Do you have an old plant pot that you haven't used in a while? With a quick and easy update, it can be repurposed into a festive tabletop Christmas tree stand. The nice thing is that you can have that tree in its pretty new base within an hour! But the hardest part about this DIY is waiting for the paint to try.

Upcycled Clay Pot Tabletop Christmas Tree Stand

We've had this small clay pot with rope trim collecting dust in the basement storage room for decades. I've always loved the style and the rough finish but disliked the dated colors.


Recently when deciding to set up our Charlie Brown tabletop Christmas tree in the basement family room, I wanted something more than the burlap-wrapped base that it came with. That's when I remembered the old plant pot and was thrilled that it was a perfect fit for the tree. So I set out to give it a quick makeover fitting for the holidays and I'll show you how easy it was further down in the post.


After the holidays the plant pot can be used for it's intended purpose but I have a DIY idea to display in it for Valentine's Day.

In the meantime, I love how it dresses up our simple off-kilter family room Christmas tree. Just a hint of metallic gold and silver along the rope detail gives it some festive sparkle.


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Here's how I turned the clay pot into a tabletop tree stand

First, give the pot a scrub to remove any residual dirt inside. Dab it dry enough to remove any water droplets but you can start painting right away with water-based paint.

Step 1 - Paint the plant pot red

I painted mine with Dixie Belle Mineral Chalk Paint in festive Barn Red. Any red chalk-style paint or multi-surface paint will be fine. Just one coat was all it needed to cover the old finish. I also painted the inside with white chalk-style paint. I would have painted it red too but I was running out of paint and needed some for another project I was working on at the time.

Step 2 - Aging the plant pot

Once the paint was dry (mere minutes) I used a small art brush to apply dark wax into the crevices of the rope trim. Denatured mineral spirits will remove the wax from the art brush so it can be used again for paint.

I also aged the pot by pouncing dark wax with a small round wax brush randomly over the red paint. Instead of removing the excess wax with a cloth, I blended it into the paint with my brush without buffing.

Step 3 - Highlight with gold metallic

With my finger, I rubbed gold gilding wax along the painted rope trim.

Step 4 - Highlight with silver metallic

I did the same with silver gilding wax applied a little lighter over the gold with my finger.

Because I hadn't planned on filling the pot with dirt or moving it around, I could set the tree inside right away. The wax and paint will cure as it's on display during the holidays and be ready to give another purpose in the new year.


On our main floor, I have a few undecorated tabletop Christmas trees displayed on dressers, cabinets, and stools. For those, I repurposed rustic centerpiece boxes from my daughter's wedding for tree stands. I love the simple woodland charm and you can see those in my Rustic Wood Christmas Boxes post.

Last year I went a little glam with these Red Burlap Ribbon Tabletop Trees and used festive galvanized buckets for the tree bases.

What items have you used for unique Christmas tree stands? I think next year I'd like to do away with our tree skirt on our full-size tree and try a large basket or wood crate.


I'd be so thankful if you pinned this idea or shared it with a friend. With gratitude! -Marie


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