Paint Terra Cotta Pots, step by step

We are back with the final walkthrough from our latest R. Home column all about reinventing thrift store items on the low-cost: painting terra cotta pots. You’ve may have already seen this makeover in the magazine, but here is the step by step breakdown for all you clever DIYers.

Supplies

• Terra cotta pots (we picked up an affordable assortment from our local Goodwill and Salvation Army)
• Thompson’s Water Seal ($4 from Lowe’s, it is specifically formulated for sealing terra cotta pots so they can be painted)
• Exterior Latex Paint (we used Olympic Exterior in High Gloss)
• Sponge (optional)
• Plants (not optional, ha!)

Step-By-Step

1. Spray the Water Seal all along the inside of the pot (the sides and the base) to lock the moisture in so it will not seep through and cause your paint to bubble or peel. A few thin coats should do the trick. It will look like the pots have simply absorbed it all when they dry (they do not appear to be darker or shiny afterwords, but do not worry- they are sealed).

2. Use a paintbrush to apply a coat or two of your exterior latex paint. We painted some of our pots pale yellow (Like Butter from Valspar) and some of them got a darker tone below the lip (Amber Pearl by Valspar). Ours took only one coat, so it was a 15 minutes job.

3. To add a striped pattern for lively, we simply cut a sponge into fourths to create a strip that was ideal for stamping our yellow on yellow pattern (we used a paintbrush to gently apply the paint to the sponge). It was a truly swift way to dress one up!

4. Once paint has dried, apply a coat or two more of your Water Seal both inside and out to further protect your paint job before adding your soil and plants

Here they are in all their glory. The hardest part of the whole shoot was finding flowering plants a few months ago (since magazines are shot so far in advance, anything seasonal is hard to dig up). But we managed to hunt down some festive foliage to complete the look. Total cost for this project: $35 for the $2 pots, the exterior high-gloss latex paint and the sealer.

If you have an hour this weekend, you can totally tackle this whole project. And now that flowering spring foliage is in season, it should be a cinch to perk up your front porch or your back patio. What colors will you go for?

Looking for another walkthrough? Check out our How-To page for everything from concrete floor-staining instructions to fireplace painting advice.