We’ve had a lot of fun house projects since we bought our house three years ago, and since most of them have been checked off the list, I’ve had an itch lately to do something creative to my home. Our front porch was the perfect small-scale project, and after a pretty harsh winter, things were not looking quite as fresh as they once did. (Who can relate? Ha!)
Step ONE: Figure out what you have. Since I wasn’t really sure what I wanted to do, I hauled every pot/planter out of the garage and assessed what we had to work with already in our home. The chair I bought from Target last year and borrowed it from our back patio. Most of these pots I had as well, including the big lime green one that I really wanted to incorporate somehow. I thought it was helpful to set it all out to figure out what I still needed.
Step TWO: Get some inspiration. I always need to have some vision for a project like this, and I was drawing blanks for a while. Go shopping, check out Pinterest, read some magazines–whatever you can do. I eventually I found some inspiration from this Opalhouse doormat I came across at Target. That was the jumping off point for the whole porch.
Step THREE: Fill in the rest. I knew I wanted the doormat, but that was about all. I think I ended up bringing home three different wreaths for the front door and a half-dozen planters. I needed to see them all in the space to figure out what I wanted. Luckily Target has a generous return policy, so I just took back what didn’t work.
Step FOUR: Plants! I’m the first to admit, I’m no “plant lady”. I actually love plants–that’s not the issue. It’s just that I’m not well-versed in what they are or how to keep them alive. I went to Family Tree Nursery in Liberty, because I knew they could help me with questions like: “So do I fill the whole pot up with dirt?” (And the answer was “yes”, by the way).
Here are a few of the plants I purchased, and I am happy to say that almost a month later, they are all still alive: (1) Kimberly Queen Fern; (2) Yolo White Sweet Alyssum; (3) Wasabi Colous; (4) Vincas; and (5) Pentas. It took me several years (and several lost plants, may they RIP) for me to realize I needed to water them every day.
Step FIVE: Plant those babies. I find this part to be more of an art than a science. Try to just go with what works. This was the first year I figured out how to layer different plants in the same pot, and I think that turned out really cool. It probably took me a couple hours to get these the way I wanted, but it was a nice day, kids were at school, I had a podcast on and it was GLORIOUS!
I spent about $120 on all of the plants, and everything else is sourced below. The larger layered rug is from Ballard Designs, and they have a great selection of outdoor rugs in this 2’7″ x 4’x11″ size, which is perfect for layering under a regular-sized doormat. This was such a fun project for me and the perfect way to spruce up our house for spring & summer.
