Front Porch Updating
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10 Ways to Update Your Front Porch for Under $30

  Does your front porch need a little Spring refresh 10 Ways to update your front porch for under $30! We were excited to be invited again to a local TV show, CTV Morning Live to talk about sprucing up your front porch with upcycling and painting. We wanted to bring ALL our ideas but…

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Does your front porch need a little Spring refresh

10 Ways to update your front porch for under $30!

We were excited to be invited again to a local TV show, CTV Morning Live to talk about sprucing up your front porch with upcycling and painting. We wanted to bring ALL our ideas but only had time for a few. So here’s a list we compiled of 10 under $30 – most under $10!

#1 This one’s FREE, yup, free! Just CLEAN!

There are so many great ways to spruce up your front porch, the most economical way is to give it a good sweep and clean then start looking around the house for items to use on the porch!

This is a great article from Home Depot on how to deep clean your porch.

Time to clean up the porch 10 ways to spruce up your front porch - from Front Porch Mercantile

 

#2 Paint your front door

It’s easy – we use Fusion Mineral Paint or chalk style paint to paint our doors. A pretty colour on your front door is a great way to freshen the look.  You can check out how to paint your front door HERE.

Fusion Mineral Painted front door Front Porch Mercantil

#3 Paint a Welcome Mat

Customise a welcome mat with a little FAT Paint.  That right. Paint your mat. This is our welcome mat we’ve had AT THE SHOP – it’s been outside the shop door for over a year, yes, even in winter. We just gave this rubber mat a bristle brush cleaning and then FAT Painted the mat, no top coat. Yup, it’s true. (It’s still on the steps of our Moncton shop – go check it out)

Sorry, this picture was taken recently – we still had snow – and ice! Sigh! Can you name all the FAT Paint colours we used?

Paint up a welcome mat with FAT Paint chalk style paint

#4 Paint some wooden crates!

I paint and repaint wooden crates (like these) on my front porch depending on the season. Stack them up, and put your flowers or lanterns etc on them. We reuse crates seasonally – just adding a coat of paint and re-stenciling seasonal sayings. This one was blue with snowflakes until I threw on a coat of Fusion Paint and then stencilled “Live Bait” on it for the cottage.

Crates for the front porch at Front Porch Mercantile

Love this beautiful inspiration from the always beautiful Vibeke Design

source

 

#5 Turn an old chair into a planter!

Simply take the seat off and add a wood plank or shelf. Paint it up with Miss Mustard Seed’s Milk Paint and finish with Tung Oil. A fresh fun way to spruce up your front porch.

Turn a chair into a planter - easy peasy Front Porch Mercantile

Source

#6 Painted terra cotta pots

This one is super easy. Seal the inside of your pot with Miss Mustard Seed’s Tough Coat if you want to plant directly into the pot, or use the plastic pot that most plants come in and leave it natural. We used FAT Paint chalk style paint to spruce up some pots for the show.

Painted Pots for your Front Porch

10 Easy tips to update your front porch from Front Porch Mercantile

You could always paint white for the farmhouse look, or even paint in a chalkboard look – leave the pots unsealed and plant some herbs or flowers – change up the look by season – repaint in the Fall if you want.

#7 Chalkboards

We also love chalkboards on our big front porch – repurpose an old frame into a chalkboard. This is better is if the porch is protected from direct rain, but we keep one outside all Summer into Fall on our porch.

You can see how to make a chalkboard here.

This picture from my good friend Duane check out her blog HERE

#8 Painted pillow

Easy peasy makeover – add a touch of personally to a bench or chair. You can see how to stencil a pillow HERE

stencilling pillows with FAT Paint at Front Porch Mercantile

#9 Paint up a welcome sign or porch sign

Of course, we need a WELCOME sign. We use old cupboard doors we find at the Restore (or check your basement) and we just quickly stencilled a welcome sign with FAT Paint chalk style paint.

You can see how we made a “wine tasting” sign here (it points to our screen room) just keeping it real :)

wood painted wine tasting sign

 

#10 FLOWERS

Freshen up your porch with some pretty flowers from your local nursey.

See, easy and affordable ways to upcycle, DIY and paint your porch fresh and clean and pretty!

Front Porch Updating

 

How do YOU freshen up YOUR front porch? I’d love to know.

Thanks so much for popping in, I’m so grateful you are here!

I hope you liked my 10 ideas for updating your front porch – I think most of them come way under the 30$ price point.

Happy Spring!

Cheers,

Wendy

 

 

 

 

 

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21 Comments

  1. Hi Wendy

    Great job this morning on live TV. You are a born natural. I was thinking of updating my kitchen cabinets. But i am also now intrigued by the painting of a steel door. Really don’t look passed any object thinking i could paint that. Choosing the color is really the hardest part.

    1. yes, the colour IS the hardest part, drop in and see us sometime and we will help you out if we can :)

  2. Great ideas Wendy! And great job today. I am already signed up for your newsletter and follow your Facebook page. The thing I need to freshen up are my faded outdoor shutters on the house!

  3. I AMA going to refresh some milk cans and
    an old crate. Some new paints would be awesome!!!

  4. Great ideas, you did a great job live on CTV. My front door definitely needs a fresh coat of paint, hard part is to decide on a color!!

  5. Great job on CTV this morning Wendy! I will be painting my fireplace, a dresser and two headboards. I can’t wait to freshen them up. Love your products :)

  6. Sweet ideas Wendy! I have an urge to paint my garden doors on my back deck this spring/summer. Guess that means I’ll need to try out fusion paint now. :)

  7. Great ideas and happy to hear that you are opening a location in Lunenburg! Our front door could use some new paint, but I really like the idea of turning an old chair into a planter.

    1. Hi Jill, we are already carrying our paints at Mom’s Buy and Sell in Lunenburg and will have a class workshop studio opening in June. Pop in and see us 229 Lincoln Street :)

  8. Hi Wendy! Great job on TV there. Great simple ideas. I have been considering updating an old chair, or an old window.

  9. I would like to spruce up my front porch. Would love to find old milk cans!

  10. Hi Wendy….
    so looking forward to the workshop studio in Lunenburg ! Joined newsletter and liked FB. I would luv to update our bathroom cabinets using your paints. Keep up the great work ?

    1. can’t wait for the studio space either :)
      I am teaching at Mom’s Buy and Sell until I do, check the schedule and come join me

  11. I really like the idea of turning an old chair into a planter and refresh an old crate

  12. Already signed up for your newsletter and follow your Facebook page. Both my front and back porches need freshening up and I love how you’re suggestions for using the crates – looks like I’m off to buy some today!

  13. Great ideas. I would paint my front door, shutters, porch posts, metal hanging pot brackets (starting to look worse for wear), and my rusting bistro table and chairs. I subscribe to your newsletter but I’m not on Facebook but do follow on twitter. Thanks for ideas and opportunity to win some great products.

  14. Lots need to be freshened up here, and not just the porch! I am starting though with my post storefront property, soon to be new working artist studio. The exterior got some fresh paint last fall to switch up from red to black ( supposedly, but Blackboard the colour is apparently navy ! So getting turned to black this spring!) Some new doors to be painted a nice aqua colour, some vinyl to cover up the unsightly foundation that won’t hold any paint and some cleaning up and rearranging of the flower beds. I have had a chair planter for years, it too needs a fresh coat of paint!

  15. The segments are so short aren’t they but you did an awesome job as per usual. I have an old table on the front deck I would love to paint this year and knocking around the idea for a sign ~ we shall see. Would love to throw my hat in the ring for the giveaway.

  16. I have some Wardian cases (currently in storage), and a a night table that need a new look! :)

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