Hope you guys all had an awesome holiday weekend. We had some fun with our family (more on that later in the week) and are still sort of building up the ol’ momentum again (after our big paneling project from last week) – but we did manage to squeeze in a tiny porch upgrade. See, when we were house hunting in the late fall of last year we snapped these two terrible shots of the porch:
Then on moving day we plopped down the wooden bench (from Home Depot a few years back) which used to live on our first house’s front porch… and that was the extent of the update. Blah.
Pretty bleak huh? It’s ok, you can yawn. We’re right there with you.
So we decided after more than a half a year of living here it was high time we brought all of our old planters out of the workshop/basement and actually used them again. Most insane part of the story: there was a hosta that was still alive and growing inside of a sealed tupperware bin in the sunless basement amongst all of our planters (we moved them by stacking them all into a large tupperware bin that we tossed into the basement in December and didn’t even open until last week). Mr. Hosta is pretty darn hardy, eh? Anyway we hosed down the old outdoor pillows and planters to shake off the cobwebs and dirt (btw, all of them are from Home Depot – although I painted those square planters a while back which used to be wood toned).
Since John had the hose out we even filled the bird feeder in the back. While joking that it looked like he was relieving himself. Yes, we’re tweens.
Then we ran over to Home Depot and grabbed a few potted plants/shrubs and plopped them into our already-owned pots that we (finally) set out on the porch. Here’s a coleous that we grabbed for $6. They always remind me of my mom because they’re one of her favorites too. We’re suckers for those high contrast leaves.
On the other side we have our already-owned little miracle (Mr. Hosta) and a feathery little $5 plant with purple flowers (don’t remember the name but it’s a shade-loving annual).
For either side of the door we got some hardy evergreen shrubs (can’t find the tag with the name on them- boo) that should only grow to be around three feet tall and 16″ wide (so we hope they can live in those planters for the long-haul). But if they get too big we’ll just transplant ’em and try something else. Maybe even something seasonal like mums in the fall and brightly flowering annuals for the spring/summer.
It’s definitely not a dramatic overhaul but it’s a sweet little pick-me-up until we can get to the larger porch projects that we’d like to tackle down the road. Like removing the scalloped header above the porch, framing out the columns so they’re chunky and square, transplanting the too-large bushes that crowd the walkway…
… replacing the dinky porch light with an oversized lantern-like guy (and possibly getting another one wired on the other side of the door for symmetry), and of course painting that bland front door of ours – along with updating the hardware and possibly staining the concrete porch floor.
Oh and our old welcome mat from Target (which has to be at least a few years old now) still looks pretty good. Probably because we didn’t use the front door to get into our first house (we went through the sunroom) and we don’t use it at this house either (we go through the side door in the carport).
So although there’s a lot more on the porch agenda, we’re glad that we added a little life in the meantime. The whole planter rinse-down & plant run project took about two hours total. Now we just have to remember to water these guys (which should be 100% free thanks to our trusty rain barrel).
Of course when it comes to long term curb appeal plans, we’d love to be able to actually see the porch from the front of our driveway. Since right now the view is obscured by five million bushes and shrubs (even though I limbed up the ol’ magnolia a while back). Yes, “jungle-esque” is an appropriate adjective for our yard.
And of course we have big plans to turn the carport into an enclosed garage once we can pin down exactly what we want when it comes to doors and windows and all those still-to-be-decided details. Sigh. Someday. Has anyone else out there done any porch sprucing lately? Do you guys all use some other entrance than the front door to get into your house? Any other insane hosta stories of survival?
Psst- Clara painted us a masterpiece and we excitedly added it to our hallway frame wall. More on that over on BabyCenter. So proud of our little Picasso.
I think the plants added to the patio make a HUGE difference! Sometimes plants can really make a space feel cozy (that’s how I feel for interiors).
Verty nicve porch what do u use to keep the weeds out of the bricks?
I just pull those guys by hand every once in a while. Not that many seem to grow, so perhaps the previous owners laid down weed-blocking fabric?
xo,
s
I’ve heard sand is a great weed blocker. My neighbors have brick paver sidewalk and swear by it.
Oh yeah- I think the previous owner told us about laboriously laying all those brick paths in sand!
xo,
s
Those hostas are unstoppable! We had some that sat in a cardboard box under the deck for months, and thrived….
Really like the shrubs you picked for either side of the door! I also LOLed at the picture of John with the hose. Guess I’ll forever be 12 too ;)
My dad once decided that my mom’s three huge hosta plants needed to be split. So he split them, decided they could be split again, and then decided they could be split again. By the time he was done dividing there were 18 teeny, banged up hostas lining the side of the house. My mom was close to tears, they looked so awful. The follwing spring, however, they came back with a vengeance and were large enough that Dad decided to split them again that fall. It’s now a yearly occurrence and my parents shade covered yard is full of hostas from those first three plants.
That’s amazing! We’ll have to start splitting ours. Love me some more hosta.
xo,
s
Wow, it’s amazing what a difference that 2 hours of sprucing up made! Your front porch looks so warm and inviting now…hmmm, makes me want to go do something to ours :o) For the first time ever, we’re using the front door for entering and exiting our house – this is because the garage is packed to the rafters with stuff from our move!
It looks great! I love little projects that have a big impact. Have you considered using your garden stool on the poarch or is it already in use inside somewhere? Regardless, it looks beautiful!
It’s in the sunroom but we could definitely bring it out to the patio or the porch. Great idea!
xo,
s
Lovely, and sexy John! ((:
We live on a corner lot and the driveway is on the right side of the house so we use that entrance. I actually just sat on my front porch for the first time in a while yesterday afternoon to watch the rain. It was really nice and made me wonder why I don’t sit out there more often. I just added a stump table two weeks ago due to an unfortunate occurrance…http://theweekendhomemaker.com/timmmmmberrrrr
Hope you guys had a happy 4th!
Holy cow that’s crazy! But I love your stump table!
xo,
s
WOW Crystal that looks great, Can you believe West Elm wants $199.00 for one of those tables, honestly?! You could have taken all those pieces of left over tree and started a business!!!
Your Hosta definitely looks amazing for having been “trapped” in your cellar for months! That’s why I love Hosta’s so much, I kill everything else. Haha!
Your porch already looks better. Love the plants and I agree with changing and adding a new light. And, that Hosta is amazing! I’ve always heard they’re tough, but this proves it. Ha.
We had two chairs from our patio dining set for the longest time, but this summer, I refinished a bench and added a ceramic garden stool. I’ve wanted one forever and finally bought one for $30.99, originally $90.00. And the bench was free so I only had to buy materials to refinish it.
http://ourhumbleabowed.wordpress.com/2011/06/15/warmer-no-hot-bench/
Look fantabulous!
Little effort with a huge return! That coleous looks great! I’m adding one of those to the home depot list next time we’re out. Great job!
I love Hostas, they’ll grow anywhere! We just ripped out a huge rhododendron in the front of our house that was gangly and out of control and replaced it with some smaller shrubs and plants (including a couple Hostas). It’s amazing how much of a difference it makes.
We have a wrap-around porch so we have 2 “front” doors that we never use. We have a deck off the back of the house which is where the garage is so that’s the door we use to go in and out, but whenever someone new comes to the house they always try the front doors first. We hardly ever even open those doors!
P.S. Love the mums idea for the fall, they’ll look so pretty!
Looks great! Love the white planters on each side of the front door. We’re big into symmetry right now :)
I felt like the fourth of July was oh so appropriate to blog about outdoor facelifts! :) So yes I did one of my own.
http://www.thecountrychiccottage.net/2011/07/outdoor-decorating-with-krylon-dual.html
And your yard is sooo jungle like! What were they thinking?? They must have scored a huge shubbery deal at the home depot! :) I am itching for you to start ripping some of that out in the front. Can’t wait to see your new curb appeal!!
What a difference that paint makes!
xo,
s
Big difference, you guys! Love the tall shrubs in the square boxes. Nice height. I bought coleus (sp?), too, this summer. :)
The porch looks great! PS I think your broom has seen better days… :)
Oh yeah- she’s got problems. Haha.
xo,
s
Love the plants you chose!!
Looks great guys!
We use the back door.. We have an alley that runs beside our house and the garage is ‘behind’ the house, making the back door the main entrance.. ;-)
Nice updates!! I love being able to change the look of a space without a bunch or ‘remodeling’.
We recently changed and painted our front door, got new house numbers and a new mat all for about $200 and it feel like we drive up to a new house!!
http://chrislovesjulia.blogspot.com/2011/06/what-can-i-say-im-sucker-for-red.html
It’s insane what a little red paint can do. Staining the concrete….NOW you got me thinking!! I love your plants and I dream of having a big porch like that one day.
Looks great!
xo,
s
It looks good- nothing like a little greenery to brighten things up!! And I wanted to tell you that after being totally inspired by your 4th of July mood board, I made the awesome flag cake. It was remarkably easy and ridiculously cool. Check it out if you get a chance…
http://theamazingtwinadventure.blogspot.com/
Oh man- it looks amazing! I could never do that.
xo,
s
Unrelated…saw your babe and your pup on people.com this morning?!
http://www.peoplepets.com/people/pets/gallery/0,,20491019,00.html
Isn’t that crazy? We’re having a total proud parents moment. Haha.
xo,
s
Love the planters on either side of the door. Doesn’t it annoy you that everyone comes in the side door though?
Nah, we have a basket for shoes there (as opposed to people walking right into the entryway/dining room which isnt really set up as a mudroom-ish space) so it’s all good.
xo,
s
Man, I’d love to have a proper porch. Stupid england!
The Hosta in the basement is crazy!! We’ve been dragging our feet opening our pool this summer (it’s just me and the hubs, so who needs a ladder, really??) but we finished setting up the diving board and all the ladders this weekend before a BBQ…
When we pulled the diving board away from the wall in the basement there was a HUGE, beautiful butterfly on the back of it — we found the cocoon later while we were cleaning it. We couldn’t believe it had been down there that whole time — and I still can’t figure out what it was eating!
Love the shrubs framing the doorway. Such a small thing making a huge difference. Loving your site and blog posts…keep em coming!
That glider bench is like a little piece of heaven in my mind! So welcoming.
Our front porch was cracked and saggy due to a large tree falling on it waaaay before we moved in, and it also had an ugly aluminum awning over it. We re-sided our house last summer and then realized that it made our porch even uglier, so we had it ripped out, and now we’ve been spending the last 2 months building a new one. I love sitting on it in the evening, drinking some tea, and relaxing. We don’t use it for entering our home though, we live on a corner lot and the drive is at side/back of the house and the sidewalk takes you to the back door.
Its amazing what a few potted plants will do!
Great job! It’s amazing how outdoor containers can revamp an area. The purple flowered plant looks like lamium, great choice for shade.
I have a large front porch and each year I’ve ‘spruced’ it up differently…trying to find which plants do best in the bright shaded area. We actually do use our front door alot, as a lot of time gets spent out on the porch. It’s my dog Henry’s favorite spot.
Looks great! And it’s definitely more than “slight” progress.
I worked on my (woefully neglected) back porch over the weekend, but so far I’ve only gotten as far as this and this.
I bet it’s going to look awesome! Good luck!
xo,
s
WOW what a difference!! Its the small things in life that make us happy eh? Thank goodness.
Hi. Nice changes. I love when a porch ceiling is painted very very pale blue. I have a flat front house and WISH I had a porch. I love your blog. Thanks for sharing. Jane
Looks awesome! Amazing what a few well placed plants will do… Your blog is such an inspiration, I love love love it! I am redoing a section of the no mans land WAY in my backyard, and am using Hostas like crazy, as yes, they will grow absolutely anywhere….
:)
Eva
We have one lonely Hosta (well she does have some canna lilies and echinacea friends). She would have more of a family, but I was only able to save her from my friend’s yard-waste bag. Can you believe that friends of ours tore up a flower bed of hostas and award winning Roses (from previous owners) just to lay sod??!!!
We just happened to visit and they were happily telling us about their new sod. Gah! I scolded them for not calling me! I wanted to dump out their 2 yard-waste bags, but settled on scooping a lonely hosta from the top once I sliced a finger on some thorns.
Sadly no porch at this house, but we have a back/side yard with pool and a Balcony, of all things, at the front of our house. I guess this would be our “porch”. We have two leaf green wicker barrel chairs (HomeSense, like Home Goods) and a little table, and antique Muskoka chair, 2 palms in bright Ikea planters and 2 magenta flowered hanging plants.
The plants totally make the space inviting and comfy.
It is the perfect place to have breakie, your morning tea/coffee. Sadly, we mostly use it only on weekends.
I love the update! It’s amazing what a few details can do. I recently updated my back patio for under $100, and it looks so much better!`
We moved into our new house about 4 weeks ago and had friends over for a 4th of July party. We hung 3 Boston ferns along the top of our second story porch and two baskets of petunias along the bottom porch. We added two Adirondack chairs and a US and North Carolina flag as well. It looks so pretty, I feel like it belongs in Charleston. :) We also added bunting along the top porch for the holiday.
I finally got myself a glider for the front porch this weekend at Lowe’s, totally excited, the style actually looks a lot like your bench except it’s black, I’m going to put my little Ikea table that used to be in my daughters bedroom outside next to it. We sat on it last night watching the rain come in, until the lightning got a little too crazy!
Looks great! Love everything you guys do… and looks like the plants on either side of the front door are Boxwoods!
My mom once dug up a hosta and put it in the bottom of a cut-off milk jug. No soil, just some water. The jug filled up with rain, sat there through the winter as a hosta-sicle, then in the spring woke right up and kept growing. She’s a certified Master Gardener, but come on!
We did a very, very minor upgrade to the porch at our new house (which we haven’t moved into yet) – essentially just putting two rocking chairs out there. But, it’s amazing how that made it feel so much more homey and like the house is really OURS. That, and finally setting up our mailbox, and getting to the next phase of our fence-paining project, have me really excited about moving in in a few weeks! (we have a contractor in there right now, who’s currently knocking down several walls for us) :)
a few years back my parents framed their puny little porch columns to nice, chunky square ones. it’s crazy how much that changes the look of the house. Now I don’t think I can ever own a home that has puny columns…can’t wait to see those changes!
Your porch is cute. I love the minimal look and your decorations make it warm and inviting without being cluttered. I believe your light fixture is the same one I installed on my back porch a few years back…very sweet, but something statelier for your entrance would look nice as well.
I love watching your updates. Thanks to you guys, I now have a painted fireplace, an entryway table, clever use of mirrors and semi-gloss paint to bounce the light around my small home, awesome photo groupings on my walls, and IKEA storage items in my home office. :-)
Hi SHerry:
Glad you had a nice weekend.
Great curb appeal….and isn’t it nice that just those few, little additions made all the difference. It is so nice.
As for MY porch update…..while coming home from a Saturday shopping trip, I happened upon a Garage sale in Portsmouth, NH and stopped and bought a great wicker chair for …..$20.00. It is in great shape and she had just had someone make custom chair pads for it. Lovely lime green and blue stripes. I was in love and couldn’t wait to get it on the front porch. My only worry was what my husband would say…..”Like we need one more piece of furniture!!!” To my surprise, he thought I snagged a brilliant deal. I since then have picked up a lovely RL pillow in the lime green to accent it.
Just a little pick me up for the cape side entryway.
Isn’t it funny……It’s the little things in life that get me by. Something so simple as a chair and BAM!!! A porch update that I am proud of.
And last of all….gotta love hostas. MY ALL TIME FAVORITE as you cannot ever kill them. They are so resiliant and strong and can be split and they come back every time. They look so stately and formal in any garden and I especially love them for bordering the beds. Where you have all your liriope …or however it is spelled…..I am the HOSTA QUEEN.
Hurray for porch updates and that ‘ol dependable hosta. Ya gotta love, right?
B.
Even your little makeover looks great and definitely gives a welcoming vibe to your porch! My husband and I moved into a new apartment around the time you guys moved into your new house and we just got around to sprucing up the hideous balcony: http://reisfeltadventure.blogspot.com/2011/06/this-past-weekend-nick-and-i-decided.html .
Cute!
xo,
s
Isn’t it amazing what a little bit of TLC can do? We practically live on our screened in porch (I would attach an image, but I don’t think I can here). Anyway, it’s my very favorite place in the whole house. In the summer we eat dinner out there, and I have been known to nap there, too. Plus, we have ferns, and there is nothing like a fern. We also have the exact same mat from Target, too. Must be the Southern girl in me, but I definitely have a thing for porches! Yours looks pretty:-)
I apologize, this is not porch related. We just bought a big Victorian. It’s kinda my dream house. There are a ton of projects in waiting, but my husband doesn’t find tackling them as satisfying as I do. Anyhow, I was just curious about something. If you had a second living area, what would you do with it? We have our living room set up in one, there is another big room with a massive fireplace and a window seat. I could do a more formal set up but I don’t want that much space to go unused. What would you guys do??
Hmm, well we turned our second living room (the formal one) into a large dining room since we knew we’d use it with our big family (and we’re not formal living room people). Then we converted our original dining room (which was too small) into an office. Just think about what you’d use/need. Good luck!
xo,
s
I would also add that you could make it another sitting area but with different types of seating. I love using 4 soft low seats around a round coffee table. Great for sitting on a weekend morning with coffee or good for game playing or having a snack with friends. I convinced my friend to turn her dining room into a music room (complete with piano that was already there) and we added some smaller comfy chairs (without arms) that someone could sit on and play guitar. We turned her sun room into a dining room.
The porch looks great! Amazing what a few accessories and plants can do for a space!
Our house is similar to yours – even down to having the front walk too danged close to the porch. When we bought our house, there were TREES growing in that little runway of a flower bed. Both sides were lined with liriope and filled with snakes. UGH. (I removed that stuff with a vengence!) Yes, we use the back door and yes, we would love to have John Giddings come redesign our yard. Sigh…