DIY Coffee Cup Hanging Planter

In my post ‘Hanging House Plant Ideas‘ I explore a number of options for creating impressive plant installations, out of the reach of little ones and somehow suspended from the wall or ceiling. Through these ideas I came up with my own project for the wall above my blog station… the Coffee Cup Hanging Planter. 

It took a little longer than I had hoped, not because it was difficult, but because I wasn’t prepared with all the right materials and tools. I thought I’d save you the three return trips to The Home Depot and put together some instructions…

DIY Coffee Cup Hanging Planter: Materials 

• Wood planks for shelves. I used 2 x pine planks (3ft/5.5″/0.5″) which cost less than $5 each.
• Wood stain (optional). I used ‘MinWax Wood Finish Penetrating Stain – Classic Grey 271’ which cost less than $5.
• Steel cable. I used around 14ft of 1/8″ cable, costing under $5 in total.
• Screw eyebolts. I used 1/4″ x 2 1/2″ eyebolts, the two pack cost $2.
• S-Hooks. I used 1/4″ x 2″ hooks, the two pack cost less than $3.
• Wire rope Thimbles. I used 1/8″ to fit the cable I chose.
• Ferrule and stops sets. I used four sets at a total cost of $6.
• Stackable coffee cups. I bought two sets from World Market at a total cost of $26. There may be cheaper vessels but personally I feel the coffee cups make all the difference.

Tools needed:

• Swaging Tool;
• Wire cutter (alternatively, get your cable cut into two equal length in store);
• Drill and drill bits;
• Hole saw drill bit (size to match coffee cups);
• Stud finder;
• Sandpaper;

DIY Coffee Cup Hanging Planter: How to…

1. Cut holes for coffee cups in the wooden planks and sand the holes to a smooth finish.
2. Drill a small hole at the corner of each plank using a drill bit just a little larger than the thickness of your steel cable.
3. Stain the wooden planks (optional).
4. Cut your cable into two equal length pieces (mine were about 7ft each).
5. At the mid point of the cut cable install a wire rope thimble and a ferrule using a swaging tool. If you have no idea what I’m talking about have a look at this youtube video. NOTE: We want the loop in the center of the cable, not the end as the video shows.
6. Feed the two ends of the cable through the small corner holes in the planks and use the swaging tool to apply a stop beneath each hole. This step requires careful measuring as it not only affects how low your shelves will hang, but also whether they will be level.
7. Repeat steps 5 and 6 for the other length of cut cable.
8. Attach the additional shelves below the first using the same method. Remember, measuring accurately is key!
9. Use a stud finder to find the joists behind your plasterboard ceiling (unless you have lovely exposed beams of course). You need a good solid connection to hold the weight of the planter. Drill a pilot hole for each screw eyebolt and install by twisting it into the ceiling.
10. Connect your S-hooks to the eyebolts, hook your hanging planter onto the S-hooks and drop your coffee cups into the holes in the wooden planks.

Complete… Do let me know if you’ve tried it!

‘Hanging House Plant Ideas’ if part of a series of naptime makeovers… including these:

Accent Wall Ideas
How to Arrange Pictures Creatively
Modern Interior Door Handles