The portico is done! During the summer I shared our stages of how we were building a portico in an effort to add curb appeal and a bit of architectural detail to the front of our home. When my parents purchased the home almost 30 years ago, the square footage was around 2000. Over the years it has more than tripled and the sad tiny original portico never grew. It’s surroundings did….but “it” didn’t. Finally, my dad addressed the issue when he replaced the 30 year old front door this past summer. Our friends over atWayfair have joined in the fun and sent us some fabulous items to add the finishing touches to our new portico.
Keep reading, you need to the before!
Before:
We completely ripped out the front door and the existing portico.
Like, see you later alligator 😉 .
We completely covered the stairs with new Trex decking (see here) which is maintenance free and so pretty! The walkway is in need of being replaced as well but we haven’t quite figured out what to do with it. Ideally, jack hammering it up and laying brick would be my choice but that would be costly so that topic is for another day. Baby steps right?
The gorgeous indoor/outdoor fabric rope basket and wheat colored tweed rug from Wayfair coordinated perfectly and guess what, that basket looks fabulous with a flowering mum inside. You would just need to remove the plant before watering. It’s so pretty!
We added new house numbers and solar flood lights. I still have some touch up work to do but I am thrilled that my part in the project is just about finished!
My grandfather was hovering over with his cane asking why I didn’t rake the leaves for the picture. I said, “it’s fall gramp, there are suppose to be leaves on the ground!”
We added new planters as well on either side of the step. Giant flowering mums added the final “wow” factor that this portico needed. I love that the planters are versatile and will be perfect for the changing seasons. I picked up the white garden stool from Homegoods for a summer project but it was also perfect for this display. Adding height to your plants will help add visual appeal. Looks kind of cute right?
A much needed improvement right?
Two things I must have, my phone and Dunkin Donuts ice coffee. DD coffee is my weakness. My grandfather and I always head to DD to get coffee together. He loves it too!
We still need to do some landscaping around the portico and front walkway but that will come later on next year. Be sure to check out our painted bench tutorial as shown below. The bench is from HomeGoods and I decided to paint it red to give it new life. I think it will be perfect for Christmas too. Sometimes I find things that I love but they are the wrong color. Don’t be afraid to spray paint it if you truly love it. It’s an inexpensive way to re-use what you have ;).
Building a portico was probably one of the best investments we made to boost our curb appeal. The next step is to add shutters. It’s amazing how this larger structure, new decor, substantial planters and solar ground lighting have dramatically increased the architectural detail and changed the look completely of the front of our home. My mom has wanted shutters for about 20 years so hopefully that gets completed next year! Be sure to head over to Wayfair to see more curb appeal and fall decorating ideas.
Did you see our latest posts? They will knock your sox off!!!
Disclosure: I was provided with complimentary products from Wayfair. All opinion and words are 100% my own.
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