Making an indoor plant cabinet

October 31, 2021 9:32 AM

I like plants. I also recently acquired a rescue kitten that likes plants. I'd like to put some of my plants in an enclosed plant cabinet, but can't find anything made-to-order that would work. I've found some DIY projects online but none of them fit what I need. More inside.

The problem is that I don't want glass doors, and all of the DIY projects I've found online have glass doors. This cabinet is going to mostly have succulents in it, so I don't want the "indoor greenhouse" effect.

Ideally, I would find a lawyer's bookshelf or display cabinet for purchase where I could just remove the panes of glass over the doors, and replace it with wire mesh I've cut to size. And ideally, shelf height would be adjustable so that I could put some of my taller plants in there.

Problem 1: Online stores don't often show how panes of glass are attached, so it's not clear if they're easily removable or not.

Problem 2: Most of the display cabinets I've found don't seem to have adjustable shelves or don't specify. Or they're very short! I would like to see my plants.

Problem 3: Some potential options are hundreds of dollars that I don't want to spend if they're not actually what I need.

I live in a smaller, Midwestern city. There aren't many options for in-person shopping that have a lot of variety. There is an Ikea 1 1/2 hours away from me, and I'm willing to make the trip if I'm planning to purchase something but not just to scope out whether or not their cabinets would work.

So, has anyone done something like this and found a decent base to start from? Has anyone bought a bookshelf or cabinet that they think would work for what I need?

(I don't want to build the cabinet from scratch. I'll eventually go that route if I have to, but I would rather throw some amount of money at the problem than time at this point.)

posted by Kutsuwamushi to Home & Garden (11 answers total)

Response by poster: I forgot to mention - I'm looking for something that is a decent size, because I will basically buy as many plants as I have room for. So, not something that is like a console table with a single shelf, or is super short, or the like.

Something like this would be great if it was actually possible to remove the glass and attach wire to it (metal would make that more difficult). Also, this particular cabinet is out of stock at my nearest Ikea.
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 9:33 AM on October 31, 2021

Have you looked at enclosures designed for animals like chameleons? They have screens rather than glass. It's probably something you'd prefer to pick up used rather than purchase new.
posted by stowaway at 11:51 AM on October 31, 2021

Kittens LOVE climbing screens. This damages the screens.

I would look for either a large bird enclosure or consider something called an "X-Pen" or exercise pen for large dogs. I just bought a 4' high one for about $99 -- you can use it to pen your plants in instead of your kitten out. The tall ones have gates you can open to go inside.

Or, if you do end up building something yourself, look for "hardware cloth" instead of screen. It's not pretty by itself (maybe you can find some in black?), but it's a lot stronger -- thicker wires -- so it will stand up to the kitten.

You can also use a glass cabinet, but make a ventilation hole and system to blow/circulate air.

I realize none of these are really great solutions. Kittens :)

--

Alternative plant protection strategies:

- Bitter apple spray;

- Maintaining a constant supply of cat grass (buy wheat berries in bulk and plant a small handful every 2-3 weeks) -- if your kitten is chewing leaves, he may really want/need to eat greens, and this could alleviate his drive toward the plant leaves;

- Put all plants very high and make sure there is no nearby location the kitten can jump from
posted by amtho at 12:13 PM on October 31, 2021

I think that one of those metal utility shelves, would have a lot of possible attachment points to add a screen. YMMV, of course, on the erm... aesthetics.
posted by oceano at 1:04 PM on October 31, 2021 [2 favorites]

Just to double check, are you opposed to glass because you don't like the look or because you think it's bad for the plants? I've successfully grown succulents in a terrarium and I think they would be fine. I do think you'd need a cabinet that has light all the way around, like the one you linked to (or something like this) rather than a bookcase with more shade. I would recommend just using an inaccessible shelf or hanging the plants, though, if you can.
posted by pinochiette at 3:25 PM on October 31, 2021

Is hanging the plants an option? It doesn't have to be just one per window -- these come in a pack that would allow you to hang three from a single set up as well as single plants from various windows.

I've bought this set twice because I got sick of my cat barfing plant particles. Succulents are especially nice because the watering factor is not intense.

I hung them on trees in the shade in the summertime - they didn't come back pristine, but they're still nice on year two.
posted by A Terrible Llama at 3:31 PM on October 31, 2021

Response by poster: I'm looking specifically for recommendations for furniture that I can buy and convert the way that I described, rather than other suggestions.

I'll be putting LED grow lights in the cabinet. My house is too shady for succulents, even if I hang them in a window. Plus, I have too many to hang and my windows have OTHER plants hanging in them already.

I *do* want something that is not totally encased in glass. I know it's possible to grow succulents in terrariums, but it's not particularly good for them. I already live in a pretty humid area.

The cabinet will need to have doors for easy access, which is why I'm looking for something that comes with doors. I don't want to clip on/off wire every time I want to water or rotate them. I could build doors, but I don't really want to put that amount of work into something that won't look good. If I'm going to build anything, I might as well bite the bullet and build the whole thing.
posted by Kutsuwamushi at 9:05 PM on October 31, 2021

Have you considered wire cloches, that you can set on top of plants to protect them from animals (including kitties)? We're using one right now to very effectively protect a plant in our bedroom from our new kitten. They come in different sizes. You could buy a set of shelves, or a cabinet with shelves and no doors, and just put the cloches over your plants.
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 10:07 PM on October 31, 2021 [1 favorite]

Take a look at this pinterest board - it's all replacing glass with cane but most would work with hardware cloth or mesh screen. I would go with hardware cloth personally - kittens can destroy screening in a hurry. Many of the designs shown are for IKEA cabinets.
posted by leslies at 6:19 AM on November 1, 2021

I would wait for the Ikea cabinet to come back in stock. If you look at the assembly instructions, most (if not all) of the glass panels come separately and you install them in the metal frame yourself. The doors look like they might be pre-assembled but it would be pretty straightforward to attach wire mesh to the other three sides. You might even be able to make use the extra shelf bracket attachment points to get a cleaner look.

Also, whatever you go with, I'd definitely attach it to a wall with one of those childproof anti-tipping straps/brackets, in case your kitten tries to climb the mesh or leap on to it.
posted by yeahlikethat at 9:14 AM on November 1, 2021

If you're on Facebook, there's an entire group of thousands of folks called the Ikea Greenhouse Club. They would likely have lots of good tips and ideas on what to do when Ikea materials aren't available and for succulents.

In the meantime, this cat deterring plant spray (and there are recipes for similar things online) kept my nibbling kitten off of my plants while I figured out how to get them away from her.
posted by bluedaisy at 11:29 AM on November 1, 2021