Front Porch done at last!

I was loving the changes that we made to our front porch door and lights so much that it made the rest of our front porch items in need of a makeover as well. For example, look at the BEFORE photos below and note how my favorite brown flower pots no longer matched the door. Also, the black metal plant stand and wooden bench were so faded that they were hardly noticeable. So we purchased a few more cans of spray paint and instantly transformed the rest of our front porch into a refreshed and renewed space.

BEFORE #1:

BEFORE #2:




I purchased two cans of Rustoleum Heirloom White spray paint to transform the flower pots. It took three coats to fully cover them but it was worth the time and money. I really like the lighter shade on them now but they are kind of boring so I think I will add a monogram or decal to them soon. I might have considered buying new pots if I hadn't already planted flowers in the old ones but it would have cost me at least $60 if not more for new ones and all Ihad to spend was $10 on spray paint to makeover my old ones. That's quite a savings!

AFTER #1:

AFTER #2:

Zak took apart the bench and spray painted the metal sides and the plant stand with Rustoleum Semi-gloss Black. I love how the black metal stands out against the brick walls now. He also sanded down the wooden bench slats and restained them in a red finish. The bench looks so much better now than it did before. We could have bought a new bench for around $100 but I think spending $8 for spray paint and using leftover stain was a much more affordable way to improve our front porch. We bought this bench a little over 7 years ago when we bought our first house so it has a lot of meaning and I wouldn't have wanted to get rid of it anyway.

AFTER #3:

I was thinking about replacing our existing address numbers which currently reside on the left column {you can't see them in the photos because I cropped them out for obvious privacy reasons}. They are the standard black letters that you see at most homes so I want to change them to something that will stand out more. However, each number costs $5-6 and we have 5 numbers in our address so that's a big chunk of change. I also think it would look better for them to go across the top of the porch instead of going down the side of the column so perhaps a hand-painted plaque would be a better option.

Does anyone have a more affordable suggestion for how to do this improvement? If so, I would love to hear from you.

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The Shabby Nest...Frugal Friday

~Momma to Bug n' Bear~