I am fortunate that I have a beautiful deck overlooking an inlet of the San Francisco Bay, but unfortunately for my deck, the last 5 months of rainy storms have completely ravaged it’s beauty. For the last month I’ve had the goal of updating and redecorating my deck in order to distract anyone who sees it from seeing the storm damage. The final step of my sleight of decorating hand is plants. More, and more, plants.
The secret to giving any part of your home a new life is well, life, so creating a mini garden outside on my deck is part of the recipe. I’ve partnered with Farrow & Ball to showcase how to DIY your own outdoor garden, or how to bring a little life to an old planter or corner of your house with something as simple as paint.
For those of you who have followed my blog for a while, you know I love Farrow & Ball paints. I used the light grey Purbeck Stone to paint (by myself!) my living room, so you know I know a thing or do about their quality. The paint has a higher pigment than most mass-branded paint companies, so although that means more expensive by the gallon, it means more cost and time efficiency down the line when painting. Trust me, I only had to do one coat of paint on my salmon pink walls!
The other thing I love about Farrow & Ball is their extremely edited assortment of colors. Just 132 colors at a time, that’s it. They may retire a few and bring out some fresh ones every year, but they are all in constant rotation and even the ‘new’ ones are most likely just new to you, but not to their line. Each eco-friendly, low oder paint color tells a story, whether it’s inspired by the beauty of nature, the founder’s Dorset home, historic houses or notable people and places.
For 2017, they are bringing to life 4 colors, All White, Hay, Radicchio and Studio Green. I particularly loved the contrast of All White and Studio Green, so I decided to use that combination on the crate and pots for my mini garden.
What you need
1. Crate and pots – choose varying sizes and shapes to give your mini garden a mixed vibe
2. Blue masking tape
3. Varying sizes of Paint brushes. I used a 3″ and a foam brush to create my pattern
4. Plants and extra potting soil if necessary
5. Farrow & Ball paints of course!
How to Create a Mini Garden
Step 1: Brainstorm your painting idea and get creative with color blocking and simple patterns.
Step 2: Paint your base color with the larger paint brush, making sure to get inside of slats and inside the lip of the pots. I chose All White for high contrast. Let dry.
Step 3: Use the blue tape to tape off the color blocking or lines that you want to protect from the second paint color. I chose Studio Green because I love the way it looks with greenery. It’s such a sophisticated green! Let Dry.
Step 4: Remove your plants from the plastic containers and place them into your pots. Fill the remaining area with extra potting soil and water right away to get soil to condense into pot. I chose 2 voluminous drought resistant plants as they will not require too much water but still have a big, leafy presence!
That’s it! It was such an easy DIY and really makes a huge impact to my deck. Want to see more of my tiny house? Check out these renovations below:
Office/ Craft room/ Guest Room
Pink Cherry Blossom Powder Room
