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Home & Garden

Here’s how to create a mini-greenhouse inside your home

Your tropical plants thrive

Plants in a mini greenhouse Credit: Getty Images / orn_france

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There’s a new DIY in town, and it’s made for plant lovers. If you’re a house plant aficionado who feels limited in your plant choices by the climate you live in, then it’s time to build your own mini-greenhouse.

These mini DIY greenhouses—built from cabinets, particularly from IKEA—have taken over social media with an Instagram account dedicated to these designs and many YouTube videos.

These greenhouses are perfect for those tropical plants you’ve always wanted to own but haven’t been able to unless you live in a rainforest. While an indoor hydroponic garden is great for herbs and vegetables, a mini-greenhouse lets you tend to plants that thrive in humidity.

This is a perfect project to take on especially in the winter months when you’re stuck inside and craving some warmth and greenery.

Here’s how to make a mini-greenhouse

Three small plants under LED lights
Credit: Getty Images / Nikolay Evsyukov

This is a perfect project to take on especially in the winter months when you’re stuck inside and craving some warmth and greenery.

What you need

  • Cabinet with glass doors
  • Thermometer with humidity sensor
  • Humidifier
  • LED lights
  • Command strips
  • Plants!

Start building

Start by constructing your cabinet according to the instructions. You want a cabinet with transparent glass paneling because most of the fun of this greenhouse is displaying your stunning greenery.

If you have a spot in your home that gets some great sunlight during the day, try to locate your greenhouse there. It’s best for your greenhouse to try and get at least a few hours of sunlight during the day but especially in the winter this is hard to come by. That’s where LED lights come in.

Your plants need light and humidity, which can be added to the greenhouse with LED lights and a humidifier. You can find rechargeable and battery-powered devices so you don’t have to drill any holes or string any cords. To monitor and maintain a good temperature and humidity, place a dual thermometer and humidity sensor in the greenhouse so you know how to adjust lighting and humidity.

It may be helpful to place plants in the cabinet before placing lights so that you can hang the lights in a way that they provide direct light to the plants that need them the most.

Many LED lights come with adhesive, but if not, hanging them with a Command Strip makes for easy attachment and removal if you need to move them. Go for Command Strips made for the bathroom, so they can withstand humidity.

These cabinets are best used for tropical-turned-house plants. Any plants that crave high humidity will thrive in these greenhouses. Monstera plants and ferns are particularly good candidates for your cabinet greenhouse.

These are also great places to start summer seedlings and any plants you plan to move outside during the summer months. The best part about these greenhouses is how flexible they are. You can customize them to the needs of the plants you’re hoping to cultivate.

Once your plants are all placed, your greenhouse is ready to cultivate a perfect home for your plants.

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