Hello Pinterest fans—if you’ve been baking, crafting, painting, organizing, sewing, building, or knitting, now’s the time to share your work. This season’s unofficial Pinterest Challenge encourages you to stop pinning and start doing: pick a pinned project you’ve wanted to complete and make it happen. No sponsors, just a community of people turning inspiration into action.
For this challenge we tackled window boxes. We’d saved a couple of images for inspiration—one for the look and another for a DIY tutorial—and decided window boxes would add dimension and soft greenery to our long ranch-style house. They weren’t a necessity for resale, but we wanted to see how much charm they could bring to the exterior.
We settled on three windows that would benefit from modest, classic planters. After comparing the cost and effort of building versus buying, we picked ready-made window boxes, liners, and mounting brackets at Home Depot that matched our mid-century-ranch aesthetic. If you want a streamlined look that doesn’t overwhelm a simple facade, clean-lined planters like these are a great choice.
Materials we used: mid-century-style planter boxes, plastic liners sized to fit, masonry anchors or screws appropriate for brick, and mounting brackets rated for outdoor planters. We also used a hammer drill and masonry bits to prep the brick.
How we installed the window boxes on brick:
- Measure and mark: Hold the window box in place to center it under the window, then mark bracket locations carefully. Accurate marking makes the rest of the job much easier.
- Drill pilot holes with a hammer drill: Use a hammer drill and masonry bit to create pilot holes in the brick where the brackets will mount. This ensures a secure fit in masonry and prevents loose fasteners.
- Use proper masonry screws or anchors: Don’t use the short, generic screws that sometimes come with installation kits. We used 2″ masonry Tapcon screws leftover from another project, and they work much better in brick than light-sheet metal screws.
- Attach brackets and engage the locking tab: Follow the bracket instructions to attach them to the pilot holes. Many brackets include a small metal tab that can be bent over the planter to lock it in place once the box is seated. It’s usually soft enough to bend by hand, but use care and a tool if needed.
- Insert the plastic liner and prepare drainage: Drop the plastic liner into the planter and remove the preset perforations to create drainage holes. The liners will align with the planter’s pre-drilled drainage, which is a helpful convenience when planting.
Two installation mistakes we learned from and want to share:
- Do not use the cheap, short screws included with some kits for masonry applications. They won’t hold well in brick or stucco.
- Do not try to drive masonry screws with a standard drill. A hammer drill provides the impact and torque needed to seat masonry fasteners securely.
With the brackets secure and the locking tabs in place, installing the liners and plants was straightforward. To get an immediate “spilling” look without waiting weeks for growth, we used a practical shortcut: buy two hanging baskets from a nursery and divide them between the planters. Hanging baskets are perfect for window boxes because they’re already grown to spill over the edges, giving instant visual impact.
We gently divided the hanging-basket plants into sections and tucked them into each liner. This gave each window box several spilling plants from the start, avoiding the slow wait for trailing growth to develop. The result was an instant punch of color and texture without elaborate planting techniques.
The final effect: modest, simple window boxes that complement the brick rather than compete with it. Because the planters match the brick tone, the flowers become the focal point, softening the facade and adding curb appeal. As the plants fill in and trail further over the edges, the boxes will look even better.
Other notes and tips:
- Choose plant varieties suited to your light conditions; petunias and mixed annuals are popular for bright, sunny exposures, while shade-tolerant choices work better for north-facing windows.
- Ensure proper drainage: liners with clear drainage holes that align with the planter’s holes help prevent standing water and root rot.
- Consider regular watering or a simple wicking system for containers that dry out quickly in summer heat.
We also enjoyed some family time outdoors while installing the boxes—mulch was spread and plenty of neighborhood nature encounters made the project feel like a simple spring refresh. If you’re joining the Pinterest Challenge, we’d love to see what you completed: share a blog post or photo gallery link (set to public) so others can admire your work and get inspired.
In short: three clean-lined window boxes, clear tips for a secure brick installation, and an easy planting trick using hanging baskets give you instant, attractive window planters. They’re a small project with a noticeable impact on curb appeal and a great way to turn pinned ideas into real results.