Greenhouse Build Part 7: Finishing the Interior of the Greenhouse

Marie Overton
Jan 17, 2024
3 min read

Updated: Jun 17

The final step in building my greenhouse was finishing the interior of the greenhouse portion. Everything came together so nicely and I could not be happier with my finished greenhouse. Let me show you what we did to get this amazing project to its completed status.

A person in a brown jacket shovels gravel inside a structure with white windows. A yellow slide is visible in the background. — add gravel

The first step was filling the floor area with 4 inches of pea-sized gravel. This provided some drainage as well as absorbing some of the heat from the day and releasing it at night,

Person kneels on gravel installing large stone tiles in a sunlit room. Wooden planks are nearby. Casual attire. Calm atmosphere. — paver stones

The gravel is great for a lot of things but not so great for having level work tables so we got large paver stones and put that on top of the gravel. These were interesting to put in as we had to make sure they were sunk into the gravel enough and you really had to puzzle them together.

a woman placing plates over holes in a door — cover door holes

Since we were reusing an old door, we had to design a cover for all of the previous holes that had been made for it. We just wood glued and nailed it on with finishing nails. Then when we put in our door knob we just had the holes where we needed them.

a woman placing plates over a hole in a door — cover more door holes

We ended up using the same technique for our interior shed door since the antique knobs we were using were a lot smaller than the standard is now.

a woman placing cast iron light switch cover on — add switch/socket covers

Now is a good time to put on the light and socket covers. I waited until after my planting tables were in and that could have been better planned. I really like the character in these cast iron covers. There are just a few areas that you can add artistic flare and here is one of them.

a woman with long brown hair painting trim in a greenhouse — paint trim

The trim also needed a second coat so that it stood out a little more from the rest of the whitewashed-looking walls.

a woman upcycling an old desk in the cold — old craft desk

My daughter had an old craft desk that I renovated into my potting bench.

White vintage desk with turquoise handles and a rustic top in a sunroom. A brown watering can, plant, and decorative items are on the desk. — My new potting bench!

I ended up really liking how it turned out. If you want more details on the desk, I do have a video on how I upcycled it.

a woman weather proofing planting tables outside — planting tables

I then created 6 planting tables. Two are for outside tables for hardening off my plants and the other four fit nicely in the greenhouse itself. I have an additional video for how to do that as well.

Person in a brown jacket adjusts a rope pulley system for a white basket in a wooden loft with blue-tinted windows, creating a rustic feel. — elevator

The kid's favorite piece is the little elevator that makes it so they can bring stuff into the loft more easily.

Person in a maroon hoodie uses a drill on a white window frame in a sunlit greenhouse. Blue sky visible through large windows. — install shelf brackets

Finally, it was just a matter of putting up the brackets for the shelves. These bring so much character into the build. They are right at eye level and like with any hardware, I feel it is well worth a little extra cash to invest in ones that you really like.

A rustic wooden shelf holds a wire basket of eggs and a copper canister against an antique window. Black ornate brackets support the shelf. — shelves installed

Then it was just a matter of finding boards that I liked. I was able to use these from the center of the pallets. They were great because they were rough cut and after a little sanding of edges were exactly the look I was going for.

DIY greenhouse interior with wooden tables, green plants, and a watering can. White-framed windows and rustic decor add charm. — finished

With any good DIY project, I think the key is figuring out exactly what is important to you. What do you need? What do you like? After that, it is just a matter of continuing to work until it matches the picture in your mind.