It seems like this spring there’s a fun trend of MAKING EVERYTHING A PLANTER. And frankly, I love it.
Rusty tool box? Why not marigolds!
Old retainer box? Pop a succulent in!
Grungy toilet you found in the ditch on the wrong side of the tracks? PEONIES!
But seriously. I do really love the idea of repurposing things, so today’s project is right up our alley! When Home Depot invited us in on their Hanging Gutter Planter collaboration, we were super excited! And we have the perfect place for such an installation. I give you, our not-so-welcoming front porch.
RIGHT?!
I know! It’s sparse! But perfect for dancing.
In our defense, we literally never use this door. But it is what everyone sees from the road. So it’s been my spring-time resolution to make it a little more lively. We hit up the Home Depot and gathered our supplies: (this post contains affiliate links)
- Gutters
- End caps
- Rope (you don’t have to buy a whole roll… you can buy it by foot in store)
- D-hooks
- pipe clamps
- Washers
- Heater Hose
- Wood (1” x 1” cedar is what we used)
We started by slicing and dicing our gutters into (4) 58” lengths (to fit perfectly at the north end of our porch) using our Ridgid Miter Saw. Then we drilled holes 10” in from each end using a 3/4” Forstner bit for the rope to go through.
Next, we cut some little strips of wood to use as spacers for the gutters. Without these, the gutters were pretty unstable and wobbly because of how long they are. Such a simple thing makes such a huge structural difference!
In an effort to help keep the gutters upright while hung on the rope, we drilled a hole in some of the spacers so the rope would go straight through the gutter and the wood to hold things steady… even in the living-up-on-a-hill-in-rural-Iowa wind.
I decided I also wanted to affix some wood trim to the front for some simple decorative detail. I love the crisp look of white and unfinished wood together. We routed a notch so that the strips of wood would be an L-shape over the top corner. We put it on the flat side of the gutter because… we just liked how it looked there, mkay?
The way we attached them to the gutter is by using a 1/4” Forstner bit to pre-drill some screw holes from the inside out of the gutter lip. We used 4 screws on each gutter.
Since this bad boy is going to hang on the north edge of our front porch, we needed to figure out how to attach it… both to the top overhang, and the bottom concrete slab (cause we don’t need the girls swinging on that thing like a chandelier). So we dangled a weighted string, marked our spots, and drilled into the concrete with a masonry drill bit.
We did the same on the top (only with just a regular drill bit)
Next up? String ‘em up onto the rope!
Nick tied halyard hitch knots at the bottom, strung them up and around and back down to finish off with another knot. Then just level everything out, evenly spaced, and tighten those hose clamps!
Then we loaded them up with flowers!
I love this cheerful little corner of our front porch now! And the boost in curb appeal doesn’t hurt either. The grass reed shade thingy really helps cut down on the wind coming from the north, so it will be a lot more pleasant sitting out here with a glass of wine after the chicklets are in bed.
Be sure to check out the unique twist that each of my blogging friends up on their Hanging Gutter Planter for lots more inspiration! It’s so fun seeing different options with the same exact concept!
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Reality Daydream (MEEEE!)
Have you been doing any little updates to the exterior of your home? Landscaping? Veggie garden? Isn’t this such a magical time of year?
Mark your calendar for April 21st at 6:30 so you can come have fun at The Home Depot’s FREE DO-IT-HERSELF workshop, where you’ll learn the details on how to make this Hanging Gutter Planter for yourself! While attendees won’t always be able to make and take the project (changes by store), they’ll walk away with the skills to recreate the project at home. You can REGISTER HERE to participate and build this cool hanging planter at your own local Home Depot!
~Bethany
I partnered with Home Depot and lots of other amazing and talented bloggers for this project! All blood, sweat and tears were my own… and that of my loving husband.
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Thanks for the great post on your garden! I’m really excited to start my own garden this year.
Such a simple thing makes such a huge structural difference!
Thanks,
I stumbled across your blog post about a hanging gutters planter and was just looking for some advice on how to put one up. I’m having trouble finding the right hardware that will work with my gutter system. Do you know any good brands? Thanks so much!
I clicked on the links and looked at all the others, and while there were 2 or 3 that I liked, yours is by far my favorite! Great job as always! (BTW your link for “Our Vintage Farmhouse” isn’t working I did a search to find that one)
Thanks for letting me know about that link Candace! I’m gonna go fix it now!
This is great! This would be great on my deck flanking my screened in porch. The humming birds love it there already, but I bet this would really kick it up a notch!
I love this idea…and boy do you have all the tools I can only dream of .
Your planter turned out amazing — love the trim and use of pipe clamps. xo
O M GOLLY!!!!! LOVE IT!!!!!!!!! EXCELLENT PHENOMENAL!!! & really JUST GORGEOUS!!!!
ok, Beth, in all honesty, I have looked at all the other ones posted that did this project. I have to say – ding, ding, ding – you are the winner! I love that you made yours larger so that it filled the space and that you put the bamboo shade behind it. That, along with the wood trim you added, puts yours over the top! Also it was very wise to tie yours down to the porch slab so that high winds won’t make it swing and beat into your house. You really thought this all through. Good job! (now repaint your wicker furniture before it weathers too much. It’s too cute!)
This turned out so well! Love it.
Love the wood framing on the planter – it looks amazing!
Cute ! I might need to build a hundred more of these to give me some privacy, our neighbors house is being built right now, and it’s so close!
Oh wow Beth your porch looks fantastic! Love your planter style and the wood trim.
Wow! that is a beautiful way to have done this project! kudos to you both!
Love it! I’m surprised you don’t put some railing and maybe some corner brackets (gingerbread) on that porch. It would be so pretty and with all the talent and creativity you guys have, you could probably come up with a unique style of it.
We’ve just had other priorities, and have JUST THIS SPRING started making any effort on the front port whatsoever. LOL! I do love the idea of corner brackets! Thanks for the idea!
Beautiful! I love that chair. Can I challenge you to do something to the concrete porch? Paint faux tile, tile it or something fun. We have the same concrete porch and we need to do something with it. Too boring. I would love to see what you come up with so I can copy.
I was kicking around the idea of painting/stenciling a round ‘rug’ in that corner under the wicker chair. Hmmmm! Maybe I should pull the trigger on that! 😉