Living in Ohio makes it hard to work with Bonsai during the winter. I wanted to work on some tropical plants but did not have the cash to build and maintain an outdoor greenhouse. My house also has long roof overhangs and few good windows to maintain tropicals indoors in the winter. I considered buying a light cart with a plastic cover for humidity but did not have the space in my house or the money to buy all the accessories.
One winter I decided to build a crude “Dresser Greenhouse”. It was a simple design with a wood frame, a plastic film attached to the frame, plants sitting on humidity trays and grow lights hanging above. This was placed on top of the dresser in my bedroom. The first prototype was only a three sided structure that slid up against my bedroom wall. You can imagine that this did not work out well as excess moisture did not agree with the wall paint. I did not have any sort of air circulation in the first model which allowed some mildew growth. The plants actually put on some growth through the winter. When summer came I put the plants outside under my irrigation system. They handled the transition well and put on more growth.
After the first winter I realized the concept would work but I needed something more functional AND aesthetically pleasing.