Numbered Pots

A while back, while just starting to prep the house for the market, I began thinking about what I could do to make my townhouse stand out from the 31 others on the street. Since painting shutters and a major landscaping project were not gonna happen, I settled on sprucing up our house numbers and bringing in a couple new plants. Here's how you can do the same for less than $25:

Gather together your supplies - some terra cotta pots, acrylic paint (at least two colors) and basic painting supplies. While the spray sealer is optional, you will also need some paper, chalk, a pencil and a computer, unless you want to free hand your numbers.


If you deem it necessary, begin by spraying the inside of your pots with sealer. This will keep water from affecting the stability of the pot in the future.


Next you'll need to use whatever shade of acrylic paint you like best to paint all the visible areas on your pots and saucers, to include 1-2 inches down on the inside of your pot. I opted to use a foam brush, figuring it'd provide for a smoother finish than a brush would, and did two coats.


While your paint is drying you'll want to work on your numbering. I used Microsoft Word to print out the characters in the fonts and sizes I liked best and then flipped the sheets over and rubbed chalk on the numbers, like so.


Then I taped the paper on the pots and used a pencil to trace the outline of each number.


When you pull the paper away you're left with a chalk outline of your characters. Clean up the extra chalk dust a bit and then just use a paint brush and contrasting paint color to fill in the lines.


Now just put a couple plants in and show off your handiwork! And please make sure to let your plants get all wilted and pathetic looking before you take photos of them. This is actually an extremely important step in the process!




P.S. Potential Projects and Droolworthy Decor have both been recently updated.