Inspiration in Stages

Hope everyone had a nice weekend.  It was mostly cloudy with patches of sun here and there; still chilly for me.  The hubs and I went to the landscape nursery to see what new plantings were available because we wanted to add some flowers to our empty planters on the porch.

Playing around with arrangements and different flowers each year, I am sticking with geraniums, grasses and ivy.  The geraniums hold up pretty well and fill the planter nicely.  Now, regarding our planters . . .

We purchased our planters a few years ago (I think three) from Crate and Barrel.  I love, love, love them but they are showing some wear and tear (rust and paint chipping).  I was debating whether or not to try and fix them or toss them.  I said I would start looking after the summer.

So, Mr. D was lifting those heavy planters (filled with dirt and rocks), clearing out the old potting soil, replacing it with new soil.  He was almost done and about to put the planter back on the stand when the inevitable happened . . . the bottom piece dropped out and the rocks came tumbling down, dirt and all.  We both looked at each other in total surprise and disgust.  I did NOT want to replace them NOW.  Ugh!

To make a long story short, he managed to salvage it temporarily.  Now I'm on the hunt for new planters.  In my search, I'm deciding if I should stick with the bronze color (to match the light fixtures) or pick another color . . . white perhaps?

Here are the tapered planters that will be replaced as soon as I find a replacement

Front of our home

 While my search continues, I wanted to share some stunning inspiration photos I found.

(image unknown).  The door and square planter boxes are uniform and blend nicely with the light fixtures.

image via Tone on Tone.  I am obsessed with the front of this home!! Love the color of the door and the gray stone planters go perfectly with the stoned pavers.

image credit This home looks large and the square box planters make a statement along with the bold color choice for the front door.

image unknown Planters blend nicely with the home's stone color.

image via Thorton Designs blog Beautiful look and love the wooden planters.  Not sure what's inside holding those boxwoods

image credit While these planters seem a bit low for my taste, I still think they work for this homeowner.  With the fullness of the fern plants, it makes up in width.  The gray, white and green with gold accents are beautifully done.  Only thing I would swap out is their door mat (seems small).

Here are some planters I'm eyeing:

From WindowBox. This is a nice alternative to the bronze ones we have.  This might be an option but in a different pattern/design.  The height is perfect (at 18 inches)

Restoration Hardware zinc planters.  Love the look but not sure the color would work

Restoration Hardware Sheet Metal Planters but in a bronze color.  Similar to what we have now but would have to find alternative planting methods to avoid too much water rusting the bottom

Smith & Hawken planter from Target. This is one of my top choices but hate that it's two inches shorter than what we have now.

Still looking for more options and suggestions are welcomed!

xo,