Reuse an old display cabinet to make an indoor greenhouse with grow lights and mini fans to create the perfect environment for starting seeds indoors or for housing happy indoor plants year round.
I’ve recently seen a few pictures of people using the IKEA Fabrikor cabinet or the IKEA Milsbo cabinet as an indoor greenhouse cabinet. I loved the idea, but wasn’t super pleased with the price tag of anywhere between $170 and $200. Plus, I sort of have this philosophy that if I can reuse something before buying new, I will.
That’s when I realized that these display cabinets from IKEA where nothing different than an old glass display or curio cabinet. After a quick Facebook Marketplace search I found that people were most definitely trying to get rid of their old cabinets, and my search was on for the perfect size.
I ended up finding this cabinet at a second hand furniture store for $40. It is solid wood and has glass on three sides (exactly what I was looking for). Although it’s pretty big, I was looking for something I could fit full seed starting trays in, and this worked perfectly.
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How to Paint a Display Cabinet to be Used as a Greenhouse
I removed the glass panels from the front (the doors to this cabinet are actually on each side) and taped off the back mirror and the hinges to the doors. I used two coats of Emerald paint from Sherwin Williams in the color Shade Grown.
This paint worked perfectly because it has the quality of oil-based paint (durable, wipeable finish that can handle some moisture) in a water-based, easy to apply and clean formula. If you’re interested, I have a full post on this type of paint as it’s my favorite paint for kitchen cabinets and one of my favorites to use to paint furniture as well.
How to Turn a Cabinet into an Indoor Greenhouse
I purchased my grow lights and mini USB fans from Menards, but these strip grow lights and this Sharper Image USB fan are fairly comparable to the ones I bought. The power strip has USB ports and outlets so I was able to plug everything into one place.
All the cords run up along the back edge and exit through a hole I drilled in the top of the cabinet. The power strip sits on top of the cabinet and everything plugs into that Then, I plugged the outlet strip into a standard timer on the wall so the lights switch on for about 15 hours a day and turn off all by themselves.
I’ve been using this indoor greenhouse cabinet for seed starting for the last month and my seedlings and indoor plants have never looked this good! I had always tried to use my basement windowsills to start seeds in the past, and although they worked, they’ve never looked as strong and healthy as these. It goes to show they probably weren’t getting the amount of light they needed!
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Got to ask, since it has been a few months since you did this, how has the wood frame handled moisture? How have you monitored and regulated the humidity in the case? I have a curio that i “helped” my grandfather build, that is sitting empty, that I’m thinking about converting. But i am concerned about it warping.
I haven’t had any issue with moisture. However, I do have two small fans circulating air during the day and I make an effort to open one of the doors every couple of days. I haven’t had any moisture build up at all on the wood or glass. Also, this paint holds up REALLY well to moisture. (Although I probably wouldn’t use this case for moisture loving plants where it needed to be super humid inside for the very reason that I don’t want to destroy the wood.)
wow this turned out great and good looking also..wow ..really like it …great job as always …you sure have a great talent for changing things …wow…
The greenhouse is ingenious and beautiful! Good luck with your garden!
Just love the idea and the execution !!
Hi! I’m a freelance writer working on a digital article for Family Handyman about mini greenhouse ideas. I would love to include this photo!
We’d feature a brief description of what we love about it and how readers can achieve it, and a link back to your post. Can you confirm you are the rights holder, and give us your irrevocable permission for us to use it across all partners and platforms with credit and link to you?
Family Handyman has 10+MM unique visitors and 122K Instagram followers @familyhandyman.
Let me know, thanks!
Hi Erica. Thanks for reaching out. I’m sending you an email now!