Inspiration: Indoor Garden Center

If it weren't for the completely 70's looking color palette we would swear this was a diy project right out of Readymade or Real Simple. Instead this sleek little indoor garden center is actually a hare older than we are: old enough, apparently, to be back in style:

From a 1978 copy of Better Homes and Gardens: Family Room Projects You Can Build, this Indoor Garden Center has a convenient collapsible shelf for potting, a covered cabinet for storing tools and three long shelves for wrangling your indoor plants. What seems most convenient is how shallow it is, perfect for a small space or on a balcony where you don't want a giant shelving unit jutting out and taking up all the space. The sleek Scandinavian design looks totally modern--does anyone have a copy of the original book? Has anyone built anything similar?

(Image: back_garage licensed for use under Creative Commons)

Comments (5)

wow could have used this last week when i was potting all my plants for the balcony. Potting around 20 plants while kneeling on cement isnt very kind to your body.

Truth be told I don't think I will touch a bag of soil until its time to pot next years flowers so I don't think I could justify a whole built in unit! Looks very cheerful

This could be a great compact laptop desk or craft table too

posted by adamwa on May 11th 2009 at 4:48pm
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Smith & Hawken potting benches are similar:
http://tiny.cc/oJtwi
and
http://tiny.cc/6XaMp
However, neither one has the helpful shelf.

posted by ebrown on May 11th 2009 at 5:05pm
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Nice idea, but I think that fold-out shelf is much too small to re-pot plants on. At least for me - but maybe I'm more mess than the average gardener. I can see potting soil going everywhere...especially bad if this is meant to be used inside the house and not just in the backyard or garage.

posted by Grumpy Girl on May 11th 2009 at 6:05pm
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Hmmm, I dunno, seems like another piece of furniture I don't need. I potted some plants this weekend and I was perfectly fine on the steps of the back door.

I do like that chair, though.

posted by graciela on May 11th 2009 at 6:07pm
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Oh my god! I read that book over and over when I was a kid. I found it in our small-town library and loved the projects. My mother thought I was nuts to be looking at such dated decor... who knew it would come back around! I remember this one, and a workbench with storage made from a door... Good times!

posted by matchbookhymnal on May 11th 2009 at 8:07pm
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