we moved on to the corner trim. Careful measuring and 45 degree cuts on the ends will ensure a nice, tight fit. Remember, the trim will serve to spruce things up and hide the unsightly, open ends of the plywood, so take your time on this step. We used simple finish nails (and a nail set tool where necessary) to attach the trim to the plywood.

After trimming the tops and bottoms with this pattern, I cut end pieces with 90 degree ends to hide the vertical plywood ends. You get the idea:

We then used a 1/2″ spade bit to cut drainage holes approximately every 6″ in the bottom of the boxes. (A standard drill bit would work out just fine.) This will let excess water drop swiftly out the bottoms, and keep the wood from rotting.

All in all this project has been pretty painless so far. It’s taken a bit more time than we estimated, but the weather was gorgeous this weekend, so it was a perfect excuse to spend a couple of afternoons out on the deck. I would say I’ve invested around 4 or 5  construction hours so far, with Kim helping out when I needed another set of hands.

All we’ve got left to do is caulk, prime and paint, then line everything with plastic and we should be pretty good to hang the boxes and start planting. Part 2 of this here tutorial will be coming as soon as we can get those ducks in a row.

Has anyone else tackled custom planters from wood or any other material?

During the few days that your comments rolled in, I reveled in each one. I read some aloud (to get them to really stick), and I went back to them during the course of my work day. Things are good; we couldn’t be more excited about the direction of the Shop. But sometimes, it’s simply easier to get caught up in the work, and when you’re in your zone, it’s too hard to turn it off. (Especially when it’s close to your heart.) And as I read through your mantras during this busy time, I really felt like each one held weight for me, too. Although they may not have fit into my right now, they triggered friendly reminders for those other battles – small ones, big ones and the in-betweens.

Here were some of our favorites, and as tried and true as some of them are, they really hit home:

My motto would have to be “Be who you are and say what you feel because those who matter don’t mind and those who mind don’t matter.” (Dr. Seuss) – Sarah

If you have a chance to be kind and helpful, take it. – Suzanne

Be kind, for everyone you meet is fighting a hard battle. – Hilary

Walk the goddess walk. – Stesse (side note: this one’s a tribute to our good friend, Arielle)

If you have to eat a frog, don’t spend a lot of time looking at it. If you have to eat three of ‘em, don’t start with the small one. Meaning, don’t over-think or put off doing big/annoying/UN-appetizing things to do – just get it over with and you’ll feel much better for it afterwards! – Britani

If you never try, you’ve already failed. My fear of failure has stopped me from doing so much, and this helps to remind me that I will never succeed if I never try. – Melissa

Life moves pretty fast, if you don’t take a look around once in a while, you might miss it. – Zandi

My goal in life is to be as good a person my dogs think I am. – Lili

It’s not supposed to be easy. Sometimes when things get tough, I want to just quit until I remind myself that it’s not all supposed to be easy. Being challenged and uncomfortable is a great growing experience! – Emily

I told Scott how motivated you made me feel, and it was then that I realized our full circle moment. Our Just Keep Going print is our daily reminder to take one bite at a time, to put one foot in front of the other. Jess – the awesome woman behind the print – aims to build her life with intention while helping others along the way. And while unintentionally meaning to, I asked you for your favorite words of wisdom – and you helped me. xo.

PS: Let’s use your fuel and plan for a productive, fun and restful weekend. Okay?

Today marks a special day in history. Exactly 30 years ago, my beautiful, talented, hilarious wife was born on an Air Force base in the Florida panhandle.

Since Kim and I met a little over 9 years ago, my life hasn’t been the same. I’ve been inspired by her creativity, motivated by her unending passion for the things she loves, and along the way, fallen stupidly, unapologetically in love with her.

Kim is the most honest, genuine person I’ve ever met and I can say with complete certainty that I would not be the person I am today without her by my side for 90% of the last decade.

Here’s to a Happy 30th Birthday and to 30 bazillion more. I can’t wait to spend the rest of my life with you. Loves ya!

(Full disclosure; Kim was opposed to this post making it’s way into existence. Oh, well. Deal with it, lady.)

PS: Congrats to the winner of last week’s Jess LC giveaway, Lili!

While Scott was completely sold on the blue (just like many, many of you), I was feeling hopelessly torn – even leaning yellow most days. But after a mini trip to a vintage store in our neighborhood had us bringing home a cheery yellow pitcher – and after explaining to Scott it could hold flowers on our console, obviously – I finally came to the same conclusion as most of you. Our table should be blue. One yellow pitcher + one blue table = the perfect balance.

Yes, really, the new pitcher swayed my vote.

Just to be one hundred percent on the decision, I read through your comments one more time (bringing the total to at least twenty). We think Jane hit the nail on the head with her comment, I think the blue strikes a nice balance between colorful and fun, but not too busy or different.

Being that we were finally on the same page, we hauled ourselves to the Depot, pulled swatches and squinted our eyes over ten shades of blue. The winner? Totally Teal by Glidden (the last one on the right in the first Instagram snap – and yes, we cringe at the name, too). It’s a little green, a little blue (um, you know, like teal typically is), but it’s got enough grey in there to keep the color neutral enough for our home.

I know what I’m doing this weekend. (Perhaps writing that down will make me move faster. Maybe.)

We kicked off the weekend with celebration, enjoying a yummy meal – and drinks, lots of them – organized by my better half  (I’ll be turning thirty this week!). Of course it only made sense to continue our Friday fiesta with a Saturday of Cinco de Derby, somehow ending the evening in a friendly push up competition (which, by the way, oww).

Thrown in the mix was a sporadic vintage shop adventure, brunch with the girls (while Scott smoked pipes in tents with our friend, Pete, of Wood House), our weekly Soicabulls walk and happening upon Jack’s brother from another. We squeezed in talks of our future summer patio, solidifying a few plans and wishing it would stay warm already.

How about you?

We’ve yet to get started on that console makeover (blue or yellow? blue? no, yellow?), although with any luck, we’ll solidify the color choice this weekend. We’ve been embracing our cherry wood for now (as we have for years!), but the real star on that entry wall is our most recent art purchase, Just Keep Going, by Jess LC.

A jewelry and accessories designer by trade, Jess is constantly expanding and evolving, and most recently, she created the Wells collection in collaboration with Ampersand Design Studio. With Jess’ mission to help people design a life with intention, the Wells collection interprets those intentions through inspiring, frame friendly 16″x20″ art prints. (Learn more about the collection’s story right here.) Alongside Just Keep Going is Be Brave, Be Present and Dream Bigger, from left to right:

But let’s talk about what’s in it for you. We’ve teamed up with Jess to treat one lucky reader to their own grey and gold Just Keep Going print, our personal favorite with an encouraging message. We’re so lucky to call Jess a friend, and as she’s reminded us (both personally and through her written words), when you get knocked down, get back up. Dust yourself off, and just keep going.

The details:

• Up for grabs: One lucky winner will receive a 16″x20″ Just Keep Going print from the Jess LC Wells collection.
• To enter: Simply comment on this post and let us know, what’s your motto? You know, your daily mantra – those words you (strive to) live by? Maybe you firmly believe that when life hands you lemons, you make lemonade. Or maybe, you simply believe in the power of clean skivvies (like mom always said).
• For additional entries: Share this giveaway on Facebook or Twitter, then come back and leave a comment letting us know. (One additional comment for each method – up to 2 extra entries!)
• Giveaway ends: Tuesday, May 8th, 6pm EST
• Shipping restrictions: Anywhere in the world

The lucky dog winner will be selected using random.org and announced on Wednesday, May 9th. Good luck and happy entering!

Stock print images courtesy of Jess LC.

We’ve been busy (again, good). During the day, I’ve been poring over hundreds of completed paintings, working them into site mock-ups, covering every studio surface with papers, pens and markers – and getting misty eyed when I think about the stories behind each furry kiddo. In the evenings, I show Scott my ideas from the day and ask for his opinions on photos, fonts and colors. The weekends are spent gathering inspiration and learning; I spent this past Saturday meeting like-minded creatives, soaking in business intentions and getting more excited than ever about the direction of the Pet Shop.

All that to say, there is a whole new Pet Shop in the works. We’ll be moving away from our one page layout, and we’ll be debuting a friendlier shopping cart, clean pages and fresh, clear details. A shipshape Shop, so to speak.

As we grow and learn, so come changes and exciting partnerships. In addition to our new virtual digs, we’re looking forward to three fundamental tweaks: 1) collaborating alongside animal rescue nonprofits, 2) the introduction of a larger stock size, and 3) an increase in our pricing structure.

If you’ve ever had your eye on a pet portrait, it’s a great time. Your continued encouragement of the Shop has pushed us further and allowed us to improve and flourish over the years – and we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We’ve always aimed to offer a friendly price point while creating unique and lively conversational art of your pet; we always will. However, with growth comes rate restructuring.

This new Shop will debut at the end of this month! We’re bursting to share it with you, but until then, we’re happily accepting orders as usual. This includes custom portraits, gift certificates and all items in our Etsy shop.

Thank you for everything – for visiting our home throughout the week, for sending us thoughtful well wishes, and for supporting us through thick and thin. (Really, how awesome are you?)

PS: If you’re a volunteer for a nonprofit rescue and you’re interested in a partnership, please reach out to partner@yellowbrickhome.com for more details. We’d love to hear from you!

PPS: Remember Mr B and Miss M? They’re sharing our painting of their fine selves on Two Pitties in the City today! Check it out right here.