Apartment Therapy reader Jackie Honikman sent us her whimsical and imaginative DIY project that puts a cheap canopy bed frame to reuse in a whole new light as a balcony garden flower bed. We could also imagine this working with a mini-lawn to lay down upon for a nap, but maybe that's because we're just tired...
I converted a twin canopy bed purchased for $80 bucks on craigslist into a raised flower bed with living details (aka succulents). The bed is depicted at two different states:
- After painting: regular wooden bed frame painted with glossy black exterior paint
- Complete: Cedar boards added, used to create the sides of the "bed"; filled with soil; succulents are carefully placed, flowers are planted on top.
This was part of a bigger DIY balcony makeover that included a a fence, padded benches and a bar... all hand made by me (a totally inexperienced girl with a jig saw.) I think this is a cool project because we really transformed our (rental) apartment's balcony into a secluded party-garden.

Commercial Flour Sa...
I love it! This made me smile.
LOL!
I get it but it still reminds me of those tubs...
I love the idea. Very nice.
love your bed of flowers!!
Enough to make me smile - but can't stop thinking about how big a waste it is, both of a bed and space.
@ChrisGal, looking at the pictures, it looks like she has nothing to worry about in terms of wasting space.
Pretty flowers! I like the idea of a bed of grass, too.
FAB!
Thanks to everyone for the kind comments! The idea really evolved from just wanting to build a raised flower bed for planting vegetables. The bed frame had the perfect WxL dimensions for it, but making it deep enough was going to be tough. We went with a more shallow solution that allows us to grow flowers and maybe some veggies that don't need more than 8in of soil. Originally I purchased the bed thinking that I would make it into an outdoor daybed kind of thing, but it wasn't really working with the space. In case it matters, I didn't get leadingedge's reference to "tubs." thanks again!