I recently hopped on the DIY terracotta vase trend (my thanks goes out to Tiktok), and I’ve gotta say, I’m obsessed!
I’ve tried a few home DIYs in the past and tbh, they don’t always turn out quite right…Let’s just say I’ve had a few Pinterest fails in my life. Those craft projects never make it to the blog!
After seeing the DIY terracotta vase project all over my Insta feed, I decided to give it a try. Turns out, this is one of those DIY projects that you can’t mess up. Those are my favorite kind of DIY, btw. I also think this tutorial on doing a Goodwill lamp makeover with paint would be super easy to follow and hard to mess up!
So today I’m sharing tips and a step-by-step guide on how to make DIY terracotta vases, materials you’ll need, and how I styled them.
I had so much fun making these and I just love how they turned out! Now I’m constantly keeping my eye out for potential vases I can use for my next Terracotta vase DIY. Especially since we’re not traveling at all right now and just staying home, I’ve got a lot more time on my hands for little DIY projects. If you find a metal container you want to use as decor, this post has info on paint for metal.
This is such a fun and easy DIY project, and the end results seriously looks SO good. You will love.
Materials Needed for DIY Terracotta Vases:
- Water-based paint in whatever colors you want
- Baking soda
- Plastic paint trays
- Paintbrush
- Vases (I got mine at Goodwill)
- A stick to mix with
Buy your materials for this DIY below:
DIY Terracotta Vase Steps:
1. Pour your paint into your paint tray. I experimented with different colors and my favorites ended up being the following colors from Sherwin-Williams:
White Duck
Baked Clay
Moscow Midnight
Persimmon
Pro tip, you can buy a sample for $8 at Sherwin-Williams and that will give you plenty of paint for several vases! I actually ended up using some of the samples we had on hand when we were looking for our house color, and bought a few other terracotta colored paint samples.
2. Add baking soda. Start with about a tablespoon of baking soda, but you can add more or less depending on how chunky and textured you want your paint to be.
3. Mix paint and baking soda with a stick until all the baking soda is dissolved. Paint will become thick and have a mousse-like texture. The baking soda will continue to bubble and your paint will become chunkier over the next 20 minutes, giving it that terracotta paint look.
4. Paint first coat. You’ll want to do two coats of paint, and you can go ahead and do your first coat while you wait for your paint to continue bubbling and getting chunkier. Let the first coat dry and then go in for your second coat. By this time your paint should be looking pretty chunky and your second coat of paint will give you more of that textured terracotta look.
To style these upcycled vases I added some dried pampas grass and wheat, and in others I did a single faux pampas grass. Also thinking of getting some dried palm leaves! They look so good sprinkled throughout the house. We have them on our credenza, side tables, and on our dresser in our bedroom.
I was able to use old vases I had lying around and also bought a few at Goodwill that I liked the shape of, costing me all of $10. Plus it was a fun. That’s a win in my book!
What home DIY project should I try next? Send any ideas my way, I’m on a home project roll!
Looking for more home content? I’ve got you covered right over here!
FAQs
Mixing red and brown or orange and brown will give you a terracotta color.
Use any water-based paint in any color you like.
Elise Armitage is an entrepreneur and founder of What The Fab, a travel + lifestyle blog based in California. At the beginning of 2019, Elise left her corporate job at Google to chase her dreams: being an entrepreneur and helping women find fabulous in the everyday. Since then, she’s launched her SEO course Six-Figure SEO, where she teaches bloggers how to create a passive revenue stream from their website using SEO. Featured in publications like Forbes, Elle, HerMoney, and Real Simple, Elise is a firm believer that you can be of both substance and style.
