Freshen Up Your Fiberglass
June 9, 2009
Welcome to Phase One of my front porch makeover. It’s really a lovely little porch, with white columns and benches, divided pane windows, and hydrangea bushes that thrive nearby in their happy spot. But in my opinion, the porch was still lacking a bit of elegance, so I began the process of sprucing it up.
I spent yesterday afternoon redoing some basic fiberglass urns I bought from Home Dept for $39. I love bronze, but up close, these had an orangey coppery detail that simply did not compliment my decor. So I decided to give them a more formal and elegant look with the use of (non other than) spray paint.
Before and After:
I’ve painted plastic planters before with good results, and realized that the same product can be used to paint fiberglass. Rustoleum makes this paint product in a ‘Shell White’ color that is not too bright of a white.
How to Transform a Fiberglass Planter:
Step One: Drill holes in the bottom of your planter with a drill bit if the drainage holes don’t exist.
Step Two: Coat your fiberglass planter with two coats of spray paint designed for plastic and fiberglass. I used one can of spray paint for each medium sized planter. Allow to dry for one hour.
Look at how different they look side by side after just one had been painted:
Step Three: Plant your urn with your favorite botanical. I chose a gardenia tree because it’s an evergreen, and in my opinion, there is no such thing as too many twinkle lights at Christmas, so these trees will certainly be included.
Also, gardenias are one of my favorite flowers. All it takes is one bloom to fill a room with nature’s perfume.
I also added some white and blue verbena for added color, texture, and variety.
I’m feeling pretty good about the cost savings here, given that this ceramic planter from Simply Planters costs $500
And this cast iron urn without the base from Horchow costs $550
This cast iron version from Well Adorned Garden costs $1,400. That’s just criminal.
Here’s the unadorned porch Before:
Adding the urns, trees, and decorative pillows adds exactly what I wanted, a bit of elegance and style:
Phase Two of my porch makeover will include a new 5 x 8 outdoor rug, and if I’m really lucky, some new light fixtures !
Sigh. A girl can dream. . .
Tags: outdoor decor, spray paint
I love it!
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Anna
Wow! That's beautiful. You rawk!
I have some plastic planters sitting in my garage right now waiting for a makeover. I'm inspired!
Kimba
It looks amazing!
Lovely re-do. You can always spray paint your existing fixtures in the meantime, right…?
White is perfect for those. Great makeover! You've done a good deed and given those urns their confidence back! I can tell they feel better about themselves already. =o)
Looks great, another job well done…
Such a great transformation! They really changed the whole feel of your front porch. Great job!
*Tricia
PLEASE PLEASE MOVE NEAR ME SO THAT YOU CAN INVITE ME OVER TO DO THESE THINGS!!!! LOVE THIS ONE BIG TIME!!!!!! MY ONLY PROBLEM IS THAT I AM AWFUL WITH PLANTS! MAJOR DRAWBACK TO BEAUTIFUL POTTED PLANTS LIKE THIS! GRR
Looks beautiful! Love your porch to begin with, but the new fun definitely spruced it up even more! Keep the inspiration coming. =)
Mmmmm gardenia! Soooo good! Love the expensive pics too – really puts things in perspective. I mean, REALLY who spends $1400 on a planter!?!?! I could redo my entire apartment for that much money. Sheesh.
I wish you lived near me to help me! Actually, I'd just pay you to do it for me, I have no patience! LOL!
Wonderful makeover of the urns! I love your porch…(I am trying very hard not to drool all over your blog) :)
:) That's what I tell myself everyday! "A girl is allowed to dream!"
I *love* your blog and your creativity!
YOur porch is gorgeous! Love the urns! You have such terrific ideas on your blog! I look forward to each post!
Absolutely perfect! I bought 4 large plastic planters for my porch last summer, but could only find them in terra cotta colors. I bought the spray paint for plastic by Krylon and was amazed at the phenomenal coverage it gave as well as how quickly it dried. That stuff is amazing.
So very nice! I love the white! They look great on your porch. The gardenias are especially nice. I love them! I wish I could grow them here in Maine!
I'm blown away by the things you can do with spray paint! The gardenia tree is a really beautiful touch and the porch looks gorgeous.
That looks great!!
What a fabulous make-over! Thank you for the inspiration.
Blessings,
Marie
http://emmacallsmemama.com
Those planters are so pretty! I just painted some terracotta pots white, just waiting on my tiny baby basil and cilantro to grow a little bigger so I can move them into their dreamy new homes :)
I am totally impressed! I am always disappointed by the outrageous prices they charge for planters – now I know how to make the okay look amazing. GREAT post.
Much prettier than before, although before wasn't bad either!
Wow, really nice! I saw some amazing planters the other day but cannot justify spending that kind of money on something just fill it with dirt ;) I have some that I think are ceramic (how the heck do you tell?) that I want to paint.
Your porch is lovely and inviting :)
I'm feeling totally inspired…I can't wait to hunt down some inexpensive plastic planters and give my porch a makeover too!
I am having trouble finding the right outdoor lights…can you dream for a second and show us what you might pick if you were to get your new outdoor lights now? :)
Your front porch was adorable, now it's just totally stellar. Good work (as always)!
Beautiful
Great makeover! I love Gardenias also. And your Hydrangeas are fantastic.
Oh, wow! I love it. I didn't know gardenias are an evergreen. Very cool! :)
Just the right touches. I can not wait to see the rest ;o)
wHAT A LOVELY ENTRANCE WAY–ENTRANCING!
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I am going to do the same thing. Any tips for what would look good in a white planter for fall?
pics are gone :-( I’d love to see
Fixing them this weekend Amy!