How to make a unique repurposed stave and door knocker flower pot holder for outdoors. Today is our Int'l Bloggers Club challenge and the theme this month is Iron. Sometimes it takes being challenged to force you to see items you have on hand through a creative lens.

This particular challenge had me stumped until I remembered that I had a cast iron door knocker in a box somewhere in the workshop. Also buried in that box I found an old stave and the gears in the ole noggin started turning. I wondered how I could marry the two items into something interesting for our backyard.

Unique DIY Outdoor Flower Pot Holder

Had it not been for our challenge this month, I would have never thought to pair an upcycled door knocker with a repurposed stave.

Creativity involves breaking out of established patterns in order to look at things in a different way.
~Edward de Bono

If you haven't heard of the International Bloggers Club, we are a group of bloggers from South Africa, Australia, the Netherlands, the USA, and Canada who come together on the third Monday of every month to share a DIY project with a common theme.

Our previous challenge was silk or linen where I made a No-Sew Tailored Bed Skirt For Adjustable Beds. You'll find our talented group's iron projects at the bottom of the post. Please be sure to check them out before you go.

I've had the fleur-de-lis cast iron door knocker for so long that I don't remember when or where I got it. I'm a sucker for anything French so it's no surprise that I bought it without having a purpose in mind.

To complete this project I needed something to use for a flower pot and found just what I needed at the dollar store.

What You'll Need To Make It

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Supply List

Wood Stave
Cast Iron Door Knocker
Small Metal Flower Pot
Whitewash Glaze (Dixie Belle Paint) 
Hurricane Gray (Dixie Belle Paint)
Metallic Silver Paint
Pewter Gray (FAT Paint)
Copper Primer Paint (Modern Masters)
Blackened Bronze Metallic Surfaces (Sophisticated Finishes)
Wicker White Multi-Surface Craft Paint (Folk Art)
D-Ring Picture Hanger

How To Repurpose A Stave and Door Knocker Into A Flower Pot Holder

Now that we've covered the three main items used to make the repurposed flower pot holder hanging on our backyard gate, let's get started with the instructions on how to make it.

Step 1 - Whitewashed Stave

This step is completely optional. While I love the natural wood on the oak stave, the iron door knocker looked lost against the dark wood. To create a contrast, I gave the stave a whitewashed patina with paint.

First, I sanded the stave to remove the glossy finish. Then I brushed the stave with a whitewash glaze, letting it rest deep into the grain of the wood. After a few minutes, I removed the excess glaze with a lint-free rag. In the photo below you can see the end result on the bottom.

Step 2 - Small Metal Hanging Flower Pot

The plan was to set a small flower pot inside the metal ring of the door knocker. But the problem with that plan was when flowers were planted inside, they covered the ornate detail of the door knocker.

Onto plan B, using a flower pot that could hang from the ring of the door knocker instead.

Step 3 - How To Age A Metal Flower Pot

This step is completely optional. I decided the turquoise metal flower pot looked too shiny and new. So I gave it a timeworn galvanized patina that matched the rustic charm of the whitewashed stave and cast iron door knocker. But I still wanted some of the pretty turquoise color to peek through from underneath.

Pictured below are the products I used to give the metal flower pot a timeworn galvanized patina.

Big difference, right? Pictured below is a close-up of the $1.50 dollar store metal flower pot before the galvanized paint treatment.

To achieve the faux-aged galvanized patina on the metal flower pot, we'll be using layers of paint, starting with a dark gray.

The first layer of paint on the metal flower pot is the color hurricane gray, brushed with random brush strokes with an inexpensive chip brush. You can see in the photo above that I didn't completely paint over the turquoise color. Allow the paint to dry before moving on to the next color.

The second layer of paint is metallic silver and is also applied with a chip brush in much the same way. BUT while the paint is wet, randomly dab a scrunched lint-free rag to remove some of the paint so you can see the two previous colors underneath.

Once the previous paint layer is dry, repeat the previous step with the next layers of paint as outlined below.

Paint Layer Three - Pewter Gray Chalk Style Paint
Paint Layer Four - Copper Primer Paint
Paint Layer Five - Blackened Bronze Metallic Surfaces
Paint Layer Six - Wicker White Multi-Surface Craft Paint

If you'd prefer just a galvanized patina without the timeworn paint layer look, I share that technique with this rustic garden tool holder.

Step 4 - Assembling Repurposed Outdoor Flower Pot Holder

Assembling the repurposed outdoor flower pot holder was quick and easy. First, attach the repurposed iron door knocker to the repurposed stave with 3/4-inch wood screws. To cover the screw heads, dab some blackened bronze and copper primer paint with an art brush to match the wrought iron.

Next, bend the hanger on the metal flower pot over the ring of the door knocker. Attach a D-ring picture hanger on the back of the stave. Last but not least, plant pretty flowers like my pink petunias in the hanging flower pot for a pop of color.

Here's another outdoor wall planter idea made with repurposed materials that you might like except this one is a solar-lighted address planter.

Thanks for stopping by the Interior Frugalista today! I hope you were inspired by this one-of-a-kind repurposed stave and door knocker outdoor wall planter idea.

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If you enjoyed this repurposed stave and door knocker hanging flower pot holder, I'd be so thankful if you shared it with a friend and pinned it to your favorite board on Pinterest.

I invite you to click on the links below to visit our talented group members' iron projects. If you don't have time today, you can bookmark the page by pressing the pink heart icon on the right to come back later.

I share my projects at these inspiring link parties.