The Porch: Paint + Planters

Last February I fired off  a list of requested repairs to the broker and owner of my apartment. (Turns out, registered mail is scary enough to be taken seriously.) Among other things, there was a good deal of water damage hidden behind my refrigerator.

Yikes.

With a little detective work, I sourced the cause of damage to the outside–water  running off the roof, down the exterior wall and seeping through to my kitchen. Management agreed to replace the drywall inside, but the job they did on the outside was less than stellar.

Essentially, a few coats of Kilz on the affected area. Seriously. This is how they left it.

At that point, my porch was not only embarrassing, but also depressing. Had my father seen it, he would have dragged me back to the East Coast to live someplace close enough for him to visit. Close enough for him to oversee the safety and comfort of his only daughter. And so, I set out to paint.

Being the budget-minded gal I am, I got my paint supplies at Dollar Tree. Paint brushes, a roller, paint tray and painter’s tape. All to the tune of, say, $7. (The selection in-store was much better than what’s shown here, on their site.)

I poked around the internet for color inspiration, landing on these palettes from Design Seeds:

I’m mildly obsessed with succulents, so I loved the idea of using them to inspire design. This palette’s a lil too Baby-Bop for my taste. But, the concept is good.

Ultimately, I used a palette similar to this–two tones of grey, and later, a yellow-green. I purchased two quarts of exterior paint at Walmart, one in Seal Grey, the other in Pebble Grey. I believe they were around $18 apiece on clearance.

I searched long and hard for a wall planter in my price range, but I wound up settling for three over-the-rail planters from Target–now on clearance.

My planters are grey, but this photo shows why I thought they were so great–the holes in the back.

After a few hours of painting—quite a few, actually, to tackle these textured walls—and help from a friend strong enough to drill through the concrete:

Voila.

Lookin’ good, ladies.

I was pretty thrilled with these. The succulents were $1-$3 apiece at Home Depot.

A vast improvement, wouldn’t you say? You should also know that I’ve since replaced those atrocious blinds—no one could be happier about it than me. Details on that project to come.