Large concrete planter from kid’s chairs

Materials: LÖMSK chair (2 required, 3rd good to have around)

Description: 1. take two LÖMSK chairs. Take apart if you already have them, or leave them apart if your buying them.

2. Using quick clamps (or other clamping devices) bring the two matched halves together.

3. Drill a hole through the edge and insert and appropriate nuts and bolts. Continue to do this along the entire edge. I reused the hardware found on the chairs that is used to secure the top cover. All I had to do is buy a few washers so the shells made a good contact. I used anywhere from 8 to 10 fasteners to keep the mold together.

4. Using a marker, draw out your desired opening.

5. Cut top opening out with a cut off wheel. Be careful the plastic melts and shoots everywhere. Use safety equipment, especially protecting your eyes. Goggle would be great if you have them. Don’t use a razor blade, you can’t cut the plastic with one as it’s too thick.

6. Make sure to cut out a hole at the bottom for your drain plug. You can always drill out later, but the concrete is thick down there and very hard to drill out. Much easier at this point. I used pink foam insulation, works great. You punch this out when mold hardens.

8. using 2×4 scraps, secure the mold so it doesn’t rock. Make sure you center it so it’s not leaning.

9. Mix your concrete. Your looking for a clay-like consistency. Press it against the sides of the mold and you can work it up way past vertical if your making good contact with the mold wall. Don’t go too thick at this point, if you apply too much on the first coat, it will fall once you go past vertical.

10. Let it stand til it firms up pretty good. Add wire lathe, or wire rod reinforcements around the pot. Keep your safety glasses on so you don’t get popped in the eye with a rod that jumps out.

11. Mix up more concrete, this time a little wetter mix. Add in a little chopped up fiberglass (about a handful). Work this mixture over the first coat and over the wire reinforcement that you put in . Be patient and take your time to fill in all the voids. Your looking for a final thickness of about 1 1/2″.

12. Let it go off for about 24 hours. Spray down with water a few times as it dries so the concrete cures nicely.

13. Remove from mold. If it’s the first planter, you shouldn’t have much trouble. Don’t pry too hard or you’ll crack the planter or break the mold.

14. Place on 2×4’s and spray down with water over the next day or so. Sand down with 220 grit, or wet polish them. You can back fill voids with more concrete or concrete paste if you want them solid.

15. Seal them with a concrete sealer.

16. Enjoy.

I always loved modern sphere planters but are essentially unaffordable, up to about 2k per planter. It’s hard work to make them, but well worth it. My kids had outgrown the LÖMSK chairs, so I thought they would make a great mold. It worked awesome & I made 5 planters and a fire pit out of 3 chairs before all the molds became brittle. You could probably get way more forms out of it, but I was a little rougher with the de-molding process. They are heavy, so watch your back when you move them into place 😉

~ Adam Green, Margate New Jersey