DIY Wooden Vase Holder- A Quick Fall Decor Pallet Project

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Here we are on Fall’s doorstep with all these beautiful colors around and the last bit of the sunshine. Let’s invite some of this atmosphere into our homes with a little bit of DIY.

This time I’ve decided to make some use of the weather and make a simple DIY wooden vase holder. It’s an incredibly versatile project, and frankly, once you make it, you can use it all year round(I know I will :)) with different decoration arrangements.

You won’t need many materials. It’s made only with two wooden pallet boards and some glass bottles. The rest of the stuff you probably already have if you are doing any DIY-ing.

The length of the boards depends on the final size of the box. Suppose you want to use more bottles and make it longer, then use longer boards/planks.

The same goes for the height- it depends on the size of the bottles. The taller the bottle, the taller the box is. So make sure you have them ready first.

tools and materials

Materials:

  • 2 Pallet planks or wooden boards-check for link
  • DIY aging stain or any stain you like
  • Wood screws/nails
  • Bottles (4) any would do
  • Frozen glass spray paint optional
  • Water-based topcoat
  • Sandpaper discs P60,P80,P120
  • 2 magnetic door catches(optional)
  • Twine
  • Hot glue
  • Rags
  • Wheat stalks or any dried grass would do

Tools

  • Miter saw/ circular saw, jigsaw, or handsaw
  • Finishing sander(check this post for the best finishing sander recommendations)/RO Sander
  • Drill plus drill bits and hole saw bit 
  • Paintbrush
  • Hot glue gun
  • Face respirator
  • Safety glasses
  • Ear protection
  • Pencil and measuring tape

How to make a DIY wooden vase holder step by step

The wooden box

First, you want to make a wooden vase holder for the bottles. And then you can decorate the bottles if you want to.

Prep

Gather all the tools and materials so you can have them nearby, and then clean the boards if necessary. If you bought them, you could skip this step.

For reclaimed wood/pallet planks, I’d give them a good scrub with water and bleach solution and let them dry.

Cutting

  • Measure the length and height

    Once the boards are clean and dry, you have to determine the size of the box. Measure the bottle’s diameter at the bottom and its height. If you are going to attach the top board with nails/screws, make sure the bottle will fit underneath.

    So the sidewalls of the box will have the same height as the bottle. This way, you’ll be able to remove the bottles to clean.

    If you want to use the magnets, the bottle’s neck can go through the hole in the top board. So the sidewall’s height will be the same as the bottle’s body (without the neck).

Now you want to make sure everything will fit nicely into the box and is spaced out evenly. 

  1. You need to take the bottom plank and, starting from the left edge, mark the sidewall’s width. 
  2. From this point, you measure the distance between the wall and the bottle that you want I have 1 inch.
  3. Then you add the diameter of the bottle.
  4. Then repeat as many times as many bottles as you have and add another inch at the end.
  5. Add the thickness of the sidewall, and you got your button and top board length.

In my case, with four bottles:

Sidewall 3/4 inch + distance from the wall to the bottle 1inch + bottle diameter 3-1/5inch+ space between bottles 1inch+ bottle diameter 3-1/5inch+ 1inch+bottle diameter 3-1/5inch+ 1inch+bottle diameter 3-1/5inch+ 1inch+Sidewall 3/4 inch.

Altogether 18-19/64inch. I actually use metric measurements, so the final length was a prettier number, hehe 🙂

Now that you have the total length, it’s time to make the cuts. My boards made one long side and one short. If you have a benchtop belt sander or any belt sander that you can mount on the bench, then you can square the edges to make sure the sides fit perfectly. 

  • Mark the hole centers depending on the bottle size. 

    You can either do this at this stage or if you have the whole box assembled using nails/screws. Get the top plank and mark the center of each bottle. You should have the marks from the previous exercise.

    Find the bottle diameter length and make a mark in the middle. Then draw a line in the middle across the whole board. This way, you should have the centers marked. 

Drilling

Next, you have to get your hole saw bit and attach it to the drill. Make sure the size fits the bottle’s neck loosely. Drill the holes at marked points.

Making the space for the magnets(optional)

If you want the magnets not to stick out, you have to use a wood chisel or a router/Dremel tool to carve out space in the wood. Then they will snuggly fit inside and won’t be visible.

Sanding

Sand the wood if necessary. I had to because I used pallet planks, which were quite rough. I started at P-60, then moved to P80, and then P120. If you use a stain, you don’t want to go higher than P180, or the stain might not take as well.

Wipe the sand dust with a damp rag and let the wood dry.

Now you can put the box together with the bottles to check if everything fits.

Staining/Painting

Here you can use whatever you want/have at hand. I used a DIY stain made of steel wool and vinegar/hydrogen peroxide to make the planks beautiful weathered gray color.

Mind that with this stain, the results vary mainly on the type of wood used. Some take it better than others. As you can see from the photos, the planks i used look different from each other.

  • Making a DIY stain

    For the full recipe, check either this post on how to distress wood or this DIY laptop desk article. Stain the wood. I used a paintbrush and then wiped the excess with a clean, dry rag. Let it dry and repeat if necessary.

    My article on staining pallets and wood, in general, is full of helpful tips, so you can go and check it out to learn more if you like.

Sanding again and sealing

Finally, after all the wood is dry, sand the planks to reveal the beautiful gray color. I used a medium-coarse/fine-grit sanding sponge and did it by hand.

You want to polish the surface, not sand the stain off. After sanding, wipe the dust with a damp rag and let it dry again.

To finish off, seal with your favorite top coat. I used Aldi water-based topcoat for chalk paint spray. That’s what I had at hand. It’s flat matt and looks natural.

Suppose you are going to use any other sheen, mind that it can darken the stain.

I sprayed 3-4 coats. Ensure that the sealer dries between coats, and if the wood grain rises, sand it off with fine grit. Check this article for sanding tips.

Assembling

  • Drill pilot holes in the bottom board and screw the board to the two vertical ones. I used three screws on each side. 
  • Screw the magnets in the carved spaces prepared.
  • If not using the magnets but screwing/nailing the top as well, arrange the bottles now and then attach the top board. Drill pilot holes and screw the top board to the sidewalls.

The bottles(optional decorating)

This step is entirely optional. You can use clear bottles or paint them with chalk paint.

  • Clean and dry the bottles
  • Make a pattern with painter’s tape

    Feel free to improvise! I did 🙂 Firstly, I wanted to cover the heart ornament in the middle of the bottle, but it turned out that it was still visible after four layers of paint, so I gave up.

    Anyway, the hearts will look cute with Valentine’s Day decor.
  • Spray the area and let it dry. I used Aldi frozen glass spray. Make sure you work in a well-ventilated area and use a face respirator. Apply as many layers as needed. I gave up after 4.
  • After the bottles have dried, remove the painter’s tape. Next, attach the end of the twine with hot glue and wrap it around the bottle (bottom and neck), then glue the other end to the bottle once finished.
  • Decorate

    Once the bottles are in the holder, cut the wheat stalks to the desired height and place them in the bottles, and voila! It’s done 🙂

I hope you liked this DIY wooden vase holder. If you have any questions about this project, please leave a comment in the box below, and I’ll get back to you asap. 🙂

Don’t forget to pin this article to your Fall decor ideas and projects board. Thanks for stopping by!

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20 Comments

  1. You had me at ‘pallet wood’, Kasia. I’m a huge fan of it. Love this project and I’m featuring it on my blog Tuesday evening. Thank you for sharing at Party In Your PJ’s!

    1. That’s awesome, thank you for featuring my little project, Ann! Thank you for hosting the link party and share my project with other amazing people out there.

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