Front Porch Curb Appeal

Our front porch curb appeal is sponsored by Wayfair and Porch

(psssst….there’s info at the bottom of this post for a $1,000 GIVEAWAY worth of gardening supplies!!!)

It’s that time of year again when I have sinus medicine in my purse and dirt underneath my fingernails.

I wouldn’t change the dirt underneath my fingernails for the world…

Probably one of the simplest pleasures in life is seeing things grow.  This is our first Spring in our #newoldmtnhome and I’ve been anxious to see what pops up around here in the very over grown flower beds and the yard.  For me personally, I knew I would need to start with our front door and add some fun (and much needed) layers to our entrance.  We were in desperate need of some Front Porch Curb Appeal!   We lack any kind of “appeal” right now, because we cut down so many of the overgrown shrubs since our house had been vacant for over 4 years, we need a new roof, we need shutters…the list goes on & on.  However, we are making big steps!  We have painted the exterior of our house, and made some cosmetic changes but it was time to add classic layers to our entrance.  So when Wayfair & Porch reached out to me, I knew teaming up with them would help us start our front porch curb appeal process.

Here’s where we first began when we bought our home last August…

Green painted brick, deeper green (but terribly faded) shutters, a burgundy door, side lights that had rotten wood, a screen door that would slam, small front porch lights, and a beautiful large Chinese Maple tree that was planted in the wrong spot and starting to take over the front entrance.

 

And here’s where we are today…

I wont say it was easy to get to this point, because it wasn’t.  However what we did was very simple updates that anyone can do over time or hire out over time.  First and foremost we painted the brick gray as I shared in this post.  We had the rotten door & the sidelights replaced, and as you can see I totally got rid of the faded green shutters that flanked the original door.

What a difference, right?

But it was also time to add planters & update the porch lights.

This is where my heart people.

And of course, my nose.  Achoo!

I picked the black Fairfield Square planter boxes for their classic look, and they’re large & heavy appearance.  Even though they’re light as a feather (without dirt.)  Outdoor pieces can get expensive, and that’s why I’ll always pick classic pieces that will stand the test of time and of course durability.  These Fairfield planters have a self watering system that makes it so nice when you take a Summer vacation or head to Grandma’s house this Summer.  You wont need to worry about watering your planters while you’re away for a week.

We also updated our exterior porch lights.  Our original lights were too small for the size of our house.  Plus they were silver, which blended in with our newly painted gray brick.  I knew I need to go big & bold with our lights, and I am so glad I did!  My husband was able to change the lights out in a matter of minutes.  I ended up picking the Quoizel Newbury Lantern Lights.  They come in a set and are a deep bronze color.  I was a little nervous that they weren’t completely black, but once I unpacked them I knew I had made the right choice.  They make a huge classic statement for our front entrance.

Our front porch gets direct sun, so I was very intentional when picking out my flowers for our front porch.  Again with the thought process that even flowers are investment pieces, I want them to last for almost 3 seasons.

Thanks to Porch I opted to buy the following plants for my planters because they will tolerate full sun:

Geraniums
Full sun Ferns
Salvia
Creeping Jenny
Alyssum

 I love the combination of them all together, and the pops of color against the lush greens.

 Remember when I said, I have been anxious to see what will pop up in my flower beds?  Well, for starters I have the most vivid deep pink Azaleas up against our gray brick.  I don’t think I could have planned that better myself.  We are still trimming or cutting trees backs, and trying to bring our yard back to life.  But we’ve come such a long ways, since we first took possession of this foreclosure.  It so nice to share these steps along the way and stop, take notice of how far we’ve come.

Even if we aren’t finished the joy is in the journey and watching things grow.

I have some really exciting to news to share with you all!  This campaign also has a GIVEAWAY on Instagram!  One lucky winner could win $1,000 worth of gardening supplies from Porch & Wayfair!  You need to follow @Porchdotcom and @Wayfair on Instagram and share a picture of your #garden projects and (hashtag) #greenthumbchallenge to be entered for the giveaway!  It’s that easy!!! 

This is a sponsored post on behalf of Wayfair and Porch.Com.  All opinions and pictures are 100% my own, and I was given full creative freedom for this post.