Repurposing an old chair into a container garden is a perfect way to add interest to your front porch, deck or garden spot beyond the typical potted planter. My friends know me, so it was no surprise when my pal Diana opened her car trunk and handed me an old iron ice cream parlor chair. Worn, peeling white paint, and darling; perfect for a chair garden.  As soon as I saw the missing circular seat, I knew that I could pop a pre-made wire hanging plant basket into that hole, and here's how I did it.

Chair Garden 101

#1 Gather Your Ingredients:
-Zip ties to secure the basket, scissors for snipping zip ties, opening soil bags and trimming your foliage. 
-Wire hanging plant container measured for the diameter of the seat.
-Coco liner (if it didn't come with one).  Get a spare if you want to add a protective layer to the top of the soil.
-MiracleGro 'Moisture Control' potting mix. A good all around potting mix.
-Watering can and water.
-Assorted seasonal flowering annuals. I chose late summer/fall finds at my local Lowes. Look for a few tall, a few bushy and then a trailer -one that will spill over. 

Gather your ingredients to create a CHAIR GARDEN

#2. Pop in wire hanging plant container and secure with zip ties, Snip ends. Line container with coco liner.

Secure wire basket to Chair with zip ties

Fill halfway up with potting soil

#4 Add in plants, taller in back, bushy in the middle and add the trailer to the front.  Fill in soil and then give your creation a good, long shower of water. 

After arranging, water CHAIR GARDEN well

I like to purchase a 2nd coco liner and shred it and tuck it around all the plantings.  This will keep the moisture in, protect the soil from spilling out when watering and also add a decorative look. You can also use store bought moss for the same effect.

A final layer of shredded coco liner completes the CHAIR GARDEN

• In our example, a large painting from the living room was swapped. The scale, colors and style looked great over the couch.

• In our example, a new position for the chair, and an added ottoman from another room creates a new arrangement for the space. The brown ottoman pulls the color down from the paneled ceiling and provides a place to put up your feet.

• In our example, we did some strategic power shopping at Tuesday Morning  and added colorful drapery panels and just in for fall, seasonal hued pillows to give the space an update.

• In our example we added a new rug to add that cozy layer for cooler days.  The fun ombre indoor/outdoor rug  from RugStudio was selected on-line. The vintage vases, tray and books were shopped from other areas of the home, and finish the room's new look.

Vacant homes don't show well.  Whether they are old, new, renewed, renovated or in great shape, they sit an average of 166 days empty. Staged, they sell in a month or less. WHY? Because people buy homes that speak to their hearts. A potential buyers doesn't look at a living room and say, yes, I would like to buy this home because the room is 14x19'.  They want to walk into a space and see themselves living there - People buy homes because they fall in love with them. They want a story of HOME.

Here's a cute house that we took from vacant to home.



By staging a vacant home, you create a guideline of how the home can be used and celebrated.  From furniture layout, function to styling - A potential buyer becomes part of the story and see themselves in the home - They become part of the story of HOME.