A massive front porch that had weak-looking support posts lead Reader Projects Don Curry to frame out the posts and add multiple planter boxes.

“We wanted to dress up the front porch and make it a showstopper,” Don says. He and his partner, Justin Hancock, used 2x12 boards (treated lumber) to frame the posts and build planter boxes along the front and side ledges of the porch and in front of two upstairs windows.

They hung prefab trellises—purchased at a home improvement store—on existing support columns (morning glories now grow here). They planted a variety of annuals in the porch planter boxes and vegetables (watermelon, summer and acorn squash) in the boxes outside the upper-level windows.

To cut time spent watering every night, Don and Justin added a drip irrigation system to all of the planters, which allows them to spend more time relaxing on the front porch. 

“With the boxes a foot off the ledge, plus the plants, the front porch is so much more private,” Don says. “We can see and hear the neighbors, but they can’t see us.”

To see the before picture, click here.

For other welcoming entrances, click here.