Checking In With Chelsea

DIY ideas, crafts, and tips for your home

subscribe and never miss a thing!

Receive Free Email Updates

  • About
  • Videos
  • Projects
    • Indoor Projects
    • Outdoor Projects
    • Craft Projects
  • House Tour
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

Subscribe for Free Updates!

Stay up-to-date on Chelsea's latest projects, tips, useful resources and more.

Previous Post
DIY Carpenter Bee Trap
Next Post
DIY Tray for Shoes and Boots

Related Content

Completed Hand Painted Pennant Flag Banner Kid BedroomDIY Pennant Banner for Kids RoomBrick Retaining Wall How to Waterproof and PaintWaterproofing Vertical Masonry WallSitting on Back Steps After Finally Sealing BricksStripping Paint from BricksCompleted $200 Front Porch Makeover$200 Front Porch Makeover

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

Please Leave a Comment Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Welcome!

I’m Chelsea. DIY
enthusiast who loves
sharing my victories
and mishaps!
Learn more
here.

CHECK IN WITH CHELSEA ON INSTAGRAM

Lookie! It’s a shelf for your bookies! 🤣Build Lookie! It’s a shelf for your bookies! 🤣Building a shelf unit custom for ANY space in your home is so simple and can be done over and over again to add much needed storage aka sanity! The kids were running all over the house at bedtime trying to find a book to read because we had them stashed in baskets and shelves in several different rooms. So I took advantage of this space in the hall next to a closet to create a central location for their books and some of mine too! Plus it adds a little character to an otherwise blah space!🙌🏻
.
.
A full how to video is on checkinginwithchelsea.com! Book nerds can be DIY nerds too!🤓
.
.
#booknerdsunite #diyskills #beginnerdiy #bookshelfie #halldecor #storagesolutions #storageideas #bookstorage #bookstorageideas
5 months in and she’s at the top of my favorites 5 months in and she’s at the top of my favorites list!🥰
.
.
Couldn’t resist using this audio.😅
Using my grandmother’s cookie press to make 🎄 Using my grandmother’s cookie press to make 🎄cookies I used to make as a kid in our brand new kitchen. My heart could burst!😭 I hope you are enjoying the preparation for the main event 😇and bring love and joy to your home, no matter what it looks like.❤️💚
.
.
#christmascookies #christmastrees #familytraditions #christmasbreak #newkitchen #kitchendecor #kitchendesign #madewithlove
3D art install in my girls’ girly bedroom!🦋😍Love this $13 pack of butterflies that comes with everything you need to fill a large wall! And it only takes 30 minutes!🙌🏻 Putting the link to the butterflies in my bio! (https://amzn.to/3VmfZsB)
.
.
First step is to layout the flow of your fluttering butterflies with the large and medium sizes from the pack, leaving room for the small ones. Then fill in spaces with the small size and pat yourself on the back! So easy!
The whole Wolfpack has been staying at my parents’ house on the river for the past week while our hardwood floors are being refinished. Since the kids had the whole week off of school it has really felt like a vacation! Complete with a sunny Sunday boat ride after Mass!🥰🚤☀️Enjoy the rest of your weekend! 😘
.
.
#generationalliving #3generations❤️ #4kidlife #grandparentlife #boatday #riverside #riverlifestyle #fowlriver #alabamalifestyle #alabamablogger #nofilterneeded
Dad and I got our tickets to the gun show!💥 . . Dad and I got our tickets to the gun show!💥
.
.
@todayshomeowner @visitmobileal #exploreyourhometown #hometownpride #mobilealabama #battleship #ussalabama #visitmobile
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Indoor Projects Outdoor Projects Craft Projects
Facebook Pagelike Widget
  • Contact
  • FAQs
  • Advertise with Chelsea
  • Media
  • Today’s Homeowner

Search This Site

Receive Free Updates Via Email

Copyright © 2023 Checking in With Chelsea • All Rights Reserved