DIY Vintage Terra-Cotta Pots

I’ll admit that I got a little angry when I started looking up “vintage style” terra-cotta pots for the gardenia trees on my porch. I had the vision. I NEEDED these pots. And I found out that they can be SO expensive. Like, I don’t even understand how they can be that expensive. And I needed two of them!

This is my inspiration pot!

I had my heart set on an urn style pot, but could not find one that was even close to my price range AND terra-cotta. Cue the DIY lightbulb! “Maybe I can do a faux terra-cotta look on a cheap pot!” I did a similar technique to a thrifted table lamp in my living room and it turned out great!

Here is the issue. I couldn’t find a single pot that was the shape I wanted for less than a few hundred dollars each. But, after using a Pinterest trick (searching and image and scrolling down to find similar items), I found this one for $40 and ordered two ASAP. They are perfect.

These pots are currently out of stock. Here are some other affordable pots that would look great with this DIY!

*click on image for link

Okay, let’s get to it!

I started by spray painting them both with an off white paint. This spray paint is my favorite. It bonds to anything and sprays really well. I would have preferred using flat/matte finish, but they were out of stock. I sprayed two light coats.

Once the paint was dry, I mixed up some craft paint to make the color of terra-cotta. I used Classic Caramel (one entire bottle) and a few large squirts of Pumpkin Orange.

Once the paint was mixed to the right tone, I began painting the pots with a craft brush. There will be some brush strokes, but this is fine! I think that spray painting this coat on is also a great option! However, mixing spray paint is not an option, so you would have to make sure to pick the right color, which can be difficult if you are going for a specific look.

I would definitely recommend using spray paint for both layers if you are planning to use your pots outside in an uncovered area! I am not totally sure how craft paint would do being exposed to the elements. Here is a spray paint that might work for this look!

After the craft paint is completely dry, sanded down the pot with a sanding block (220 grit)! This allows for the white spray paint to peek through. There are other techniques that could also work for this (watered down paint blotting, garden lime, etc.).

I sanded more heavily around the rim of the pot and base, to create a more authentic look and match the pots that were my inspiration. This makes more of the white paint show. Make sure to use a light grit sanding block. Anything heavier results in scratches.

And once it looked pretty close to my inspiration photo, I was done!

I love that they look expensive and pretty darn authentic. All for around $85! Which is crazy considering how expensive pots can be! This can also be done on pots that are different materials, because a good spray paint bonds to many materials.

This porch still has a long way to go, but it’s looking so great. These planters really make a huge impact! I filled my pots with gardenia trees that I purchased from Lowe’s.