Habitat TV

If you’ve found just the perfect houseplant to liven up a corner of your living room but find it finicky about your sunlight situation, you may find yourself moving it around much more than you – or your back – would like. Stave off potential back strain by building a platform on castors for large or heavy houseplants to make them more mobile and rolling them to other rooms a breeze. For extra style points, paint each slat of your plant’s platform in a different tone for an ombre look. We used three pinky Resene pastels for ours: (from left to right) Resene Paper Doll, Resene Soothe and Resene Doeskin.

You will need:

• 40 x 18mm plywood panels, enough to make 8 x 350mm pieces
• 4 x 30mm Castors
• Resene testpots in your choice of colours – we used Resene Paper Doll, Resene Quarter Doeskin, Resene Soothe and Resene Spring Fever
• Resene testpot brush
• Circular saw or similar
• Electric drill
• Screws

Step 1: Measure out 8 x 350mm-long plywood panels, using a pencil to mark your measurements. Then, use a saw to carefully cut out the 8 panels. 

Step 2: Once these 8 pieces are cut, lightly sand all of the ends, going along the grain. Wipe them down using a clean, dry cloth to remove any dust.

Step 3: With your testpot brush, paint the 8 panels in your assorted Resene colours. For optimum ease, we recommend painting one side of each board first. Leave them to dry paint-side up before repeating the process on the other side.

Step 4: Create a 350mm x 350mm square using 6 plywood panels. Ensure there is equal spacing between the pieces – measure this with a ruler, then mark using a pencil.

Step 5: Place the remaining 2 pieces on top, again with equal spacing, and use it as the base to screw all the pieces together.

Step 6: Stir your Resene Aquaclear with a wide, flat stirrer, then evenly apply with a brush and leave to dry (allow for at least two hours between coats). 

Step 7: Mark where you would like to screw the castors to the corners of the base, making sure that they are equally spaced apart and that the castors are facing the same direction. Screw on the castors using an electric drill, then test your caddy before putting any plants on it to ensure it moves with ease.