When we had the bushes removed from the front and the pine and holly trees removed, it made the house much more visible. That is what we wanted, but now the things we need to work on (like power washing and painting) are a bit more prominent and the porch looks a little naked. I stuck a couple of antique concrete planters (that belonged to my Oma) when we first moved in, but the porch definitely needed more. The thing is, it’s a shallow porch, so furniture isn’t going to work. It just needed some greenery to spruce it up.
I had faux boxwood topiaries on the porch of our MN house, but with all of the weight in the planters, it seemed like it would be best not to move them and I ended up selling them with the house. As soon as I saw this house, I envisioned similar faux boxwood topiaries flanking the window. A part of me was like, dang it! I should’ve kept those! But, they would’ve been a bit impractical to pack and move. I wasn’t sure I’d be able to find the same ones, but I did find well-priced pair that was very similar. At $199 for the pair, these end up being a more cost-effective option than buying live plants, which I’d likely have to replace.
They are really nice faux topiaries and are almost exactly like the ones I had at my other house. Sadly, when I just checked to link them, they aren’t in stock on Amazon, but the seller has them listed for $249 on their website HERE. The seller has some other faux boxwood and cedar topiaries and bushes listed .
As with most faux topiaries, the pots they come in are comically small. As I did with our last boxwood topiaries, I bought some larger pots to put them in. Not only does this make them look more realistic (there is actually room for a root ball in there), but it weighs them down to prevent them from blowing over. I ordered pair of 20″ square pots. The black will tie in with our new slate-colored roof and with the new exterior light fixtures we’ll be installing this week. I don’t use a lot of black on the inside of our house, but I do like having a touch of black on the outside. I think it looks classy.
These planters are self-watering, which isn’t applicable to faux plants, but they have a shelf that adds some height. To fill out the space a bit more, I added some empty water bottles and egg crates along with a bucket of broken tiles from our pool (they are being replaced, so we don’t need to keep these.)
We then added to each planter. This weighs them down to the tune of almost 100 lbs and it looks nice.
So, there we go! A little bit of greenery, color, and height to the porch.
I can’t wait to get more work done on the exterior. With as warm as it’s been, I’m feeling like the clock is ticking to get some of the hedges and bushes trimmed before the bloom. It would also be nice just to get things cleaned up so we have a fresh start when we’re ready to plant. Speaking of, I appreciate all of the advice on beautiful plants and bushes that will work well in our area and might look great in our yard. It’s going to be so fun once we get to the planning and planting stage. I forgot to mention that I wanted to plant a Viburnum bush again (I loved the one I had in PA) and some lavender.
Little by little. One thing at a time.
36 Responses
Please do not paint your brick on the front of the house.
At this point, we’re planning to clean it and paint everything around it to see how it looks. I’m with you on this one!
You may want to look into staining the brick,instead of painting it. Sarah Richardson a designer for HGTV did it and said it is a much better option .
This is just what I’ve been looking for and love how you put it together!!! Great job on the black boxes!!! BUT I noticed the top bush was leaning a little which then makes me rethink as we can be a bit windy. I’m excited tho as the look is so classic and elegant!! I also love the color of the stone too! Next house for me hopefully is like yours! Knees can’t do the stairs much longer lol!
I love the look of white painted brick….. However, my husband is a painter and he has since told me that painted brick cannot breathe, and as such holds in moisture and it is prone to many issues. Marian, it must be difficult at times when so many of us weigh in on your every decision, but it will be beautiful no matter what!
Those are very realistic and nice-looking faux boxwood topiaries. They can be pricey, but I found some round faux boxwood to put in my planters at Carolina Pottery in NC that were affordable and so realistic. I put them out in December and leave them until it’s time for Spring planting. I had them for two seasons now and they have held up very well. FYI….I was looking at the forecast for the mid-Atlantic area and we are in for a cool down in mid-March so I hope everyone won’t get Spring fever and plant things too early only to lose them with a cold snap.
I see daffodils next to the porch! You may have them next to your front walk too. Please dig carefully once you start to work on your garden.
My daughter used the exact planters on her narrow porch on each side of the front door. They still look great after 4 years along with her artificial boxwood.
Yes! I had mine in Minnesota for almost five years and they still looked great when we sold the house. It was definitely more economical than buying live ones and replacing them.
Is “beefing up” those 2 porch columns on the list? They sure do look undersized for the scale of your home
No, not at this point. I didn’t feel like they looked undersize, but everyone looks at things differently.
I love the bow window, though I know you’re going to replace it; will you keep the casement style on the sides. I grew up with casements in the 50s and I never really appreciated them until adulthood.
Yes. When we do get around to replacing this window (actually replacing five windows), three of them will be casement windows.
Hi Marian, your planters look so lovely and the topiaries look so life like. Enjoy!!
They look great – I always feel that a touch of black in a home is like punctuation in a sentence. These are like two notable exclamation points framing the front of your home — love it!
The faux plants look great and very practical adding pea gravel for weight. Right now in Ontario I’m in the middle of a snow shaky and you have daffodils poking up.
The topiaries look so nice on your porch! I’ve been looking for some, but as you say, they are so expensive. Over the years, I’m sure I’ve bought enough live boxwood topiaries that died to pay for some really nice faux ones! I just didn’t know the live ones did not like my front porch, but eventually I got the message! I’ll check these out.
And–if you cut back your bushes and hedges now, will you cut the spring blooms off? We always wait until after the bloom to trim back.
I am the wrong person to ask! I think some of them will just be easier to trim before they leaf and some of them, I thought, would do better in the spring if they were trimmed first. It probably depends on the bush. Since everything needs to be trimmed, we’re just going for it and we’ll learn from it this year.
I am a big fan of painted brick, but the color of your brick is so beautiful and soft it has so many beautiful muted tones. If you decide to paint it I think it would look great as well. We have painted the last three brick houses we have lived in and I loved them but I am being drawn to more natural lately.
Yes, that’s just how I feel. I think the brick will look even better when we improve everything around it, but I am still open to painting it if we feel like it would make the house better overall.
Bit by bit…topiaries sure look pretty!
I love the topiaries on your front porch! Such a great idea. And I have to tell you that next week we are having Wonder Windows over to measure & give us an estimate for our front living room window. Thank you so much for the reassurance!
Oh, excellent!
I’m definitely not a decorator and I always hesitant when anyone asks for house advice. But I really feel your house needs more substantial posts on the porch. I might even reposition them and move the downspout. I haven’t heard you mention this or seen anyone else say anything. Just a suggestion and of course it’s your house.
Marian,
I am not trying to beat a dead horse, but I will agree with other posts about beefing up your front porch columns. It would really make all the difference with wider posts.
I love those black planters AND the topiaries … I have a very small porch so I don’t think they will work for me. But
they look great. Thinking about the back patio. Wonder what happens if they get rained on?? It’s pure sun out there.. I expect they’d probably fade the first year. ;(
Yours are perfect for your porch.
Great idea with the water bottles. I am going to use that one.
YES!!! These look great and very real. I just don’t get how you (a lot of times) make so much more work for yourself. I get it that you are anxious to have the home in “your” way…..but filling those planters to at lease a hundred pounds ??BEFORE you power wash and paint??? You filled them and now you’re going to have to move them???? I get it that it is exciting see things come together but I am not into double the work. Plus the complete after packs a powerful punch.
I hope you don’t do it because you feel you have to put blog content out there….skip a few days if you have to.
I would never paint the brick exterior of a house unless it was ugly brick. One of the beauties of brick is the lack of maintenance needed; never having to repaint it. Your bricks are lovely colors.
Faux plants, flowers and topiaries as yours are more and more like the real thing, they can fool anyone. They are in perfect proportion with your house as are the new black planters.
These topiaries do not need care. In Europe the last few years, boxwoods have been plagued by a nasty tiny moth like butterfly, one centimeter only, it lays eggs under the leaves, when they hatch the larva devours the plant in no time. That new pest comes from China. Many chateaux parks have boxwood topiaries that punctuate the outdoor beautifully because they stay green in the winter. Thousands had to be cut even though they lived well for more than hundred years. We had to cut some too, and spray as soon as some leaves look dried out, a sign that the green caterpillars are there. And since boxwood must be shaped twice a year, it is intensive and very costly to care for them, so no one wants to plant boxwood anymore. Hooray to faux boxwoods.
The down spout is bothersome, an easy fix. You are a perfectionist so I know that you’ll take care of it soon or later.
Marion, when you decide to do something with the brick, get some professional advice from a couple of people. If you power wash the brick, you can do damage to the grout on a house that age. And sandblasting is a definite no. Painting might be a beautiful alternative, with the correct paint suitable for masonry (ask advice from contractors who know their business). I know others have said not to paint, but when you look at the house up close, there will tend to be mildew or moss (I have this problem on the north side of our house) and a crisp, clean look might be much better. Then you can go with the color scheme that matches your heart.
We have a very narrow porch too but I was lucky to buy a beautiful Lutyens bench at an auction that I painted and put on the porch. It looks fantastic! You may want to look into the dimensions of a small narrow bench, I think it would look good on your porch.
You can never go wrong with faux boxwood! Those are some nice looking ones, with the real wood trunks. Perfect for a sheltered area and zero maintenance! And like you said, instant class.
Mariann, I think the brick on your new home is a beautiful color. It looks like the much- treasured Milwaukee City Cream brick of Wisconsin that lucky homeowners are proud to own. One of the things I admire about your design esthetic is that if you aren’t starting a trend, and you have started quite a few, you also don’t follow trends. Putting your soul into decorating can be felt and that is what makes you stand out. It’s like those who sing, play an instrument or create art, either one has “soul” or they don’t. For example, I love the German esthetic. It is such a cozy and timeless feeling, if you know what I mean. When you paint a sign, I don’t see “Live, Laugh, Love” or “Kiss Me Goodnight,” but one that invokes a homey reference to something that is standard. I’m not crazy about design trends. I think it’s crazy to continually rebuy things for one’s house. In all the houses that I’ve lived in, I use art, furniture and fabrics that I love and will probably love next year and the year after and so on. I like your design sense. I bought a house with a hallway, not as long as yours, but a hallway and recently and I noticed today that the view of the room at the end of your hall is beautiful. I never thought of paying attention to what one is walking toward. That is good.
Marian,
I just read the comment that someone wrote that you are thinking of replacing the bowed window. I have one in the front of my new (old) house and something that surprised me quite a bit is that when I open the side windows, even just a crack, the air flows through the house is a unique way. I don’t know if it is because those two windows are on a slant or what, but they move air in a different way than a flat window does. I can open a flat window and the curtains don’t move even a ripple, but I can smell fresh air from the bowed window way in the back of the house when they are open. It’s interesting.
No, I am not planning on removing the box window, but simply replacing the individual windows with the same, but new windows. I hope that makes sense. We would still have three casement windows that open to let in air, which is really nice for an art studio!