Repurposed Fire Pit

Last year I bought an inexpensive metal fire pit for our backyard. You see them all the time on Facebook Marketplace too.


Fast forward to this year, we purchased a new fire pit so I had the old rusty one to either sell or upcycle. 


You guessed it... I'm upcycling it! 


This old fire pit made the best backyard stand planter!! 


Take a look...

 
fire pit with flowers




The story didn't begin there... years ago my husband and I made a brick fire pit in our backyard. We loved this project however the neighbor's growing trees overhanging our property was a fire hazard and we couldn't move the brick fire pit at this point. 


fire pit



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I thought that the solution to our problem was to buy an inexpensive metal fire pit. 


And we did... once. We even tried the metal fire pit it in the other fire pit.


fire pit in a fire pit



We decided that there was too much smoke with the metal fire pit so we bit the bullet and purchased a Solo Fire Pit. The Solo fire pits are wonderful! We use it on our deck and it makes no smoke at all! 


solo fire pit and people



So now what am I going to do with the rusty metal fire pit?


fire pit with rust



You got it... I'm upcycling it! 


My thoughts were like the planters with stands I saw on Pinterest.


I began by spraying the inside of the fire pit bowl with a spray sealer so the rust wouldn't change the color of the paint I was going to use. 


fire pit with white paint in bottom



I painted the inside and the outside of the fire pit with Fusion Mineral Paint in the color Raw Silk. 


And yes, that is my Michael Jackson Thriller album hanging on the wall 😂


outside of fire pit bottom



I drilled 3 holes into the bottom of the bowl for drainage then I placed the bowl back into the stand to make the painting easier. I'm going to leave the stand black. 


drilling drainage holes



Before the paint dried, I mixed up a bowl of a random white chalk paint with a touch of Coal Black to make a cement grey color then added about 3 tablespoons of baking soda to make the paint thick. 


mixing grey paint



I've used this cement look technique on several projects in the past. 



adding textured grey paint to fire pit



I dabbed the grey "cement" paint all over the rim of the fire pit bowl.  


cement grey look on rim of fire pit



Because I'm planning on filling this bowl with soil, I'm not going to dab the thick paint in the center of the bowl. 


textured grey paint on rim



I let the thick dry for several hours. 


recycled fire pit



Next, I used Fusion Mineral Paint Antiquing Glaze to make the cement look authentically aged in some places. 


antiquing glaze on grey painted fire pit


READ MORE: CEMENT PAINT PROJECTS


grey cement look with glaze



Lastly, I gave the bowl a coat of Fusion Mineral Paint Tough Coat to protect the paint from the elements. 


fire pit planter


antique glazed fire pit



All that was left to do was to fill the bowl with soil and a few beautiful potted plants for Spring! 


I headed to my local garden center and bought a few pints of creeping phlox, a perennial and a bag of soil. 


phlox and soil

I put a coffee filter in the bottom of the bowl to prevent the soil from coming out of the holes. 


coffee filter in bottom of bowl


I filled the fire pit planter with soil and made holes ready for flowers. 


fire pit filled with soil


The creeping phlox was going to be perfect because it will fill the bowl and creep down the sides. 


creeping phlox flowers


What did I do with the fire pit top you might ask?  I painted it the same off white color as the fire pit. 


painted wire cloche fire pit top



And then came the rain... it rained hard for several days and almost flooded out my planter! 



fire pit planter with cover


In the end, when the rain finally stopped, I had a beautiful planter from that old rusty fire pit! 


rainy day fire pit


Please pin for later --->> 


fire pit with overlay


repurposed fire pit planter

And here it is a month later, beautiful and saved from the land fill! 


fire pit with flowers and overlay


READ MORE: DIY GARDEN IDEAS



outdoor planter on deck with flowers


As the weeks passed I've added a funnel with another plant and some cute decorations. It's getting better day by day. 


repurposed fire pit with flowers and lantern


Thanks so much for visiting and before you go please make sure you are signed up for the Homeroad emails so you'll get all my latest posts and updates! 



outdoor planter with flowers on deck

Stay tuned because I'll be turning the brick fire pit into a beautiful planter as well! 


Here is a more recent pic of the fire pit.


fire pit in full bloom



I also added a vintage funnel with another plant in it, a frog solar light, and some broken dishes to the planter. 


repurposed fire pit with flowers









Homeroad
Homeroad

I am Susan, the author and creator at Homeroad. I am a wife, mother of 4 daughters, and a grandmother of 5 and counting. I am a retired teacher, a DIY blogger and an artist at heart. .