Mum Of 2 Turns 'Spidery' Front Porch Into 'Garden Of Eden' Using £4.99 Bargains
- Simone, 35, wanted to give her spidery front porch an overhaul
- She picked up bargains from B&M and Home Bargains for the project
- Simple tools such as duct tape and command hooks were employed
- Now the area is a welcoming and green ‘garden of Eden’
Have you ever thought about making your front porch look prettier, but been put off due to lack of funds? One budget-savvy mum has proven money doesn’t have to be an obstacle with her stunning DIY makeover.
Simone Fennelly, 35 from Essex who posts on Instagram as fenn.fam and is mum to two children, 10 and 7, told money-saving community LatestDeals.co.uk: ‘I was fed up of looking at cobwebs and ugly old white PVC panelling as I left the house. As the front of our house is a block paved driveway, I thought it would be nice to have some green all year round.
‘It was just really ugly and nasty and spidery. Whenever I was out front all I could see were spiders, rubbish and exposed brick. I had seen trellises used to make an area look nicer and thought 'why not give it a go?’
Simone picked up most of her supplies from B&M, Home Bargains and The Range. ‘My first stop was B&M Home Stores, where I picked up the trellis for £20. In the garden section, I also picked up the artificial trees, which were £30 each.
‘Next up was Home Bargains, where I picked up the planter for £9.99 and the artificial grass for £24.99 - I only needed one roll. Finally, I picked up artificial flowers for £4.99 per bunch from The Range and the command hooks were £3.45 per packet.’
The first step was giving the area a good clean. With an old-fashioned bucket of water and some sponges, Simone and her daughter got to work, using a stepping stool to reach the high corners. A spray bottle and towel were also employed to ensure all the nooks and crannies were sparkling clean.
Next, the pair brought out the artificial grass and artificial ivy leaf trellis. After sizing up the trellis, they added the command hooks and held the trellis in place. ‘No permanent fixing was required, and the trellis hooked nicely in place,’ Simone added.
‘I then cut the artificial grass to size and held it down with some duct tape I had in the cupboard. I double sided it to help keep the edges down. I then put the planter in place and part filled it with rocks and offcuts of wood I had in the garden, then topped it up with soil I also had available.
‘I put the artificial flowers in the planter, then I placed the trees either side of it and put the solar stakes in. Finally I used some leftover paint to paint the old flakey red step grey.’
The project wasn’t all smooth sailing, however. ‘The command hooks kept falling off!! It drove me crazy as I kept having to stick them back in, but once the weight of the trellis was distributed equally it stuck fine and is still going strong.
‘When I put the trellis up, I realised I could probably do with another one, so I wanted to move the first one sideways after purchasing a second one. However, after a trip to the shops, there were none left, so I made the best of it and a few hours later I was done.
‘Because our front garden is all concrete, I thought artificial grass would contrast nicely and I’m happy with how it turned out. All of the plants and flowers are artificial because I kill plants like there’s no tomorrow!
‘When we walk out of the front door now, we don’t see ugly, we look out and see beautiful green grass with flowers all year round. I’m also going to decorate it for different occasions - when it gets to Halloween, I’ll dot orange flowers across the trellis, and for Christmas I’ll swap them out for red ones.’
Tom Church, Co-Founder of LatestDeals.co.uk, said: ‘Simone has done a great job at transforming her front porch. The place is much more welcoming now and it’s all been done on a budget, which is especially impressive.
‘If you’re planning on laying down your own grass, especially if it’s going in your garden, the savings can be huge - but you need to do it right to avoid problems further down the line. Here are my tips for doing a professional job.
‘1. If you need to remove your old lawn and it’s still in good shape, get hold of a sod cutter so you can give it to someone else.
‘2. Make sure the area is properly levelled out. The standard old-fashioned gardening tools are necessary here - a shovel, gloves and wheelbarrow.
‘3. If you’ve having trouble with levelling, try putting down a layer of sand or crushed stone to speed up the process.
‘4. Look into getting some weed control landscape fabric if you are concerned about weeds growing through the lawn, as these can create lumps and bumps after all your hard work levelling it out!
‘5. If your artificial grass does not have a soft and solid base attached, invest in an underlayment in order to ensure the lawn has a porous layer underneath it.
‘6. If you need to lay down multiple strips, ensure all of it is facing the same direction and take care to place each strip directly next to the preceding one.
‘7. Secure your lawn with galvanized nails, also known as lawn spikes. Use a hammer to get them into the ground and make sure none of the metal is exposed.’
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I like the way Simone has transformed her front porch. I agree with Tom about laying artificial grass. If you need to lay down multiple strips, ensure all of it is facing the same direction and take care to place each strip directly next to the preceding one. I laid artificial grass in the summer and made that mistake after laying the second strip. Lucky for me the second strip could be turned the right way to fit somewhere else. 