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May 18

Our Front Porch Makeover

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At the beginning of spring we shared our new partnership with Lowe’s to redesign and renovate some of our outdoor spaces. Like Lowe’s, I believe in spending every moment possible enjoying the outdoors, whether we’re celebrating special moments, entertaining, or enjoying a quiet evening with just Thomas and me. We’ve spent the last month planning how we would decorate and redo the landscaping in and around our front porch, which is our favorite spot and most used outdoor space. We enjoy a lovely view of the water, neighbors cruising by in their golf carts or walking their dogs, and the serenity of being outdoors surrounded by huge magnolia and oak trees. The front porch was the place we wanted to focus on first to give our house the full curb appeal.

We’ve had a lot going on lately and couldn’t be happier to celebrate being back home in our house enjoying all the amenities our new front porch has to offer.

Prior to the refresh, we had azaleas in the front of our porch that we weren’t big fans of. We love azalea bushes, but these were grown and pruned into shrubs instead of letting them get to their natural shape. Our first step was to rip those out (they found a new happy home in our neighbor’s yard!) and replace them with some smaller plants. In front of the porch, we added boxwoods in varying shapes and sizes and placement patterns. This helped us ground the foundation of the house as the low porch doesn’t have a railing. The evergreen boxwoods provide some weight year-round, while their varied sizes keep them somewhat informal and fun. To add some interest, there are variegated pittosporums spaced between the boxwoods for some leaf color, and agapanthus add their lovely blue flowers in early summer. These plants all love the well-drained soil and bright full-sun exposure on the front of the house. We also have some more shaded areas where we planted pink hydrangeas, acanthus and African iris… all lending foliage and flowers to the garden. We found the Lowe’s wide selection of greenery and Nursery Specialists invaluable when it came to selecting the right plants for the right areas in our yard, whether completely shaded or in full sun.

We planned for most of the in-ground plants to be long-lasting through the seasons since we travel a lot and always like coming home to a green garden. Our variety of pots have seasonal plants that can be switched through the seasons, with most of the pots anchored with at least one evergreen so we aren’t tied to repotting every time the seasons change. We love the tree-form hydrangeas flanking our front door, planted in these large white planters, and when they are done with their spring and summer bloom we plan to transplant them out into the garden to their permanent home. Just in case this doesn’t go well, we feel fortunate to have all our new plants backed by Lowe’s one year-plant replacement guarantee.

For decor, it was important for us to bring the indoors outside so we could enjoy breakfasts, lunches and cocktails while sitting on our porch. We found exactly what we were looking for in a teak table (shop similar here) from Lowe’s, big enough to seat four but not so big that we don’t have space for other entertaining items, including a small bar cart and teak bench. We really gave the look a lived-in feel by adding an outdoor rug under the table, comfortable armed wicker lounge chairs, and outdoor lamps (floor lamp and table lamp). We included a variety of green foliage, flowering plants and trees, a small plant stand holding a lush green fern between two white rockers, and placed two large white planters holding small hydrangea trees on either side of the front door to create a lush outdoor living space that feels open and inviting, yet private and secluded. All from Lowe’s. We finished it off with accent pieces including hurricane lanterns to hold candles, as well as throw pillows.  Lowe’s has great options to choose from, especially online. For this big project, we did a combination of picking up items from our local Lowe’s, ordering online, and special ordering plants. I’ve always dreamt of having rocking chairs on our front porch. The white ones we found at Lowe’s are so classic and I knew from the moment we purchased our house that this was the perfect spot for them. The style is so easy to recreate, even on a small porch.

Our outdoor area has become a  favorite spot to relax in the morning with our coffee and our computers as much as has to enjoy a glass of wine at the end of the day. We’re just so excited to finally be back on our porch celebrating the simple pleasures of being home!

Thank you to Lowe’s for sponsoring this post.

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