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:
The owner of the home should give you a savings on the rent for increasing the curb appeal of the home.
Oh man, now I want a green door! LOVE it!
It looks awesome. I love the red mailbox for the accent. Great job.
Now that’s a great front entry makeover! Wonderful.
Terrific green! Terrific transformation!
Fresh, clean and so perky!
Hmmm…Maybe I should consider a green bra and see if it does the same for my bustline ;)
You must have a very kind landlord!! Looks FAB!!
I love the green, it just pops right out and is so cheerful.
That really is the perfect shade of green! It looks so happy and inviting. Great transformation.
wow so beautiful and modern! saw something similiar on martha stewart living site. great job making it real! i feel inspired!
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Cute, cute and good looking porch. What color is the door? Also I looked up the mailbox. The only red one I saw has white lettering on it. Did you repaint yours?
Thanks!
love the apple green and bright red combo!
Just wondering what type of paint was used to paint the door handle and door knocker…what a great, inexpensive idea!
The green paint sure pops out and the red mailbox as well. :) Lovely! And oh! That light fixture, I love it!
Love your blog! You are a busy bee with great ideas. Love the porch makeover.
Amanda in Alabama
LOVE that mailbox! The green and the red are perfect pops of color!
Love the shade of green on the door – it’s so fresh and gorgeous!
I really like that mailbox. Even though it is small it adds a lot of character to the front of the house.
Gorgeous – I’m certainly impressed! And no doubt your landlord is too for improving the curb appeal (and ultimately the resale value!) of the property.
This is beautiful and inspiring. I think I might try it. I probably have everything I need in my garage already. Thank you.
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