Some of my good friends were really deserving of a porch makeover for the Fall and with the Sponsorship of Lowe’s Home Improvement I was able to make it happen! The projects included a wheelchair ramp, a porch swing, a planter water feature, a custom sign and lots of new plants and decor!
One of the most rewarding DIY projects you can do, is one that is for someone else. Often we get caught up in how we can make our homes better and better when really it’s nice to step back and see how we can help someone else! When Lowe’s gave me the opportunity to brighten someones day with a porch makeover, I jumped at the opportunity and knew exactly who I wanted to surprise.
My friends Brandon and Angi have been through a ton in the last two years and I knew that their porch didn’t have much on it so I really wanted to do this form them. Brandon suffered a spinal cord injury two years ago in a boating accident and is one of the strongest people I know. They had not gotten around installing a wheelchair ramp out to the porch so he had not been on the front porch since his accident!
Wheelchair Ramp
I wanted to make the wheel chair ramp first so that he could come out onto the porch with me while I worked on the rest of the projects. I made it by cutting some 4” tall incline ramps from 2×6 pine boards spaced about 10” apart and then glued and nailed a ½” thick sheet of plywood on top.
I really wanted to make this space feel like home and approve the curb appeal of the ramp so I found some ½” thick cedar fence pickets that were the same thickness as the coir door mat I found at Lowe‘s, and I cut them to fit around the doormat for an inset look!
I sanded the fence pickets with 80 grit sandpaper to remove the loose wood fibers and then used Valspar Porch and Patio paint to paint the ramp. I matched the trim color of their house to make it blend into the house and I asked them add a non-slip additive to the paint at the paint counter at Lowe’s.
Porch Swing
Angi has been the best wife and caregiver to Brandon and I wanted to do something special for her. I knew she wanted a comfortable spot to drink her coffee in the mornings so I thought a porch swing would be a great addition to the porch. Their porch is nice and wide and the ceiling joists were in the perfect location for safely mounting a swing.
I constructed the swing almost entirely out of select pine 1x3s, 1x4s and 1x6s. It is a simple and sturdy design by Plank and Pillow and I just modified the dimensions to fit some oversize Allen + Roth cushions that I found at Lowe’s.
After construction, I filled the nail holes, sanded the whole bench with 150 grit sandpaper, wiped it down with a tack cloth and then used canned spray primer to prime the bench. After fully drying, I sanded and wiped again and then sprayed the whole bench with Valspar Duramax exterior paint in the color Kettle Black.
Front Door Paint
They have a beautiful front door that came with their house, but they never got around to painting it! It is made of fiberglass and had a coat of primer on it already so my prep for painting was just to clean it by scrubbing and wiping it really well. I used Sherwin Williams Weathershield exterior paint from Lowe’s in a satin finish. The final color that we settled on was Schoolhouse and it really gave a beautiful pop of color against their siding which is the color Clary Sage!
Planter Water Feature
I thought a simple water porch water feature would make a nice addition to the porch and really make a peaceful spot to hang out. There is just something so calming about the sound of a fountain! This was a really quick and easy project where I used a container fountain kit and modified a plastic planter to make the fountain.
The container fountain kit contains a pump and nozzles to create different falling water patterns in a small vessel. The pump has a cord with a rubber plug around it so that you can feed it through the bottom of a container. When picking a container it is important to choose one with a pretty flat bottom, making plugging the hole more secure and making the included feet more stable.
I used a pretty plastic container that looks like corrugated metal. Before starting the project I filled the container with water to make sure there were no other holes or points for leaks. After confirming that, I used a 1 ¼” forstner bit to drill a hole in the bottom of the container, fed the cord through and plugged the hole with the stopper. I then filled the bottom of the container with styrofoam block to take up space and then covered all that with a bag of Mexican Beach Pebbles.
I selected the nozzle that I wanted that kept the flowing water entirely in the container and then plugged it in!
Fall Decor
I finished off the porch with some fun pieces that really helped transform the space into an outdoor room! You can’t go wrong with a good porch rocking chair so I added two of them in black. I found some planters and lanterns that really went nicely with the rest of the decor and added some neutral throw pillows, wreath, blanket and rug to the space. It wouldn’t be fall without Mums, so I picked up a bunch from Lowe’s Lawn & Garden department to add more color to the space!
I had so much fun working on the space and what made it most rewarding was to see how excited Brandon and Angi were about their new porch. I know they are going to use it often!
To get some more great ideas on simple ways you can do a porch project for a deserving neighbor, check Lowe’s Labor For Your Neighbor webpage! If you want to see videos of this total porch makeover and to hear more about Brandon and Angi’s story, follow me on Instagram and find the story highlight “Porch Makeover”!
Such nice touches and an incredibly gracious offer of your services.
Thank you! It was a really fun project!