IKEA Glass Shelf Terrariums

Very cool idea via IkeaHacker showing how to create your own Detolf glass shelf unit terrariums with PC fan ventilation fans, created specifically to keep their precious houseplants away from the hungry mouths of their cats and dogs.

We needed space for a lot of indoor plants, and we needed to protect them from being nibbled on by our dog or cats. rather than build something from scratch that might not look so good, i bought two detolf glass shelves and added some fans on top.

The fans are necessary to keep the air flowing through (keeps bugs and mildew to a minimum). the fans are standard 120mm computer fans that run on 12v. to power them, i bought a power supply from radio shack and hooked it up to the fans (be sure to get the polarity right - fans won't run if you have the +12 on the wrong side).

Some other interesting green house ideas using IKEA household items here.

Comments (3)

wow...suprisingly (actually not so surprisingly) ugly. whats the poing of having plants shut in ugly glass, planted in ugly disposable cake pans? maybe i'm missing something....

posted by cmschmidt on February 11th 2008 at 10:54am
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I actually really like this idea. I have a cat that nibbles on every plant! I think this would be a great set-up to start seedlings. Right now, I have to keep my plants on the top of very high bookshelves. Eventually the cat WILL figure out how to climb them!

I agree the disposable cake pans aren't the best long term solution. But I could really see this as a beautiful way to show off some great pots. I'm thinking all orchids in bright colorful pots.

posted by K8 in Maine on February 11th 2008 at 11:16am
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I'm considering the detolf's for vintage toy display...

posted by ncantine on December 4th 2008 at 10:41am
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