Name the fig!

Derrick and I have a new plant in our life and I hope so so so bad he doesn't die! I've wanted to get a fiddle leaf fig for a while but I've heard they are so finicky and hard to care for. At $50 a pop they aren't exactly the type of plant I want to just give it a go with...I want this thing to live forever!!!

So..first of all...he needs a name. Send me your suggestions! He's definitely a he.

Second of all....do you like my plant stand? I built it! I was inspired by directly copied this one from Urban Outfitters....except mine was $15 instead of $70. And these were the cheapest ones I could find of this style! My $15 was the pot! The actual stand was completely made out of scrap wood I had in the garage.

It looked easy enough so I just came up with a plan in my head an forged ahead! I had a couple 1x2s in my scrap pile and was able to piece out enough of it for four 18 inch pieces and two 11 inch pieces.

I had to figure out the criss-crossy part on the bottom and I didn't have a great tool to notch out the puzzle piece part so I used a hand saw to cut tiny little notches in the center and then broke the pieces out with a pair of pliers.

They aren't perfect but it totally worked!

See? You can't even tell that the insides are a little rough.

I used my kreg jig to join the center cross to the legs and then I just used wood glue to join the cross hatched section together. I clamped it for 24 hours and it was solid as a rock!

I started out with a grey-wash stain and I wasn't feeling it so I mixed the grey with some walnut and darkened it up a bit.

It's still really light and natural looking but I really love it. One coat of poly and I called it a day. Now that I type that out loud...I think I should probably do another coat.

Also....ps...ceramic pots are expensive. Why?? I found this one at Lowes and it was banged up so she gave me 50% off. I acted very concerned about the scuff marks, solemnly accepted my 50% and tried not to happy dance out of the store too quickly.

Apparently with fiddles you have to find a sunny spot and never, ever, ever move them or risk angering them and making them die. Overwatering is also an issue. Derrick has committed to helping with the fig by never watering it. What a guy!