Hello lovely Friends! Have you had a chance to start working outside yet? Maybe where you live, you’re just starting with the cooler season? Well Spring is well under way around here and I have been really enjoying getting my outdoor spaces ready. If the rain will stay away long enough so I can actually enjoy them, that would be super awesome.
At the beginning of the month I shared how I updated my Outdoor Glider Bench:
It was in desperate need of a redo. You can see more HERE including the link for HOW I covered those cushions. Now it’s all sparkly and new and I love it again.
I’ve also been working on my patio set out back, but what I was just going to toss and replace back there were these inexpensive plastic planters:
They were just pitiful and I think I got about three years out of them…not too bad for only a few bucks a piece I guess.
See what’s in them? Hostas! I love Hostas in planters. They come back every year and add a pretty pop of green to my outdoor patio spaces. I don’t have to do a thing to them! **They do prefer shade though, so you’ll want to keep them out of direct sunlight.
But they deserve a prettier planter don’t you think? Because we are sharing container and planting ideas for our Décor Enthusiast Design Challenge this month…and because I’m cheap, I decided to see if I could make these last just a wee bit longer.
After a quick cleaning with a Mr. Clean Sponge, I covered the plants with grocery bags, and broke out an old can of Rustoleum spray paint in Eden that I had in my stash:
This was left over from another project, but even if I had to buy it, it would have cost less than $4 to update these pots like new!
Don’t they seriously look brand new? And I didn’t have to repot my plants either. #winning
I love this pop of green with my flowers. It’s like fabrics… you need a solid to go with the print, right?
Now I could have busted out the Frogtape and gotten all cute with these planters, but I wanted to keep it simple. I thought this would be great to share because you might not have thought to spray paint your old worn out planters. You’re welcome. 🙂
Seriously like brand new, y’all…in about 15 minutes.
You may remember I painted my large planters last year?
That got me through another season, but they were really already on their last legs with cracks and such. I finally broke down and replaced those with these pretty new ones from Walmart’s BHG collection…
These were only $29 which is a great price for large planters like these! They also had pretty matching pedestal ones:
But my favorites today are these free-to-mes…
My Décor Enthusiast crew are also sharing some container and flower/filler ideas. Click the links below the image to see more!
Artsy Chicks Rule Duke Manor Farm
Refresh Restyle Restoration Redoux Our Southern Home
If you haven’t started already, I hope you’re inspired to get outside…even if it’s just for 15 minutes to spray paint some old pots. 🙂
I’ll be back soon sharing something else I made for my outdoor space out of these spare parts I found in my garage:
UPDATE: See what I built with them HERE now! 🙂
XO,
Don’t Miss a Thing!
If you like what you see, there are several ways to follow along!
stephanie booth says
I love all of your projects and am just now getting into painting with chalk paint. I read on one of your posts that you sanded after you painted and then applied the wax. Are you supposed to do that every time ? I tried applying wax without sanding and the t shirt I was using left behind little bits of linty stuff. I ended up sanding and it worked well
Christy K. James says
Thanks, Stephanie! Yes chalk paint does have a bit of a texture to it, but a light sanding knocks it down and makes the surfaces super smooth. I do it every time. 🙂
Mary Kaiser says
Hello Beautiful Planters!! LOVE them. Going out to get a can of spray paint!! Thank you!
Christy K. James says
Thanks, Mary! I may never replace those things ha ha! XO
Sue says
Great idea for refreshing the planters. Last spring I was going to buy a new trash can for our patio. Then I remembered a pretty green spray paint I had and just sprayed it new again!!! Love saving and love spray painting!!!
Christy K. James says
Yes! Spray paint is a miracle worker!! 🙂
laura janning says
love your ‘free to me’s’. i can’t tell you the last time I bought new pots. I paint everything and usually every season to match what i got going on outside. happy day!
Christy K. James says
Thanks, Laura…so smart! I usually just replace them every few years because they aren’t very expensive ones, but no more! 🙂
Christy @ Our Southern Home says
So pretty, Christy! I love the power of paint. Your new cushions are perfect. Loving the pop of color!
Christy K. James says
Thanks, Christy!! That was a job I was not looking forward to with those cushions, but I forgot how easy it was…probably because I have experienced slipcovers now lol!
jeanne dugan says
Hi Christy, I would love to try to keep hosta in a planter year round, and I may… I live in upstate New York and it may be too cold for them to stay alive over our sometimes harsh winters. What state are you in??
Christy K. James says
Hi Jeanne! I live in Virginia, and we get pretty cold temps but probably not as consistently as you do up there in NY. I would give it a try and see how it goes. 🙂
Debbie @ Refresh Restyle says
I love it all, I’m moving in to your back yard! So fresh and colorful!
xo
Debbie
Christy K. James says
Come on…we’ll be glad you have you! 🙂
VICKI says
Lovely!!! I did the same thing with my hosta pots last year…with almost the same color!! Those pots just keep on keeping on, the one I bought last year in a similar color…broke right down the middle. Nice job on the changes!! Best, Vicki
Christy K. James says
Thanks, Vicki! I am amazed that these look so good with just a little paint…too bad yours split down the middle, no easy fix for that unfortunately. This was almost too simple to share, but they just looked so good. 🙂
Lynn says
So pretty and inspiring! I noticed your other beautiful garden pot with the purple petunias in a previous post of your glider makeover. I also bought that same pot this spring and love it! Made me smile when I saw you also loved it! I just finished repainting another large urn which looked very sad, now it’s back on my front porch and a beauty once again! Love your ideas and style!
Christy K. James says
Thanks, Lynn! Weren’t those planters a great buy? I was so excited to find them…and they’re pretty too! We must have similar tastes. I probably could have made my old ones last, but I couldn’t resist these. 🙂
Ruth Anne says
Your planters look great! I have some that could use a paint revival and I have hostas that could be potted up–you gave me a great idea for my shady front porch! Thanks a bunch!
Christy K. James says
Oh great, Ruth Anne! My bigger one started as one I dug up from the yard that I didn’t want to part with. And being in containers, they don’t get quite so big like some in the ground do. 🙂
Nancy @ Artsy Chicks Rule says
Brilliant!! and so simple, my kinda fix!! 😉
Very pretty!!!
xo
Nancy
Christy K. James says
Yes…we LOVE easy!!! Thanks, Nancy!! XOXO
Lyn says
I’m a yard saler and I bought two plastic urns last year that sit in front of my garage. They were 25 cents a piece and they were pretty well worn. But they looked “shabby chic” to me. Last year. Last weekend I pulled them out to plant them for this year and they looked really bad – cracked and scraped. I spray painted them with a Rustoleum texture spray and they look like new!
Christy K. James says
Don’t you just love the satisfaction of knowing you made them look brand new again? It gets me giddy ha ha. Sounds like yours were the deal of the year at 25¢ each! Great find! 🙂
Jennie Eilerts says
I love how clean and bright those came out! Hostas are some of my favorites, too. They look really nice with your new planters — the hosta leaf shape complements the pattern on the sides of the urns. Here in Denver I see those type of plastic planters on the curb in “free” piles several times a month. I may just have to stop next time and grab a couple! 😉
Christy K. James says
Thanks, Jennie! Yes, you won’t pass those curbside planters up next time I bet! In fact, I won’t either lol. 🙂
chris aka monkey says
you do such cool stuff, that green is perfect with the hostas xx
Christy K. James says
Aww thanks, Chris!! I love the green with the hostas too. 🙂
Addie says
Good to know….I would have chucked them!!!! The yard is looking healthy.
Oh!!! I am so upset you got rid of the amber bottle bottom plastic panels on that hutch!!!
It was such a lovely touch….why did it go out of style???? 😉
Take care..God Bless!!!
Addie
Christy K. James says
I almost did chick mine…glad I didn’t now! I know I know I wish I would have saved those pretty plastic panels for you ha ha. 🙂
andi says
I love hostas! Phil keeps trying to kill mine. I’ve finally dug them up and moved them so he can’t hit them with the mower anymore. Then there was the one I was transplanting and he thought it was a weed and chopped the crap out of it. But it survived! Sigh… I’ve never kept them in pots tho. Maybe that’s what I should have done in the first place. :/
xoxo
-andi
Christy K. James says
I love them too! They do really well in them. 🙂
Rose L. says
I have used that paint on lots of things. It is good to renew rather than replace.
Christy K. James says
I agree, Rose! I never thought those cheap pots could look so new again…now I do. 🙂