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You are here: Home / Outdoor Projects / Spring Spruce Up

Spring Spruce Up

April 16, 2015 By Chelsea Lipford Wolf 2 Comments

It’s taken a while but I’ve finally completed a light spruce-up of my front porch. After painting stripes on the porch floor, it was hard to ignore how dirty and worn out everything else looked.

The bricks and mortar were moldy.

red brick steps with moldy mortar

The asparagus fern survived a few winter freezes but needed some pruning.

Asparagus fern with dead sprigs

This plant stand I found on the side of the road a year or so ago was in need of some scrubbing and paint.

rusty plant stand edge

And worst of all was the spindles and painted portion of the handrails. A little mold and loose paint meant it needed to be pressure washed before I could touch up the paint.

I used a cleaner formulated for pressure washers to give it extra cleaning oomph.

House and siding pressure washer cleaning solution soap container sitting on white chair

The pressure washer I used had a soap reservoir for this purpose. If your pressure washer doesn’t have this soap dispenser, you can apply the diluted solution with a pump-up sprayer before pressure washing your house, deck, fence, etc.

lid of soap reservoir on generac pressure washer

After pressure washing the railings, chairs, siding and columns, the railings were a little worse for the wear…

worn out white wood hand railing

But it was nothing a paint brush and a little paint couldn’t fix! So I got to work touching up the worst parts. When I got to one of the column bases, it needed a little more than just paint.

white porch column base with crack

In order to prevent water from getting in and causing unsolicited damage, I closed the gap with some white caulk before applying paint. Much better!

Column Base After Caulk and Paint

There were a few other places as I went along that needed caulk as well, mostly on the other columns.

Porch Column Before Power Washing

Once they were caulked and painted, I let the rails dry in peace while I moved on to my free rusty table/plant stand.

wire brush sitting on rusty plant stand

I knocked off the worst of the rust on the sides and the peeling bottom with a wire brush. After wiping the dust, I pulled out the trusty spray paint.

Rust-Oleum hammered black spray paint

I had it on hand, but it worked out well since it’s formulated to be sprayed on rust and help prevent it from rusting more.

Rather than try and tape off the top of a round table with painter’s paint, I just turned the table upside down on some plastic and carefully sprayed the edges and bottom. Spraying light coats on a flat surface doesn’t let much, if any, paint through to the top. I ended up with a little spot on top once I flipped it over, but it cleaned up easily with a little mineral spirits on a rag.

tiled round top plant stand table

And it looked much better back in its spot on the porch!

Railing and Plant Stand After Spruce Up

Now I just need to get a blooming plant to sit atop!

Speaking of plants. The asparagus fern got its much needed pruning and looks much more welcoming in the corner!

asparagus fern

If you’re looking for a carefree plant, I recommend an asparagus fern! I’ve had it for close to 3 years and I’ve trimmed it back twice and water it once in while and it keeps on living!

To finish off the spruce up, I couldn’t overlook the empty window planter box. I picked up these brilliant red begonias at a local hardware store for $1.97 each. $8 of beauty!

red begonias in window planter box

I made the window planter box in an afternoon over on Black + Decker’s blog. Click here to read how to make your own.

Front Porch After Cleaning and Painting

It was refreshing to get outside and work with my hands in between Southern spring rainstorms, but next I’m heading back inside, or out to the workshop rather, to work on a little something for my living room makeover.

Thanks for Checking In! What’s your favorite thing to do around your house when the weather warms up? Comment below!

Thanks for Checking In! ~Chelsea

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Comments

  1. Marlene Boak says

    May 19, 2015 at 7:01 pm

    I need help with ideas for our house. My husband came back from Irac a different person he use to love working out side and I did the inside. Now he doesn’t help much at all. Any ideas would help. I love all your ideas on the show would like to see more.

    Reply
  2. Marsha L. Kirkland k says

    November 1, 2015 at 10:48 am

    How do you keep paint from freezing in winter if you keep it in a utility building?

    Reply

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1-large pot without drainage holes
2-plastic pot slightly smaller with holes
3-trim if needed so plastic pot is at or below outside pot
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5-add orchid, fill in around roots with more bark- don’t forget to add some mix under the leaves!
6-to water, soak bark and fill up outside pot, rinse the leaves too!
7-let sit for 5-10 minutes, then drain and dry the outside of your pot.
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I love that the cabinets and hardware match what we have in the kitchen since the spaces are right next to each other! Synergy!
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What do you love about your laundry room?
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