Disclosure: This porch refresh is sponsored by Walmart. As always, all words and opinions are honest and my own.
Do you remember all of the work we did in our yard and our back patio last year? We got porch paint, patio furniture, a power washer, and even plants and mulch from Walmart Home their garden/patio center to spruce up a space that had been neglected for years. We still need to replace the deck, but the landscaping and patio a huge difference in making our backyard beautiful and inviting.
This spring, we’re turning our attention to the front porch. This doesn’t need an overhaul as the landscaping and back patio needed, but it could use a little refresh and some deep cleaning! Here is how it looked like before a little TLC along with a little commentary on the ways I wanted to refresh our front porch….
The first order of business in this porch refresh was to get everything clean! The porch has needed a good power washing for a while, so we took advantage of a warm day and gave the siding, trim, concrete, and ceiling a thorough washing with THIS powerwasher we purchased from Walmart last year.
I wanted to add some hardy flowers, like pansies, in the cement planters that framed the door to add a little color until we’re past nights with freezing temperatures. (We really can’t start planting tender annuals here until mid-May.)
I wanted to replace this rug, which was looking a little tired! I moved it out here when I replaced the kitchen rug a few years ago and it’s been nice to have something soft underfoot here. During the summer, the boys will sit out here and chat with neighborhood friends and the rug was a cozy addition.
I also wanted to replace the planters that held my faux boxwood topiaries as a part of the porch refresh. One of them blew over several times and broke in the process. It is beyond repair, so it needed to be replaced.
Once everything was cleaned and dry, I put the big pieces back into place and started the fun part of the porch refresh. I bought the bench several years ago and painted it, but you can find similar ones at Walmart HERE and HERE.
I also put back the antique concrete planters on either side of the door and a brand new overside doormat to replace the one that was worn and shedding. I picked up some pansies and potting soil at my local Walmart garden enter to add a little life and color to this front porch refresh.
Did you spot the little kitty peeking out the window? Esmé always wants to know what we’re up to!
I replaced the old braided jute rug with THIS chunky woven one. Even though this isn’t specifically an outdoor rug, I found the jute rug held up pretty well and I like the visual texture it adds. In addition, this porch is north-facing, so the rug doesn’t usually get wet. We had a pretty violent storm with wind, rain, and hail a couple of days ago and the rug was dry.
On the bench, I added a couple of black and white checked pillows. These come with a zipper, so they can be removed and washed as needed. The porch is where I depart from my typical palette of blue, white, and green. The color of the siding has red/pink undertones, so I’ve used black and pale sage green as accents. It works a lot better than blues.
And, what sort of kicked off this mini makeover, I replaced the planters for the faux boxwood topiaries. THIS PAIR ended up being the perfect size, shape, and color, and they are more substantial. I filled them with sand, pavers, and topped them off with a little mulch. You never know in the Rochester wind (it’s the second windiest city in the US), but I think these will hold up!
I wish I could show you pictures with the garden in bloom as a part of this porch refresh reveal, but that’s just not happening here in Minnesota, yet. Just imagine it, though. Here’s a look at the clematis late last summer…
I have taken some time to clean out any leaves left from fall and sprinkled down some Preen to control the weeds. I’ve already seen sprouts on all three of my clematis plants and I’m excited to see them climbing up the trellis (THIS ONE) and porch post. It looked so pretty late last summer when the clematis was draping all around the porch. I’m expecting it to do even better this year now they are better established.
Do you remember the initial sketch I shared a few years ago (2018) when we were first working on this front garden?
My boxwoods aren’t quite that big, but I would say things are coming along nicely! I’ll give an update in a couple of months when there more to look at, but for now, the porch refresh made the front of the house look welcoming and ready for spring!
If you have a lot of wind, perhaps putting the front legs of the bench on your new rug will help keep it on the porch if not perfectly in place! Wind here in Az is crazy too
Surprisingly, the rug actually doesn’t blow away! Sometimes the wind will blow up the corners, but even that is pretty rare. It’s just the topiaries! Those things would blow over all the time.
Love everything you do! Where did you get the topiaries?
I bought them a few years ago from Wayfair. They have held up so well and look great from the street.
Can you pour gravel down into the container?
Yes, certainly! I used sand because we had a bucket of sand that weighed down a basketball hoop we got rid of, so I was able to kill two birds with one stone by getting rid of that bucket, using the sand, and weighing down my planters.
Looks so welcoming…now you can really enjoy your front porch.
Yes, even Jeff commented how welcoming it looked. I love how you can get a new look with just a few changes.
Looks lovely. Could you please tell me the paint color on the bench and front door. I have been looking for this perfect shade of green to paint my outdoor furniture. I love your posts. They are always creative and inspirational.
It’s Card Room Green by Farrow & Ball. (I had the color matched.)
Oh, I was just about to start searching the blog for your front door color! Thanks for mentioning it. Painting ours is on the near agenda but I haven’t figured out what color yet!
your drawing has come to life. looks really lovely
Thank you! It is exciting to see things grow and see that vision come to life.
You should maybe consider stenciling the concrete!
I’m so sorry, love your blog and following all your wonderful creative life, but so disappointed at using faux boxwood to create any look on the front porch…. I’m disappointed…. wait until the season brings creative ideas without bringing in fake anything just to give us bloggers food for thought. ….
I’ve had these on my porch for over three years and I love them! They add greenery and height. I bought them because I was buying new plants/bushes with the change of the seasons and it was getting so expensive. I finally bought the faux ones that I can keep up year-round. I’m sorry to disappoint you, but I didn’t buy these topiaries to have content for this post. I’ve had them for years.
I imagine in an ideal world we all prefer beautiful live plants but these photograph really well. I bet they look great from the street. Plus, I’d probably kill live ones and who can afford disposable topiaries every year? I’m glad you try different products and report back to us.
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE that you use faux topiaries. That’s something even I can do. And it’s practical and makes good financial sense too. Thank you for being real!
I LOVE your use of pansies ! and so beautiful in your planters! LOVE the whole porch !
Looks really nice!
I would recommend you trim the brown/dead areas on the
real boxwoods and then fertilize them (I use fertilizer for
rhododendrons/azaleas on mine, but you can do the
research to find a good fertilizer that you’ll apply and
then work into the soil at the roots). They will do better
with a little post-winter trim and thrive and grow with
a little fertilizer I’m sure! Happy gardening.
Your inground boxwoods look like they may have what is known as boxwood blight. No known cure and spores may spread to new boxwoods. Please check before doing any trimming or replanting any new ones.