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Revitalize Your Front Porch


What you'll need:

House numbers

Wood pieces:

One large backboard piece, about 12x24 inches

½-inch x 3-inch x 5-foot board

Drill

Hammer

Small nails

Wood glue

Clamps

Outdoor paint

What you'll do:

1. Measure up. Decide where your new address plaque will go and let that help determine its size. Take into consideration what you'll be planting (if you already know) and how large your house numbers need to be so they are visible from the street. Measure twice and head to the local hardware store to get the pieces cut (once) for you.

Helpful hint: You can use these measurements for the planter box if you don’t want to calculate your own:

Cut the 3x5 board into four pieces:

  • One 14-inch piece for the base

  • Two 3½-inch pieces for the ends of the box

  • One 15½-inch piece for the front of the box

2. Put it together. Decide whether you want drainage holes for your planter and drill them into the base piece first. Then use two wood screws on each side to attach the two end pieces to the planter’s base, with the end caps on the outside of the base. You’ll have a construction shaped like a very long “U”. Attach the front piece of the planter to your screwed-together pieces with wood glue and clamp the pieces together until they dry. Next, use wood glue to affix the planter to the backboard, clamp everything together, and let the glue dry. Then go back and use screws to ensure the whole thing stays together.

3. Fancy it up. Paint it, stain it, put contact paper on it — have fun choosing colors that complement your house's façade (and that won't let the numbers get lost). Next, put on the new address numbers. You can get stick-ons, glue-ons, and even fancy numbers that require screws or nails.

4. Fill the planter. It's up to you whether you decide to plant living flora that needs to be watered and cared for or fake flowers and succulents that are super easy to manage. You can always switch them out later, depending on the weather or your mood. And remember, you don't have to fill the box with soil to plant a live garden — a few little pots tucked inside will look just as lovely.

 
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