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Aging terracotta pots is a fun and easy project that even a beginner can take on! Let’s learn two different ways to paint and age terracotta pots to give them a vintage, weathered look
Aged pottery looks especially beautiful when filled with lush plants or whimsical fairy garden decorations and can add a unique rustic charm to your garden, balcony or terrace, and home. Transforming terracotta pots into aged pieces is also a great way to add a touch of vintage to your home. With just a few simple steps, you can have terracotta pots that look like they’ve been around for decades.
Decorating With Vintage
It’s no secret that I love flowers and french antiques. After strolling through the streets of France last year, I decided I wanted to recreate that same feeling here at home by making my own aged old pots that so many of the French had in front of their homes.
Adding vintage or antique decor pieces to your home is beautiful, no matter which style you love. But let’s face it, vintage home decor like these aged terra cotta pots can be very expensive when you are buying the real deal. This easy DIY project is an awesome way to get the look for less.
Terracotta Plant Pots
Terracotta is a type of ceramic clay that is used for many different purposes. From flower pots to bricks to pipes, terracotta has been around for many years and is still widely used today!
Due to the porousness of clay terracotta pots, they make excellent containers for both indoor and outdoor live plants, flowers and succulents! Especially those that need good drainage and are prone to root rot!
Make sure you check out my tutorial on how to properly plant flowers in pots. If you don’t have a green thumb and real plants aren’t your thing, any faux plants will do as well.
DIY Terracotta Pots
DIY terracotta pots are so much fun and the kids will absolutely love to help with this one too! I have two easy techniques that I have used in the past and both work equally as well as the other. It is fun to do a few of each of the different methods to mix up the textures a bit! Read on to see the 2 fun ways that you can age terracotta pots in just a few easy steps.
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FIND EVERYTHING YOU NEED FOR BOTH OF THESE EASY DIY TUTORIALS HERE .
Tile Adhesive and Stain Method
What You’ll Need
- Terracotta flower pots of any size or shape
- Tile adhesive
- Wood stain in a few colours, one a very dark finish
- Plaster of Paris – dry mix
- Paint brush’s
- Paper towel or rags (these t-shirt ones are the best)
- Drop cloth
Instructions
- Begin by removing all the stickers and labels on the new pots
- Apply a small amount of the tile adhesive to the entire pot in a dabbing motion using a paintbrush. This will ruin your brush so be sure not to use a high-quality brush for this part. You can add a lot or a little depending on how you want your pots to turn out. Remember, this will not come off so if you are looking for an authentic look, don’t go overboard.
- Mix a bit of Plaster of Paris into some wood stain to produce a watery paste-like consistency. Apply this pasty paint all over the entire surface and let them dry! It only takes a matter of minutes.
- Once the pot is completely dry, generously apply the darkest stain to the outside of the pot.
- Wipe the pot using a paper towel or rag! You don’t want to let this part dry before you begin wiping. Continue to wipe the pots until you achieve the desired look of
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Paint And Drywall Compound Method
What You’ll Need
- Pots – any size of shape of terra-cotta flower pot will work
- Drywall Compound
- Paint (various shades of white, cream, grey or green will work), chalkpaint works very well!
- Sand paper
- Rags for applying drywall compound and paint
Instructions
1. Take any size of the terra-cotta flower pot and you may like to sand a few of the sides of the pot. If you are feeling brave you can even take a hammer and chisel and notch out pieces of the top of the pot. Of course, you can easily break the pots by doing this.
- Take a rag and scoop up some drywall compound. Begin wiping the drywall compound on the terra-cotta pot. It all depends on the look you are trying to achieve with how much you apply to the pot. Leaving it thick in places to give the pot texture.
- Let the pots sit and dry.
- You can take the sander at this point and remove some of the drywall compound if you feel you put too much on.
- Add a layer of paint or a coat of paint to your pot. Try using a couple of different colours of paint … usually whites, cream, beige or olive greens will look best.
- Using a rag again, apply another layer of paint to the pot. Dap the rag on the pot to create a textured appearance or aged look. The different paint colours should overlap in spots to really create depth and a vintage appearance.
- Let the paint dry completely.
- You can take a sander again at this point and remove some of the paint if you feel it was too much colour on the clay pot.
Seal The Pot
Finally, no matter which method you use, make sure to seal your pot. Especially if the pot is being used for outdoor use. Brush on a clear coat of polyurethane or if you prefer a spray paint, try a spray polyurethane.
DIY Aged Terracotta Pots Tips
Tile Adhesive and Stain Method
- If you use the tile adhesive method be careful not to apply too much of the tile adhesive to the pot. This adds texture to your flower pots which can look unrealistic if you use too much.
- If you don’t want your pots to lose any of the finished looks, you can spray them with polyurethane after you are done. This will seal them up for good.
- Look for pot at the store that already had cracks and chips and then ask for a discount and save yourself some money. In the end, these pots will look the most realistic anyways!
This variety pack of terra cotta pots is a great option for these DIY projects!
Drywall Compound and Paint Method
- Do not get the drywall compound on the bottom of the pot as this will cause the pot to sit lop-sided and also will leave marks on your surface when watering the plant.
- Let this pot “weather!” The more this pot is left out to the elements, the better looking it will get! The drywall compound will begin to wash off with water, so letting it get rained on will cause an “aged” effect.
- You can also rub the pot in the grass to get “grass stains” on it! This also gives a fun effect on the pot.
Now… where to put all these beautifully aged terra-cotta pots? Check out how to style your outdoor patio with these finished flower pots!
I hope you enjoyed my two ways to age terra-cotta flower pots. Both are super easy and with a little hard work, your will come out with very authentic-looking aged pots. Let me know if you try either of these fun DIYs below! I always love to hear what you think!
More Easy DIY Projects
- How To Make Natural Egg Dyes For Easter
- DIY Antique Brass Chandelier Tutorial
- How to Age Galvanized Metal
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Frequently Asked
Terra cotta is a dry, porous clay that will absorb water so you can absolutely pre-soak them prior to planting in them but it isn’t a huge deal if you don’t! As long as you stay on top of watering your flowers or plants that are in them. You can soak terra cotta in a sink or bucket of water for approx 30 minutes or so before you plant something in them. This allows the clay to absorb water and will stop it from wicking away water from the plant.
There are a handful of methods that can make your terracotta pots look vintage. A few of the most common methods are using drywall compound, paint, yogurt, natural sunlight and water, and even fertilizer.
Easy DIY Aged Terra Cotta Pots
Equipment
- Paintbrushes
- Paper towels or rags
Materials
- Terracotta flower pots of any size or shape
- Tile adhesive
- Wood stain in a few colors one a very dark finish
- Plaster of Paris – dry mix
Instructions
- Begin by removing all the stickers and labels on the pots
- Apply the tile adhesive in a dabbing motion using a paintbrush. This will ruin your brush so be sure not to use a high-quality brush for this part. You can add a lot or a little depending on how you want your pots to turn out. Remember, this will not come off so if you are looking for an authentic look, don't go overboard.
- Mix a bit of Plaster of Paris into some wood stain to produce a watery paste-like consistency. Apply this pasty paint all over the pots and let them dry!
- Once the flower pots are dry, generously apply the darkest stain, and then begin to wipe the pot using a paper towel or rag! You don't want to let this part dry before you begin wiping.
- Continue to wipe the pots until you are happy with the look of the flower pot.
- Optional – You could add a bit of green paint to the edges of the pot with a separate brush for a different look.
when aging terra cotta pots, what do you use as “tile adhesive”? Mortar? If so, what color?
Any Brand will work. And they will be a shade of off-white and any of them will work!
I love this!! When buying vintage isn’t an option and you get clever to make your own “vintage”, makes for a great day.
Thanks for sharing this DIY:)
Yesss!! Sometimes finding vintage finds isn’t always an option! Thanks for your comment.