Repurpose An Old Banana Stand Into A Totally Unique Plant Display

Air plant aficionados know that it only takes one Tillandsia (the scientific name for the family of bromeliads air plants belong to) to get hooked on the plant. You spend your days — online or in plant centers — searching for new varieties to add to your collection and hunting down creative air plant holder ideas to create a beautiful display of greenery. Thankfully, since air plants need little care other than the odd spritz of water, you can house them in pretty much anything. Enter the banana stand. With its handy hook, all it takes to convert this kitchen staple into a plant display is a glass jar, some river stones, and lengths of garden twine knotted together to form a hammock.

If you don't already have a banana hanger, ask around friends and family, post a request on your local Buy Nothing group, or peruse the shelves at thrift stores. Alternatively, buying one is relatively affordable: A Totally Bamboo Banana Holder costs about $17. Any old jar will do, so long as it's clean and stout enough to hang within the holder without touching the base. A 328-foot roll of HSTECH Natural Jute Twine is about $7 and a 5-pound bag of Virekm River Rocks goes for under $10. Get, too, some craft paint for the hanger in your favorite hue — we like the idea of matching it with the bloom color of your air plant! All you really need, tools-wise, are scissors, a ruler or measuring tape, and a paintbrush.

To craft this unusual banana hack if you're an air plant addict, start by painting the hanger. Paint on two coats for durability, then set the piece aside to dry. Get out your calculator: It's time to do some math. Measure the length of your banana hanger and multiply it by two. To the product, add the height of the jar plus another 10 inches. Cut a total of four lengths of twine to match your final figure.

Holding all the cords together, fold them in the middle and tie a knot to form a loop. Separate the four lengths and tie a knot a little way down — make sure it's in roughly the same spot on each length. Take one string from each pair and tie those together about 2 inches from the first, forming diamond shapes. Repeat at least one more time, checking to see if the hammock you've created will hold your jar securely, then tie all the string together in one big bundle at the base.

Fill the jar with stones and pop in your air plant, then loop the holder over the banana hook. The best places to hang plants in your home, especially air plants, are east- or west-facing windows, so the plants get bright but not direct natural light. Make sure the room they live in is warm, too. Temperatures lower than 50 degrees Fahrenheit stifle air plant growth. These plants need to be submerged in water regularly, so keep the hanger within easy reach. 

Leave the stand with its original raw wood for a rustic (if it's clearly lived a long life before it came into your possession) or Scandi (if its new) vibe. We also love the idea of doubling down on the use of twine and wrapping the stand in it or adding details with paint stencils. Can't be bothered knotting the twine? Spiral it around the neck of the jar instead, leaving a long loop to hang over the hook. Or switch out the twine for another knottable material altogether — flexible copper wire, metal chain, leather, old t-shirt material, beads ... Your only limit is your imagination. Use yarn and use your macrame skills to create the holder. In fact, any holder you can hang from the banana bunch hook will work: A (new, not used ... chemicals!) lab flask, a candle lantern, or a mini metal bucket are good alternatives for the jar.

Don't want to do any plant care at all but still love the look of houseplants? Switch out the air plant for an artificial succulent or pretty much any other kind of plant that takes your fancy. Get a set of 12 super cute HappyHapi Artificial Succulents for about $13. If you want to hang a real plant inside, make sure you use a container with drainage holes and a saucer — most houseplants don't like being waterlogged. This DIY would look cute with a climbing plant that hangs over the edge of the planter like ivy, an orchid, or, aptly, a string of bananas (Senecio radicans).