14 Square Planter Box Plans Best for DIY (100% Free)

14 FREE DIY Square Planter Box Plans

A square box planter is one of the most thought-after decorative outdoor designs. It can be a beautiful addition to your home front entrance, your porch or your patio. That is why the square planter box plans are often adorned with intricate details. And the box is preferably built from the best wood possible which would be cedar for the purpose of DIY.

Thanks to its square shape, a large box can provide a very versatile outdoor planter design that can handle a small tree, a decorative bush, common flowers and climbing vines. And a smaller planter would be great for indoor use.

You'll find here the 14 best free woodworking plans that can help you get started on building your own square planter. We've chosen the most interesting and popular designs for every taste and style, and we actually love all of them. These plans are also best because they are the most detailed, have clear step by step instructions, assembly diagrams, dimensions, cut specs and supplemented with nice images.

Please note that for some plans​ detailed drawings are not available, And no worries - there are step-by-step detailed assembly images which often are even more helpful.

So here we go ... ​choose a plan that works best for you and start building!


FREE PLANS

1. DIY Criss Cross Planter Box

This is a beautiful outdoor square planter with basic criss-cross pattern to complement the French doors. A free plan by CentsationalGirl - Kate - a renovator, decorator, and do-it-yourselfer,

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2. Modern Cube Planter Box

This is a versatile planter box design that is suitable for tall or short plants. Make it look modern by adding contemporary style house numbers. Or give it a more traditional appeal with antique style decorative hardware. A free plan by the ladies of Santy2Chic.

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3. $20 DIY Planter Box

You can DIY this famous square planter box plan by Ana White for less than $20, She offers a free and easy to follow tutorial with lots of planter examples built from this plan.

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4. Cedar Planter Box with a Cap

Following this free woodworking plan by Popular Mechanics, you can actually build planters in two very different styles and with two slightly different box shapes.

Use knot-free cedar, with nicely finished parts, and achieve a high-end, furniture like look, perfect for indoors. Or, use a knotty rough-sawn cedar to produce a rustic looking planter, great for outdoors.

Change the original plan a bit - from a slightly tapered layout to a straight square box - and create a different look as well. This plan is quite versatile and allows for easy modifications. The planter shown above is built with Western Red Cedar.

The step by step DIY tutorial includes blueprints and even 3D animation.

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5. Easy Square Planter Box Plan

Here's one of the easiest DIY planter plans, in our opinion, and a pretty large box too. It's by TheCreativeMom - Natalie - a DIY mom. In addition to a Kreg Jig, she used an air stapler to build this planter. But you can get away with just using nails and a hammer instead of stapler. Do you like the distressed look?

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6. Rustic Square Planter Plan

Now this is a very different plan built from 2x2's using metal wires instead of screws and nails, to hold pieces together. The resulting square design is a rustic looking planter box.

Please note that the plan refers to 2x2's as 1-1/2's, basically by their actual size. In the lumber store, they'll be expecting you to look for 2x2's, by their nominal size.

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7. Chunky Wood Planter Box

This free square plan comes from the UK, by Jon Culshaw at Make. It's a fun chunky wooden planter box built from European oak using tongue and groove boards. But you can follow his step-by-step- guide to build yours from cedar or pressure-treated pine and you can use regular boards. But to get the exact appearance, you would want oak.

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8. DIY Star Square Planter 

A DIY planter with the lonestar pattern - isn't this a great idea to add visual interest to your front door or patio? Those who like quilting would be delighted by this design.

The free plan by Jaime at ThatsMyLetter.com uses wooden shelves from the re-purposed kitchen cabinets but you can cut plywood to dimensions given. You will need a Jigsaw to form the stars.

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9. DIY $25 Square Planter Box

If you have all the right tools that the ladies of Shanty-2-Chic use, then building this square box planter could be an easy breezy DIY project for you. And they estimate it'll only cost you $25, mainly for the cedar boards.

In addition to detailed plans, they also put together a nice how-to video.

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10. Timber Planter Box Plan Built with Basic Tools

Here's a totally different but very cool and clever plan for building a square planter box with just a power drill and a handsaw.

Our readers in New Zeland would be pleased to know that this step-by-step woodworking guide is from Bunnings. There is an easy to follow 'How To' video that will help you to DIY it. All details are in the video.

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11. $15 Outdoor Square Planter Box with Finials

If you've been wanting planter boxes for the front door then here's one great DIY plan for you. These square planters with finials only cost $15 to build each. This could be a great DIY starter project.

And look at this amazing front door. It deserves a special praise ... and a pair of nice planters. The detailed drawings and a cut list are by Ana White, and the step-by-step building plan is by Shanty-2-Chic sisters.

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12. Cape Cod Style Planter Box Plan

This is a Cape Cod style planter box design by sisters Mary and Kathy at BetterOutdoorLivingAtHome. The DIY square plan comes with traditional and classic detailing and is designed with outdoor use in mind. Can you see it on your porch, deck or patio?.

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13. Pallet Planter Box Plan on Caster Wheels

What can be a better DIY project than utilizing recycled wood like old pallets to build a beautiful looking planter box. Add 4 casters, and you got a square planter plan on wheels. Painted in watery shades of blue and green for a beachy look, this free plan is by Brian Patrick Flynn, an American television producer turned interior designer. Photos by Rustic White Photography & Tomas Espinoza.

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14. Easiest DIY Wooden Box Planters

This is one of the easiest plans in this collection. No Kreg Jig is required. A miter saw and a power screwdriver, is all you need to build this planter box.

You first construct two U-shaped frames (see above) and then attach horizontal planks to tie the whole design together. And you can easily scale the size of this box up or down, using the measurements given as a guide.

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Helpful Videos

If you're new to DIY woodworking, we recommend you watch these great videos before you begin building your planter. You'll get a very good idea on how and what common tools are used to build a wooden box, and what woodworking techniques are employed by more experienced DIY-ers.

Video 1 - Video 2 - Video 3 - Video 4 - Video 5 - Video 6 - Video 7 - Video 8,
Video 9  (an absolutely different approach to making a box planter - it's a stacked design)


A Word About One of Our Favorite Designs

Unfortunately, we couldn't find any plans for this very admirable design below. And the reason for this, we believe, is that this Chevron Pattern Planter Box is custom-made on order by its original designer at Stuff Seth Makes.


Image to PIN ...

About Joe Hats 176 Articles
Joe Hats is the founder of FreshPatio.com. Joe has been remodeling homes since 1997 when he bought his first fixer-upper. He has built many pieces of indoor and outdoor furniture with his own hands and has every DIY woodworking tool in his possession. Coming from an engineering background, he has designed and built many patio fixture plans. Following his wife's lead, he is also very passionate about home decor and together they keep track of the latest trends. When he is not remodeling or trying a new woodworking tool, he is busy gardening or designing a new outdoor plan.