Fixing a sunken front porch part:6/6
See the full list of supplies I used to create the faux plants on my porch here.
Materials:
- Faux leaves
- Dead branches
- Hot glue
- Glue Gun
- Faux roses stems- I got mine at walmart, but here are similar ones on amazon.
- Wire
- Pliers for cutting wire
- Teacup hooks for hanging to house. (I had to hammer drill into the concrete. Most people will not have to do this step, and a command strip hook, or other teacup type hooks should be enough.)
- Small bucket
- Cement
- White rocks
I always start each project out with a drawing or design. I would say the final outcome is pretty close to what I originally imagined.
Step 1: Find some dead branches
I had a few dead branches laying around my yard from a recent pruning earlier this year. I took the branches and cut them to a good size for my space. I ended up using about four branches.
Overall, I made sure there was no dead leaves or any other things hanging from them. I decided to go with a fake leaves instead of just using real branches because I wanted it to last longer than a cut branch really would.
I cut branches off of the main trunks that didn’t fit the curve or aesthetic that I was going for. I trimmed twigs and made sure that I left other branches that I want it. Overall, there is no right or wrong way to do this. Just make sure that there are spots that you can hang it up from that are more bare, and twigs towards the end that help it look more full and realistic.
A step that I forgot to document was securing the lowest branch into a bucket. I got a small plastic bucket that I didn’t care about, and filled it about half way with cement. I then stuck the bottom of the tree branch into the bucket of cement and let it cure overnight.
This made a nice base for all of the other branches to connect to. It was heavy enough that it wouldn’t tip over, and allowed the branch to stand up be itself. I then topped off the cement with some white river rocks to hide where the branch was sitting in cement.
Step 2: Glue on the fake leave clusters
I then took the fake leaves and began gluing them on, in small clusters around the dead branches. I used a hot glue gun for this, and let me tell you… it takes some time, but this is the most important step.
I used THESE leaves off of amazon, and I love the way they looked, and how many I got for the price point. The material wasn’t shiny, or too fake looking, and they actually held up to sun exposure pretty well.
I tried to pair them in clusters is if the leaves are really growing that way. I used the entire package of leaves I bought, and ended up needing to order another one to finish. So I would just order 2 from the get go if you planned on doing a pieces as big as mine was.
I used a heavy duty hot glue from my local hardware store. I was trying to get the most durable glue that I could in an effort to help the leaves really hold up during different types of weather and being outside. I think it worked great.
Then I drill some teacup hooks into the cement on the outside of my house, and hung the branches on them. I did them one at a time. Most houses are not pure cement like mine, and maybe a command hook or strip would do the trick. I just wanted it to be secure, so choose whatever works best for your space.
Step 3: The Flowers
The reason that I decided to go with the leaves that I did was because they would match a rose flower. A lot of other flowers were available when I started searching, but I wanted to make sure that the foliage in the flower parts matched up correctly as if they would be growing that way in nature. I love the look of a climbing rose bush, but didn’t want to wait for one to mature after several seasons, and potentially have it die with our very harsh climate changes, we have year-round here. I found these rose stems at Walmart for a very decent price and ended up buying around 20 of them. I found even cheaper ones later off of Amazon, but I was at walmart and felt impatient so I just got them.
They came in sprays of three some of them had buds, and some of them had bigger or smaller rose blooms. I chose all white and loved the final outcome.
These flowers did say on the tag, for indoor use only. So I felt extra rebellious using them outside haha. I think the main reason the tag said that, was because they were not treated to be strong against UV light exposure, and would be prone to fading over time. I didn’t notice any of that though.
These rose sprays also had leaves already on them, which helped them to blend in better with the matching leaves I glued on. To secure the flowers I used wire, and slowly wove the stems of the flowers through the fake branches on the porch. I connected the two together using wire and zip ties as needed. This was a slower process, but helped me to place the flowers individually throughout the branches to get the look that I wanted.
I didn’t want them to blow away if we got a big wind or rain storm and securing them well was important. They never fell off and lasted for months. I never had a flower fade or fall down.
Many people online were concerned that they would look fake or terrible after being exposed to the elements for a while. I had them up for three months and they looked completely fresh and great the whole time.
I had planned on switching out this look seasonally so new that prolonged sun exposure was not some thing I really need to worry about.
I also added some house numbers to the front. Delivery drivers have always had a hard time finding our house, since it didn’t have numbers. I had to drill into the cement again to anchor these, but secured them with some clear silicone.
I love the way it turned out and am excited to try and use a similar method around Christmas time when I switch out the look for a different season.
Here is a photo of the final porch makeover look. I am so excited about this project and the way it turned out. It was a ton of work, and something that has been on the to do list for years. It was fun to get it done just in time for Halloween, and decorate it for that too. I will have to share photos of the Halloween porch we came up with.
Thanks for being here. Can’t wait to share more updates on the Bathroom renovation that is coming along soon!
-Amanda