I am finally getting around to giving our front doors the attention they deserve! Yes I said they! We have two front doors. Funny thing about most old homes, is this was actually quite common. One door entered the formal area of the home, and the other door often entered the kitchen of the farmhouse. This front door is what we consider our side door, and enters our kitchen.
I’ve been neglecting these areas because our doors need to be replaced. But just because something isn’t what we want at the moment, doesn’t mean we can’t decorate it in the meantime. So that’s exactly what I did.
Flower Subscription & Planters
I received some flowers from a flower subscription. I’ve actually used them once before and they come in the mail packaged up in the the perfect containers that keep them safe and sound. The subscription is called Knock Knock and you actually don’t have to bother choosing which plants and flowers you want. You just tell them where you live so that they can determine which zone you live in and whether your plants will be located in a sunny area, shady area, or a mixture of the two. I chose a mixture of the two because our patio gets the best of both worlds depending on the time of day.
They come packaged in plastic containers and you just pop those open. You then use the containers they are planted in to indent the soil, remove the plants including the soil, and plant them in your planters. I had planters on hand because I’ve collected them over the summers. I used these black striped planters because black and boho is all the rage right now!
DIY Hanging Wood Planters
A long time ago I shared a DIY my husband and I did for mother’s day where we built these hanging wood planters. We had studs left over from our nursery renovation and I wanted something to hang plants in since we don’t have a covered deck. Hubby whipped these up so fast and we headed to the store to pick up some affordable metal hanging planters.
Usually we plant a mixture of flowers in these, but it has been so dry that we haven’t even purchased our flowers yet. I picked up some ferns from our local grocery store and just placed them in the hanging planters for now. I placed one next to the door and two by the other main front door.
Outdoor Plant Table
We had a yard sale and I tried to sell this Singer sewing table we had. To my surprise it didn’t sell. It was just an old Singer sewing table someone was going to throw away. The top was busted so we removed it and added a new wooden top to turn it into a table.
Because the table is iron and the top is sealed, it ended up being the perfect outdoor table to display some small plants on. I placed it in the corner next to the entrance, and added a few of my succulents and smaller plants from indoors to it. I generally keep a few plants indoors for the winter and then move them outdoors once I know it’s going to stay warm.
Front Door Mats
I decided to try a layered door mat look for the door. I had the bottom rug on hand and thankfully it was a larger rug. I picked up the black mat at Hobby Lobby on clearance for $10 and just placed it on top. The black matched the door and the vibe I was going for, and at that price how could I pass it up?!
I will be honest though, here in Michigan, door mats just don’t hold up to the elements. These simply can’t stay outside and will only be used when we are having company over or for a cute photo op! If you live in a drier climate, they will last much longer!
Hanging Front Door Basket
I didn’t want to be cliche and go with the basic wreath on the front door this year. So I picked up a basket at Hobby Lobby that was on clearance too and had a flat back. Perfect for hanging against a wall or door. Because this window had the lattice in it, I was able to use some twine to string the basket to to hang it. I then added a piece of faux garland in there, but will add florals from the back farm all summer long! I was just in a rush to share this project with you and didn’t have time to go cut stems! We have such a gorgeous property that we are blessed to be able to cut fresh florals and bouquets from all summer long. I never actually have to buy my own flowers because they grow right here on the farm!
Hiding the Electric Meter
Our electric meter is right smack dab on the front of our house. Well, technically this is the side of the house. But it’s where both of our front doors are located, and it’s not super pretty. You can’t legally attach anything to it or permanently hide it, so I had to come up with a moveable solution.
I found a piece of white wood trellis at Lowes for $19. We built a wooden planter box out of some lumber we had on hand and fastened the treillis inside of it using deck screws. I spray painted the planter with black paint and we planted two mandevilla plants in it. Mandevilla’s are major climbers and in no time, will cover this entire trellis, covering the electric meter even more! If we need to access the meter or our hose connection which is below the deck here, we can simply slide the planter out of the way and move it back to conceal it again. Super affordable solution to an ugly problem!
Now just to get some motivation and get the other front door looking fresh for summer! Be sure to sign up for my newsletter to stay tuned for when I share that. That one is going to be EPIC! This was just a trial run and I think I did pretty dang good for using mainly things I had on hand! Let me know in the comments what you thought about this front door refresh and what part you liked the most!
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