These creative DIY mini greenhouse ideas keep your plants happy while adding beautiful decor to your indoor or outdoor space.
9 DIY Mini Greenhouse Ideas
Updated on Nov. 15, 2024
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If you have limited space or are just curious about getting into greenhouse gardening, a DIY mini greenhouse can be the perfect place to start. They can fit on patios, balconies or even a sunny windowsill. They help give plants the right amount of humidity and warmth, and you can make them out of whatever you have around the house, from plastic bottles to old cabinets.
“Plus, with a mini greenhouse, you get all the joys of gardening without a big upfront investment,” says Manny Barra, a master gardener at TeachMe.To. “It’s like having your own mini-ecosystem; one that’s easy to manage and keep thriving even in the smallest of spaces.”
Besides looking cute, mini greenhouses are also practical for starting seeds earlier in the spring and extending the growing season in the fall.
“These structures are perfect for those who aren’t ready to commit to a more extensive, permanent setup, and they’re incredibly convenient for renters,” says Emily Gaines, a member of the educational garden programs team at the Sonoma County Children’s Museum. “Compact and flexible, they can be set up quickly and moved as needed and offer the ideal balance of protection and convenience.”
If you are considering adding some more greenery to your home, here are some ideas for creating your own mini DIY greenhouse.
Mini Greenhouse Upgrade
After buying a store-bought mini greenhouse (here’s a similar model), @num_ber79 decided to give it a glow-up. First she painted the greenhouse with a soft, sage green (Lichen by Farrow & Ball). Then she added charming terra-cotta roof tiles from a stockpile she had on hand.
Now her garden has a beautiful, custom-looking greenhouse with minimal effort and maximum impact.
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Repurposed Windows Mini Greenhouse
To protect her seedlings from her dogs and local wildlife, @thecozycottagelife created this mini greenhouse with repurposed glass windows.
Here’s how she built it: “I found four old windows on the side of the road. My husband screwed the windows together using L-brackets. He created a hinged door on one side and attached an old door knob. Then to make the gabled roof frame, he used 2×2 lumber and attached the decorative metal corbels at the eaves.”
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Curio Cabinet Mini Greenhouse
Like many DIY projects, this mini greenhouse by @goldengateroots started with a lucky find on Facebook Marketplace. To convert the old curio cabinet into a greenhouse, she gave the entire thing a thorough cleaning, then added grow lights to each shelf.
For optimal growing conditions, she suggests putting the lights on different schedules with quality outlet timers to meet each plant’s light needs.
You can also give room for your plant babies to grow with these diy greenhouse shelves.
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Mini Greenhouse Lantern
A decorative lantern meant for candles makes a great mini greenhouse, as seen here from @krisreneeauthor. The glass keep the micro environment warm and humid, but you could also add a small grow light to further improve the conditions for the plant.
Group several lanterns together for a collection of mini greenhouses that would look great on a windowsill or as a centerpiece.
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Mini Greenhouse Umbrellas
Here’s a clever idea from @vilalujano. Impatient to enjoy his flowers, he went ahead and planted his outdoor pots before the temperatures fully warmed up.
To keep the delicate plants safe from cool nighttime temperatures, he inserted these translucent umbrellas. Such a simple solution that results in instant mini greenhouses perfectly fitted for each pot!
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IKEA Hack Mini Greenhouse
This mini indoor greenhouse from @stephbplants_ is actually the Milsbo glass-door cabinet from IKEA. The cabinet itself keeps plants protected. But if you want serious growing power, convert the cabinet further by adding grow lights and a small fan for air circulation.
Air movement is important in a greenhouse to prevent mold, which can grow quickly in humid, stagnant environments.
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Cold Frame Mini Greenhouse
A cold frame is basically another name for a mini greenhouse. It’s a small structure built low to the ground to protect plants. A cold frame usually features an open bottom so you can set it over your plants during the cold months and remove it as temperatures rise.
This cold frame by @perennialstl was built with a repurposed glass window for the lid and salvaged wood for the frame.
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Lean-To Mini Greenhouse
You can build this cute little lean-to style greenhouse out of corrugated fiberglass and wood with the detailed plans from Etsy seller The Hillside Market.
The digital download includes a material list, project cost and step-by-step guide with measurements and plenty of photos to simplify the process. It’s recommended for moderately experienced DIYers and woodworkers.
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Washing Machine Door Mini Greenhouse
This project from @dreambird.studio proves that with a little creativity, you can make a mini greenhouse from almost anything. The glass dome shown here actually came from the door of an old broken washing machine! The heavy glass keeps the environment moist and warm.
FAQ
What qualifies as a mini greenhouse?
There’s no official definition, but in general anything less than 10 square feet, and which is not a walk-in structure with elaborate heating, cooling and lighting installations, would commonly be considered a mini greenhouse.
“Indoors, it may be a small glass cabinet that keeps humidity and temperature above the rest of your house for starting seeds or babying a finicky begonia,” says Katie Russo, content operations manager at Bootstrap Farmer. “Outdoors, it could be a cold frame or lean-to that traps the sun’s heat and keeps your plants warmer than their unprotected friends.
Are mini greenhouses significantly cheaper to operate?
It depends, but usually they are cheaper to operate since they tend to have minimal heating and fan equipment.
“If you’re going to heat them, maintaining warmer temperature in a smaller space is more efficient than a large space, especially if you have good glazing,” says Justin Hancock, a horticulturalist at Costa Farms. “But a lot depends on what your greenhouse is made of.”
About the Experts
- Manny Barra is the community garden coordinator for the City of Oakland and a master gardener at TeachMe.To. He is passionate about sustainable gardening, soil health, aquaponics and community food systems.
- Justin Hancock is a horticulturist at Costa Farms, the world’s largest houseplant grower. He has more than 25 years of experience in the horticulture industry as a garden editor, retail garden center operator and plant tag information specialist.
- Katie Russo is content operations manager at Bootstrap Farmer, a leading greenhouse and farming supply company. A proponent of sustainable farming, she used to work as a full-time greenhouse grower and now manages a native tree farm with her husband.
- Emily Gaines helps run educational garden programs at the Sonoma County Children’s Museum. She is also content editor for Bootstrap Farmer and has a passion for using community education to support growers at every level.
