Easy Home Solutions for a Year of Upgrades

Here’s a clever twist on the classic window box: a wood shelf that displays plants right in their pots outside your window. To make one, ask your lumberyard for a length of thick pine. Use a compass to measure and mark circles slightly larger than the diameter of each pot’s base, spacing them evenly apart. Drill several pilot holes along your markings, then use a jigsaw to cut out the circles (you may need to buy an extra-long blade). Make the beefy shelf supports by gluing together pairs of stock corbels; attach them to the shelf with stainless-steel deck screws, and coat everything with a protective clear stain. Hang the shelf, then pop in some potted blooms, no replanting required.