Young House Love

Home Decorating & DIY Tutorials

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How To Make A Terrarium

As a bunch of you saw on Facebook and Instagram, we went on a giant lumber run, which means there’s a whole lotta building that’s about to commence in the nursery. But first we have to paint the walls and ceiling, so we hope to knock that out today and tomorrow (and have an update for you guys on Monday). Three cheers for finally saying goodbye to those door-overspray marks on the wall!

Nursery

And while we get our paint on, I thought I’d share a nice and easy “anyone-can-do-it” project (involving living things, ahh!). Most importantly: there’s a tiny deer living in a tiny glass house in our house.

Terrarium2

And the good news is that he can’t die… but the plants nearby most definitely can.

Terrarium1

So this is going to be one of those experiments to see if low maintenance plants really exist. Because we all know I don’t exactly have a green thumb. Remember when I begged you to help me keep my cacti alive? Well the good news is that they’re all still alive and kicking, over two months later.

Wanna know how I’m keeping them alive? By completely ignoring them. 100%. I’ve only watered them once. In TWO MONTHS! Everyone told me just to give them a drop when the soil feels really dry, so I have truly taken that to heart. And they love me for it. Well, at least they don’t hate me (and aren’t dying in protest). Some of you even noticed them still alive and kicking in last week’s chair post. Werk, little cacti. Werk.

Gold Clara Close

So now that I’ve had a decent amount of success with that completely no-maintenance planting experience, as you can imagine I practically think I’m a top level botanist. Just kidding, I still have pretty much zero plant confidence (see those succulents on the shelf in the background of this pic? They’re fake from HomeGoods). But it did inspire me to try one more “it theoretically should take care of itself” situation on for size. Namely, a terrarium.

It all started when I found this awesome glass container at a lighting shop a few weeks back (The Decorating Outlet here in Richmond). The cool thing is that they usually sell this as a light fixture like this, but this one wasn’t drilled to accommodate a light for some reason, so it was marked down to $16. It just sort of whispered “Fill me with a few green things and a tiny plastic deer. You know you want to.” So I thought, OK, let’s see if this black thumb of mine can create (and hopefully maintain) a terrarium. Like without any actual maintenance.

Terrarium3

Here’s how I made it.

Step 1. Cut a hole in a box. Just kidding. The first step was actually finding a glass container that I liked (you could also try a big glass container like this or an apothecary jar like this). UPDATE: Shades of Light actually sells this exact piece as a terrarium now!

Step 2. I googled around and read about 20 terrarium tutorials. There were a lot of different methods, but the ones with charcoal – like this one – seemed the most self-stable (meaning you didn’t have to open them and water them, because the charcoal theoretically should make them into their own little self-sustainable ecosystem).

Step 3. I wrote out a list of supplies I would need: gravel, charcoal, potting soil, and some small plants. I ducked out into the garage to get some bagged potting soil, and just stole some gravel from our driveway to fulfill that requirement. Then I went to Home Depot and grabbed two small succulent containers for around $5 and looked for charcoal (some plant stores sell it) but no dice. So I hit up a local greenhouse (Great Big Greenhouse here in Richmond) and got a tiny bag of charcoal for $1.

Terrarium Materials

Step 4. I added about an inch of gravel to the bottom of the container.

Rocks Step

Step 5. I added about an inch of charcoal on top of my gravel layer.

Charcoal Step

Step 6. I added 2-3 inches of potting soil on top of the charcoal layer.

Dirt Step

Step 7. In went my plants into the potting soil…

Planting Step

Step 8. And then just for fun, I grabbed Bambi’s nephew Bob and stuck him in there.

Terrarium2

Step 9. I gently misted the plants with water (ok, I dunked my hand in a bowl of it and splashed the inside of the terrarium a few times) and then I sealed everything up and called it good.

Terrarium Done Hero

So far it has been over a week and my little guys have been troopers. No drooping (they actually look a little happier than they were in their plastic Home Depot containers) but not a whole lot of action either (there hasn’t been a ton of Titanic-esque glass-fogging or anything like that). The jury is still out on whether this will end up being a cold and lonely tomb for them to leave this world, or a happy little place for them to hang out. I’ll keep you posted. In the meantime I’d love any and all terrarium tips since you guys did me right with those cacti.

Update: Hilariously enough, thanks to my Instagram feed I learned that Michael over at Inspired by Charm made a similar terrarium from a RedEnvelope kit for $79 yesterday! So you can check his out as a ready-to-assemble alternative. Also, his photos are amazing, and his dome is blinged out in gold. Me-ow.

Comments

  1. Meg says

    I’m kind of obsessed with terrariums and have been dying to create one for our oversized, light-filled windowsills, but as a fellow plant killer? Well, I was nervous. But this, this I think I could do. Thank you for the inspiration and easy tutorial!

    Reply

  2. Kaija says

    I invested in 3 plants right after Christmas. The local garden center was having a pre-inventory sale with all plants 50% off! I invested in 3′ tall peace lily, a ZZ plant and a maidenhair fern for $41, tax included! And, the lily needs to be divided, so it’s 2 for 1!

    The lily and ZZ plant are thriving (THE easiest plants to grow. The ZZ plant does not need any care at all, esp if it’s not in a well-lit area). The fern is enjoying a spot right above the humidifer. Looks like it dried out one time… The side where it’s getting the steaming is fine, the other side little crispy. But I love ferns! Self-watering pot might be the answer.

    The greenery really added something I was in need of, without even realizing it. My mom is a master green thumb and we always had impeccably cared for plants when I was growing up. When I brought those plants home, I realized how much I had missed them.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      I think you’re totally right! Something about the cold makes you want to bring some green in. I also have a theory that in the New Year people are trying to turn over new leaves at home (literally sometimes, by bringing in plants and not killing them, haha).

      xo
      s

  6. Sydney says

    Love the terrarium! I’m terrible at keeping things alive so props to ya!

    But mainly I’m lusting over that beautiful geometric light you repurposed….I’m trying to find a non-pendant + geometric lighting element of some kind for my new apartment!

    Reply

  7. Janice says

    I want a penguin in mine (they are my latest obsession)…I wonder if I can make one in white somehow…..hmmm, can I spray paint mulch/dirt? And make an ‘arctic terrarium’?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      I love the idea of an arctic terrarium! I’d use white aquarium pebbles at the bottom along with white sand on the top, complete with a penguin! Love it!

      xo
      s

  8. Nicole says

    West Elm makes a similar (enough) terrarium as well in the $30-40 range. They call them Faceted Terrariums. I was eyeing them when the catalog came right after Christmas. :)

    Reply

  9. Laura says

    Awesome! This is adorable. I think I will keep my eyes out for a vessel for one of these. I want plants in the house, but I forget to water them than our cats knock them over. This might help bring some green into our house.

    Reply

  10. Sam says

    I found a really no-maintenance plant at Ikea a while ago. I have a pretty bad black thumb too (I have a lot of trouble remembering that they need water to live…)

    The “Zeezee Plant” literally does not need water. I’m in college right now and I leave the plant at school for my breaks, even my month-long Christmas break, and it not only survives, but it GROWS MORE. It’s seriously a magical plant.

    It’s also really cute and green, so that’s a plus. I love having a little plant life in my dorm room in Western PA right now when my world is completely covered in snow!

    Reply

  11. tia says

    I love dodechahedrons! I noticed it on your counter in the new chair post.
    Speaking of new kitchen chair post: I like the shiny gold against the not so polished wood.

    Reply

  13. Genelle Gardner says

    Michael from Inspired by Charm and I are from the same hometown! He still lives there, but I’ve moved away to the South. So proud of the him! It amazes me that someone from my teeny, tiny hometown has made a name for himself on the great, big internet!

    Reply

  16. AmAnda says

    Cant wait to see nursery colors! Im painting the spare room/future nursery gray horse by bm. Trying to decide if I should keep a white ceiling or not. I loved what you did with Clara”s.
    Im the opposite of you. My cati give me so many babies ive run out of ppl to give them to. Ive had my aloa vera plant for over 6 years. :)

    Reply

  17. Laura says

    I love our terrarium. I made it with my 6 year old daughter last spring and it is still going strong. We have not watered it a single time!! When we first made it, it fogged up regularly and I would take the lid off to let it air out a little. (Probably because it was summer and getting more sun on it.) Now we just leave it alone and it’s super happy.

    This would be a great project for you and Clara! Our is in a larger container and has some pebbles that my daughter arranged to look like a dry stream bed, some moss, a few bigger rocks, a twig arranged to look like a bridge, and a mini plastic frog. Plus three or four kinds of mini plants.

    Reply

  18. Liz says

    I’ve never had much luck with succulents…I don’t think my house gets enough direct light. I hope yours do better because that terrarium is beautiful!!

    Speaking of your instagram feed…is that the teal Ikea utility cart I see? I would LOVE to have it for my daughter’s play kitchen, but not sure I can justify the price tag if we’re just using it to hold play food :) I’ve been coveting it ever since I saw this post…isn’t this adorable?: http://paperwhitesblog.blogspot.com/2013/01/reveal-maris-play-kitchen.html

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Yes, it’s awesome! Clara and I assembled it for an organizing project I’m hoping to tackle in the next few days, but even empty I find myself staring at it and smiling. Haha!

      xo
      s

  19. Ali says

    The “step one” brought me back to meeting you at the Richmond book signing and giving you our Justin Timberlake-with-his-box as a memento..

    Reply

  21. MC says

    Can I just say how much I look forward to your blog every day? It truly is a fun bright spot in my afternoon- always uplifting, encouraging, creative, and enjoyable. I need more things like your blog in my life. Thank you! :)

    Reply

  22. Naj says

    Love it! The best thing about this post is that I am a bona-fide botanist (I have a PhD in Botany, and am a professor who works on plants), and the only house-plants I CANNOT keep alive are cacti. I have a house full of all sorts of plants, and all I want are three sweet cacti in mis-matched pots in our hall bathroom, and they keep dying. I have had to replace the cacti in there 3 times!

    Reply

  23. Lisa says

    I know you will share this in your painting post, but I was wondering what brand of paint you ended up selecting to paint the nursery? We are painting our nursery this weekend and was wondering what eco friendly paint you guys ended up selecting? (if you don’t mind sharing early….I understand if you want to wait) :)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We have been using BM Natura throughout this house and really like it (it’s no-VOC) as well as liking their Ultra-Spec line (which is also no-VOC, but cheaper like Home Depot paints, although not as thick). Both of those are great for nurseries. We also painted Clara’s with Mythic paint and really liked that, we just don’t have a vendor around here for that anymore. Oh and Olympic Premium is also no-VOC and a good choice too!

      xo
      s

  25. Shelly says

    Great job Sherry! Looks amaze and I love the geometric dome! I do LOVE Michael’s too (but a bit steep.) Thanks for the blog suggestion on Michael as well..I really like his site!

    Reply

  26. Julie @ Living on the Ledge says

    It’s funny how things happen – I have never even thought the word terrarium in my life, but just last week I saw a very cool cement bottomed vase thing at World Market, and they said it could be used as a terrarium. Incidentally, it seemed like the perfect winter project to do with my twins and the perfect way to green up this horribly cold, gray season in Wisconsin! And now I have your input, so yes, I’m going to do it!!! The universe has said, “Make a terrarium!” and I will abide!

    Reply

  27. Terri Fisher says

    When you make bookcases would you make
    Steps on how to attach the bookcase to dresser
    I would to do also. Thanks

    Reply

  28. Sydnie F. says

    Step 1 should always be cut a hole in a box. Thanks for that moment of hilarity today! The terrarium is the coolest.

    Reply

  29. Shannon says

    “The jury is still out on whether this will end up being a cold and lonely tomb for them to leave this world…”

    LMAOOOOOO… thanks for this afternoon’s laugh!

    Reply

  30. Erin says

    I bought my husband the perfect sized terrarium at Hobby Lobby (with a cork top–very important). It was originally $40 but I used a coupon and it was about $25. He loves it and I will definitely suggest we use the charcoal. I hope your little plants live. I’ve killed all my so it’s on my husband from here on out.

    Reply

  31. Jenna says

    What book is in the third picture of the post with all the post-its marking pages?? I’d love to look through it if you’ve marked it that much! I hope you didn’t answer this yet; I tried looking through all the comments.
    P.s. Your blog is my favorite because you care about your readers, you are so honest and real, and because you’re so consistent about posting every day. Thank you!

    Reply

  32. Kristin says

    Love your blog and have been following for over a year now! This is my first comment ever. I always love reading your post titles and how they often play on words. Just thought it might be funnier to write “oh deer.” I’m a nerd. I know. On that note it’ll probably be my first and last comment. ;)

    Reply

  33. Nicky says

    For some reason Bob seems like the most suitable name ever for the deer to me. I just read the name, looked at the photograph and thought to myself ‘They could not have picked out a better name’ And then I realized I was actuallly thinking about the suitability of a name for a plastic deer. That’s how far I’ve come.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      I’m not sure! I’ve seen some people make them in round hanging bowls with a small circle (opening) on the side, and others use fluted vase things with an opening at the top. Ours has slight ventilation (I imagine light bulbs need that to let the heat out) so I think that’s why it doesn’t fog up like a truly airtight container might.

      xo
      s

  35. Kim says

    Hey Sherry,

    This is RANDOM, but the title of the post + the pic of the crib made me think of this. Ready for some totally unsolicited advice from a stranger? Get this: http://www.babesafe.co.nz.
    It’s a mattress wrapper that has a 100% success rate at stopping SIDS. We found out about it after our little girl (3.5, just a few weeks younger than Clara) was born, but we got one for our son, Max. It’s like $40 and it’s pretty easy to use. I love the peace of mind.
    Anyway, I am recommending them to everyone I know and buying one for every friend who is pregnant. Read the info on the site (I promise the link is a legit site) and if you have questions, I can happily answer. I’ll even send you a pic of our setup in Max’s room if you like. (His nursery is woodland gnome themed, btw! I love it.)

    Okay, I’ll step off the soapbox now.

    Kim

    Reply

  38. Megan @ The Brick Bungalow says

    One – I love terrariums and that container is great!

    Two – I seriously read that as “a living deer” instead of a “deer living in”… Not sure if my brain is tired due to 100 students in my room (plus the other 200+ I see in the halls) or the lack of sleep due to my almost 3 month old…

    Good luck with your plants! I had been having great luck until my sub while on maternity leave didn’t water any of my class plants. It was sad to see all the brown, dead plants..

    Reply

  41. Shanny says

    You guys clearly have ESP. I was just thinking yesterday (as I cleaned out our recently deceased beta fish’s home, may he RIP), that I wanted to make convert his old bowl into a terrarium. I really barely keep plants alive, I’m not sure why I thought a fish was a good idea….

    Thanks for the easy to follow tutorial!!

    Reply

  42. livy says

    That is sooo adorable! I would love to make one! One question tho… in the other container ideas you linked to, would the plant get enough air with a lid on like that? Any ideas? Thanks! :)

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Some folks have said you can just lift the lid to air things out whenever you remember for a little while and close it back up and those little “breathers” seemed to work for them.

      xo
      s

  44. Anna says

    Try air plants! I got mine at Ace Hardware, but I had a friend buy some from one of those mall kiosks. They live on dust (fine for my house, may not be fine for yours). You dunk them in water once a week. They don’t die!

    Reply

  45. Kristina says

    Awesome! Last time I bought some little succulents, I placed them in some cute color-block pots I painted. And…they died. Talk about a black thumb. You have totally (re)inspired me! Urban Outfitters has the cutest glass terrariums, so now I have an excuse to get one!

    Reply

  47. Beth says

    I kill my succulents with kindness. I feel bad for neglecting them and then over water them and then they start turning to mush. I have now successfully killed two burros tails with my love :/ I may have to stick to regular houseplants that don’t hate water.

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      Haha, kill ’em with kindness = hilarious! What if for every time you want to water them, you whisper kind words to them instead? And only water a drop a week? I think that’s what we did with burro tails and they lived for years and got huge!

      xo
      s

  48. rita says

    Hi there!! Given the popularity of IG, have you decreased the number of pictures you have taken with your Nikon? I recently had my first baby and want a nice camera but am worried it may collect dust due to my fear at failing how to use it due to complicated directions. Any suggestions?

    Reply

    • YoungHouseLove says

      We definitely take a ton of everyday photos of Clara on our camera, but for those special events (birthday parties, family gatherings, Christmas morning, vacations to the beach, big snowstorms, etc) we love our DSLR for the beautiful photos it takes.

      xo
      s

  49. Kristie C says

    Omg! Did you just make a Lonely Island reference?! If so I love you 10x more than I did 5 minutes ago.

    Thank you for sharing this project. I’ve been wanting to try a terrarium project but have not had the proper inspiration until now. XO

    Reply

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