After reading an article in Blueprint magazine in the spring, I was inspired. A porch makeover is just the thing to make our funny little rental a happier place. Here’s what we did to freshen things up:
1) The door:
– Removed the screen door
– Painted the door handle and knocker silver
– Painted the door the perfect shade of green
2) The landscaping:
– Removed all the overgrown shrubs.
– Transplanted better looking plants from crowded parts of the sideyard to the front. I especially love the holly to the left of the porch.
3) The details:
– We replaced our ancient, spiderwebby, light fixture with one from Ikea. It’s beautiful. Plus it hangs lower and adds more welcoming light as you approach the house. Ben did the wiring himself.
– We replaced our mailbox with a shiny, red, Swedish one.
– We installed a new doorbell.
– We installed a new house number.
– We added terra cotta pots with combinations of red flowers. Here it is mid-September and the begonias are still trying to hang on. But Betty is doing her best to kill them off. We’ll replace the summer flowers with fall mums this weekend.
This was a great project. I love how the green and red details look against the dark grey of the paneling. The green door adds about a thousand gallons of personality. And now we get to say, “It’s the house with the green door,” when we’re giving directions.
You can see even more photos here.
Also. Here is the “before” shot on the day the shrubs were taken out:
It looks great! You must be so happy to come home everyday.
That turned out wonderfully! I’m crazy over that shade of green and the shiny new mailbox.
The porch really looks welcoming and cozy. Its just great! Amazing what a jolt of color can do.
Wow what a difference …I love a good makeover ..Now that’s curb appeal..great job
Terrific! By the way, what color of green did you use on the door?
Love that green!
that looks fantastic!!
OOO, I am jealous! We, too, are renters in a great house, but the outside could definitely use some TLC…you may have inspired me to take action and spruce things up a bit. I think it would make me feel great about coming home, or having people come over!
I LOVE the red mailbox…that is just really the best!
Kit
That is an absolutely gorgeous makeover. I may have to copy you, love the green, love the red postbox I just love all of it, you are very clever. Thanks for a great site too! I have been a lurker for a while now. Take care Jen
Very cool. Love the Swedish mailbox–where did you find it? It’s also lucky your landlord lets you make changes like that. It looks great!
I love all the colors together. It looks great!
amazing!!! who would have thought that the green would be just the perfect match!
It’s perfect!
its all beautiful!! where did you get the mail box??
thanks!
I loooooooooooove the green door! I’ve been trying to decide what color to paint ours and I think you may have just convinced me to use green.
Love the green door! I’ve been so bored of the whole red door thing (my husband remodels houses) but I love a punchy door! Good job!
Great job–my husband and I are always amazed at what a difference a can of paint can make!
Oooo! So cute! I love the green door and the bright red mailbox! Where did you get the mailbox??? Good job!
how pleasant!
fantasically adorable in every single way!
Thanks for the positive feedback! For those of you who are curious, I added a link in the post for my mailbox source.
And I picked up the paint, a quart of exterior latex gloss in New Orleans Green, at my local True Value Hardware.
so cute and job well done. Love the green and red. And taking out those bushes makes a huge difference. YOu should be so happy and proud of the results.!
Wow, I LOVE how those colors pop against the grey. Amazing.
I LOVE how it turned out! I’m inspired to do this myself! Very nice :).
Gosh, I didn’t know you could paint silver. I thought you had to buy it that way. It looks awesome. That truly is the perfect green.
so so so pretty!
Blessings,
Karla
This looks absolutely perfect.
that is about the prettiest porch I’ve ever seen (just from the first photo..of the green door, silver accents and the red mailbox) and then the other photos confirmed it.
gorgeous!
looks very welcoming. i painted my dresser/tv stand that same shade of gree, it is so happy!
Love this Gab.
Thank you for posting those pictures – it looks great. I’ll bet it makes you happy each time you turn into your drive way.
Gabs the colors look so beautiful together. nice.
OH, it’s so much cooler now! Love that you posted a before and after shot. The green door is such a punch…also love the mailbox.
Good job!
beautiful! I love that you went for a bold and fun color that also accents your home well.
Thank you for sharing this project. I am so inspired by the entire outcome. I love the colors!
Such a great transformation!
I’ve been looking for the perfect mailbox and you found it for me. LOVE the red Swedish Post.
Did you spray paint the doorknob, or use another kind of paint? I would love to do that on our drab door. You can email me at murandabarker(at)gmail.com
Love it! That green is amazing. What a wonderful way to change the look of your house.
I love your front porch makeover. I am in love with the mailbox. Did you find that, or was it with the house? Great job on the porch makeover!
never mind, i saw your comment about the mailbox. so cute!
Wow. A very nice job – love your color choices.
I so love this. Perfect.
i just love before and afters. great job! so welcoming!
Lovely, Gabby. I wish I could come over and knock on your door!
oh my. it’s so fabulous! well done gabby. can’t wait to see it in person someday.
I read that article in Bluelines as well and have been thinking about the changes I want to make. Your porch is beautiful. You did a great job.
You made such a beautiful difference in your porch. I actually read all about it here http://blogs1.marthastewart.com/blueprint/2007/11/tried-true.html. Absolutely stunning!
A lovely cheery update. I picked up that issue of Blueprint on a trip to the States and thought for too long about doing our door. Thanks for the extra inspiration. I’ve posted my front porch update on:
http://www.cowgirlinwellies.blogspot.com
Visiting from A Soft Place to Land. Love your new porch!