Autumn Porch Decorating | Thrifted Finds & one BIG Reveal!

The veranda has looked like this all summer long and I love it. So I don't want to take everything off and start again for autumn. But we are going to make some changes, including one very big one. And over at the front porch, we're going to do the opposite. We're going to be starting with a blank canvas. Hi, it's Tracy. Welcome to my home here in Sussex, England, where autumn decorating has started. And expect a few surprises along the way. The furry supervisors want us to start with the front porch and we are going to do a makeover on this sideboard. Yes, I do keep a five foot sideboard in the front porch. It hides all the doggy paraphernalia. I have been saying for so long that I was going to give this sideboard a makeover. Well, this summer it finally happened. So after a little bit of the sun, just taking out brushstrokes, smoothing things down, I was thinking of maybe doing a distress finish, but it was rather dark underneath because once upon a time I had painted it black. This time I decided I was going with green. Now, just one quick tip when you're buying paint. Remember to take your reading glasses with you if you wear them, because I thought I'd picked up water-based paint. It wasn't. It was oil-based. And the drying time on oil-based, when you're now used to using really good quality water-based paints, is so long, 16 hours in between coats. But I thought, well, it'll probably give it a really tough finish for the exterior. I had a little bit left in the tin, so I thought I'm going to use it up. I pulled out my umbrella bucket. It's not really a stand, is it? The bottom has rotted away, so I shoved a bucket in there so I can still use it. And now I have this competition with myself. How long can I keep this thing going before it finally disintegrates on me? Finally, the oil-based paint was used up. So once it had dried, I gave the, what do we call it? Umbrella bucket? Umbrella stand? A bit of a distress along with the dresser just because I like that type of finish. And then it was slid back into position, the doormat came back in, and it was time to choose some other pieces. I've got this little oak cupboard. It's one of a pair. The other one's actually in my bathroom at the moment. I found this chair that I got completely for free. I was in my favorite charity shop. Somebody had donated it. The staff said, oh my goodness, it's full of woodworm. We can't possibly sell that. So obviously I took one for the team and I brought it home. Look at that rush seating. Now let's spin forward a few months. And the hydrangeas are now on the turn. I have been just slightly rearranging at the front because I want to bring something else here. I showed you last episode that I'd gone down to my local charity shop. I had found these enormous urns and they had come from a film set. I was just giddy with excitement except one of them was sold. But fortunately, the other three were not. So they came back to live with me. And now we're going to put them into position. These were just £25 each. Absolute bargain. I was originally going to put them further forward, but this hydrangea here and this one here have actually gone right the way down. Their roots have gone through. So I need some very strong men to help me get those into the ground. Now we're starting to get a little bit of a structure here. We're going to do something across the top, but let's get those pieces of furniture in because the rain looks as though it's coming. Oh, and the woodworm, there isn't any. It's all dormant. I did treat it again, but it's definitely not active. I have a rather large collection of So that's the structure. And now we're going to move on to what my husband likes to call the fluffy stuff. So the first bit of fluff that we're going to create is something for the door. We're going to head down to my newly organised storage shed. I did that a couple of episodes back and oh my goodness, it's such a relief to have it done. I actually know where everything is now and I know exactly what I'm looking for. Down here in these boxes, right back in the corner there is a box of leaves. Now some of these I've just picked up, washed, dried, stored. Some I've protected by using clear wax. Now I've found, particularly when I use leaves from this Magnolia grandiflora, that actually it doesn't really make much difference whether I've waxed them or I use them unwaxed. They just seem to keep on going. The wreath base I'm using has got to be coming up 20 years old. It's straw and then I just wrap fabric around it. It's a perfect size for the front door. I've pulled out a few other bits and bobs, different strands of wire. I've got my glue gun. Although when I've done this before, I found that I could just keep the leaves in position with wire. When I started wrapping this, first of all, I snapped the wire because it wasn't strong enough. So I had to switch to a thicker one and then I found the wire wouldn't keep the leaves in position as it had done before. So I ended up using a mixture of glue and wire. It could well have been the fact that the substrate, if you like, was different. It was a different wreath base. I don't know. But you know, with these sorts of things, it's trial and error. And how many leaves did I use? Well, actually, not a lot. I've still got a huge box of leaves. I might add something extra to that later, but the boys are pushing me on. They are saying, come on down to the field. Let's get on with the next creation. We raised the canopy of this oak tree and I left all the branches on the ground because I thought they'd be great for decorating. I've already used some of them in the kitchen courtyard episode. Over here, I've got a pile of branches as well. This was a plum tree that was really coming over in the summer. So rather than taking the whole thing down, it's quite supported there. So we're going to see if it will sprout back up. But all the branches that were cut off, I had piled up over there and I just love the colour that the leaves have turned. Now the boys are saying bracken. We have so much bracken. We might as well decorate with it. This structure is kept in place just in two positions with cable ties. And then when I'm finished, I will hide the cable ties by wrapping around the coir beam string. I'm going to use just three elements in this design. And now we need to choose the third. I have pulled together my stash of autumnal decorations. Those baskets are going to be used in the kitchen, which is going to be coming up next time. Now this is my third element of choice. These are Chinese lanterns, faux Chinese lanterns. And I would say if you are going to buy something for your autumn decorating, your fall decorating, and you can only choose one type, I would pick these. These will be your friend, particularly when you add them to twigs and branches, bracken, natural products. It just gives that vibrant pop without looking over the top and a little bit of plastic. And to secure them, I just use covered wire. Well, that was good timing. It's just started to rain. Oh, we are so short on rain. It hasn't rained properly for two and a half months. And this time I think it is really starting to come down. My goodness, the gardens need it. Now, while it's having a good old pour down, I think I will add some of that wreath. I've got some off cuts of orange ribbon just knotted together and then a floristry pin. I've just popped it in the back and it just gives a little bit of colour. It's the next morning. The sun is out, the rain has gone, the sky is blue and it's time to add some more fluffy stuff. Just an update on this dresser. The top is scratching like crazy, so I would definitely not recommend that paint, although I do love the colour. Now, what to put on it? I have been bidding online again. Oh, I know I'm so naughty, but look what I got. These stoneware flagons, six of them. So these are 19th century and Edwardian two-tone salt glazed stoneware flagons. And the £35 localised pieces like this are an absolute steal. I could sell them on and make a very healthy profit, despite some of them being damaged. But, you know, these are the tools of my trade. I need them for styling, for decorating. So they're going to be living with me for a little bit longer. This is our doorbell. It's a captain's bell that I picked up at home since and then covered it in rubber. This is a terracotta bowl I found in the kitchen. I think it's going to make an excellent tray to sit this very heavy pot in with my hydrangea. And it can just change with the season sat in here. That is a rogue little invader plant, but I love it, so it's staying. Time to do something with these urns. Now, what to plant in them? I was thinking, well, maybe I'll plant on one of my hydrangeas because lordy knows I've got enough of them that need to be potted on. I grow all of these from cuttings each year and I just have a lot now. I can't get any into the ground because the ground is too hard. I was thinking of maybe a fern, lovely bright green pops, but within a few weeks it's going to look like this and it will look like that all winter long, which is not very nice. Over by the guest cottage, we have a burn pit area and I think we might have found what we're going to plant. These two are in desperate need of bigger containers. Oh my goodness, look at the root system on that and one bucket has definitely kicked the bucket. The other one I think I will be able to use again. The compost I'm using is a general multi-purpose. It's a miracle grow and it will give them some lovely food for the next few months. What I'm hoping is that these will grow much bigger and then I will clip them into a shade so I'm not going to start faffing about with them now. I'm going to give them time to settle, but bears saying that's a bit pants. You need something else and here we go. We have some more faux. Now I've got to be completely honest with you and I wasn't over impressed with these when they first arrived, but let's see if we can make them work or as I like to say, let's see if we can polish the turf. I did get three urns so we've got another one that we have to find a home for. In this corner of the garden, I have this metal gazebo with a rather undersized stone pot there. So that has been spirited away. Boys, will you please take your furry supervisor duty seriously? This time I am going to plant a hydrangea. Oh, and it looks like there is wanting to plant something as well. Bless him. This pot is actually in a really great visual position because as you start to move back from its location, you can see it from the veranda, you can see it from the snug, you can even see it when you're laid on the sofa in the snug. Now, talking of veranda, I think it is time we moved on to the big one. As I said at the beginning of the episode, I'm not going to strip all this off and start again. I love the way the baskets work there. The rugs are one of my top purchases this year. They have been superb and they still look as good now as when I first put them down. The trees I potted up have grown so well. They've loved it out here, but that zingy green is not really going to work for autumn. Then there is the hydrangea tree that I created last spring in a faux stone pot. Before I show you how I'm going to dress this for autumn, let's have a little throwback and see how it all started. As you can see, this is a very old one. It's seen better days. At one stage, I did actually wipe some exterior paint around it just to lighten it. Now I'm really going to key the surface and give it a good wash down, and then I'm going to cover it in surface primer. So if you key the surface and then you put the primer on, you don't have to be careful with this. You can have runs in it, doesn't matter because nobody's going to see it. It just makes the product that I'm going to put on stick more. I'm using up old grout that I used on the kitchen floor. Now this is a coffee color, so that might be interesting, but the most important thing is that it is designed for exterior. As long as you are using exterior products in this process, you won't go far wrong. The building sand is really there just to add a little bit of texture and to give more of a sandstone color. There are no ratios here. I literally am making it up as I go along. I've probably put a little bit too much water in there, particularly as it's a very cold day. If it was a hot day, this is the kind of consistency that you would want. Now when I'm applying it here, I'm not looking for perfection here. I'm not bothered about any marks because I'm going to sort all that out later. As it starts to dry, that's when I go in and start to pat and smooth things down. Always keep a bucket of water to rinse your gloves off because you'll find if you get too much mix on your gloves, it will start to lift it off the pot. I always start upside down and then I flip over to finish off the top area. I am going to take it inside slightly to where naturally the soil line would be. It is a cold day, as I said, so I'm using a heat gun just to aid that drying. And as you see, as it's drying, you will see dark patches, lighter patches. It does lighten up as it dries. As natural stone has lots of different shades and colors in, I'm going to add some more. So this is masonry paint. I'm going to add a little bit more of the sand and also just an old pot. I mean, you can see how old this is of a little bit of gray. You don't need a lot for this stage, so I'm just mixing it on the back of a lid and I will just use the little scraper to really just gently move that product around all of the raised areas and then rub it in with a cloth. Looking to accentuate the texture here, I'm dabbing on a little bit more of the paint just to lift that a little bit more and just give a variation in color. Now we can do a little bit more. So I've got some very old black paint, a little bit of water, good stir, nail brush and flick, flick, flick. We're going to cover it in speckles to represent the natural porous holes that you see in stone. Now we're at the end of the day, so I'm going to sit the baby on top of the range overnight to let it dry and then we'll bring it out onto the veranda. I've got a pipe. I'm going to put a pipe in it. Now it's just a little bit too long for what I want to do, so I'm marking off the desired length and then taking a saw, and I did struggle to get through this, so I did lots of one strokes pulling backwards and that did the trick. Now there are drainage holes in. I do not want things seeping out, so I'm popping some plastic in. It also protects the inside of the pot, which means whatever it is I'm going to do, I can take out again and I'm going to add Postcrete. Now this one is really, really old. I mean I'm talking years old. I've also got some slightly newer one. These set within 5-10 minutes, so really super fast setting. I don't think I need all three bags, but we'll see how we go. Now I'm holding the pipe and I've got my son tipping the mix in, measuring to make sure that that pipe is exactly in the middle and then again holding it in position as the water goes in and you just let it bubble through. I left that to set completely firm overnight and then it was time to pull out the, I'm going to call it faux tree. We didn't use the C word because it was for spring, summer and now it's going to be for autumn, but we dressed it for spring, summer in hydrangeas. These were amazing faux flowers that I picked up from Home Sense TK Maxx and there were seven heads on each stem and each stem was just £9.99. So I was absolutely over the moon with that, but now the season is changing, so it is time to dismantle these boxes. You may remember them from last year and it was the boxes that the hot binds came in that I used in the autumn decorating the fresh binds. Look, they're still not taking their work seriously. Oh boys, now Bess just realised the tree. What happened to the hydrangea tree? They are all boxed up and as the weather looks as though it is about to change again, the boxes are safely tucked away in the storage shed and you will see them again next year. Another thrift find for you, when I was down at my charity shop and I found those pots, I also found these sunflowers, big proper commercial grade sunflowers. They were used on the film set. I was so excited, I think a little bit of wee actually came out. Once I got the wire cutters on them, tidied them all up, I popped them in a big pot and they have lived in the snug until we were ready to use them and yes, we are going to create an autumnal sunflower tree. You didn't think I was just going to leave it with sunflowers, did you? I was thinking about adding these maple leaves, beautiful and I've got quite a few but it looks a bit cartoonish, that red and against the yellow, so I think we can do better than that. A trip back down to the field and we're going to get going with our twigs and our bracken. Again, just using three elements. There you go, ta-da. What do you think? Totally bonkers or are you going to give it a go on a smaller or even a bigger scale? Time for the clear up. Yes, there's always the mess to clear up afterwards but we'll get that done and then we can do some more fluffy stuff and it's a new day and a new outfit and we're going to start decorating again. Now I'm bringing on three crates. I love crates, I find them so versatile but then they suit my style of decorating which is quite rustic. I'm using some bin liners in the bottom and then I'm adding the trays from those bright green pots because I don't want, when I water the trees, for the water to run over the veranda. And why am I putting them in the crates? Well, it's because I want to keep them on the veranda and I don't have any other pots the right size to move them into that would suit the aesthetic. So therefore the crates just offer a really cheap, easy alternative. We're going to decorate this area next. I love the basket, I love the yuccas so they are staying and I'm introducing mother-in-law's window. I've got two of these. She had her windows changed in her early 90s. I honestly don't know why but I thought yes, I'll have those old windows. Thank you very much and of course I love my stoneware so that has come out along with a few faux flowers that I've had a few years now and of course when you're decorating with the faux make sure you always bend them and twist them different ways. They look so much more realistic like that. This basket is not just for decorative purposes. I'm actually using it for some storage. In here I have my collection of faux hydrangea heads. The orangey colour I use for autumn and then I have this lovely wine colour that I use through my Christmas decorations. Now the plants have gone from the table. Last spring I used a throw as a tablecloth and I know lots of you love that. It worked so well. It was such a beautiful colour so I have managed to find exactly the same throw in a gorgeous mustard colour and it is such a big size 200 by 220. I fold it long ways and it just fits the table perfectly. I'm loving it. What a gorgeous pop of autumn and of course to compliment that it's more stoneware and if you love a bit of table decorating do remember to join me on the next episode because we will be in the kitchen and we will be going big as always. I like having the palm on the veranda pretty much all year around. Now I want to keep it there but that basket is way too spring summer so the simplest solution is just switch it out for a more seasonally appropriate container. This was from HomeSense. It was originally a really bright green. I covered it in about three different colours of rub and buff. I let some of that green show through so it's like a third degree effect and I use it time and time again. At the bottom of the basket is a tub that is filled with not chocolate but gravel off the drive just helps to weight it down and here I had a placemat that was white. I flick it over and it is a more seasonally appropriate colour. I just need to reconstruct everything and finish it off with a touch of hessian bish bash bosh. There you go autumn and if you want to know more about the makeover that I did on this little table do go back and watch that spring episode. All the details are in there. As you can see I have another palm constructed exactly the same way so I'm going to deconstruct it and reconstruct it in exactly the same way. Let's move on to fabrics because that is the quickest way to bring in a new season. Some I'm going to keep some I'm going to take away and I need to move fast before the furry supervisors realise what I'm doing. Yes I've got another one. Well it helps tie the scheme. They were just £14.99 each. 100% cotton so I can't dye them again if I change my mind. Now these cushions belong to my son. I'm having to store all his things. We call this visible storage. Thank you Giles. I'm going to keep out the cushions I used through the summer. I made these out of curtains. Absolutely wonderful fabric and this is a throw that I've had for so many years. The two green throws here I did buy for the spring summer decorating and they work perfectly well so they're going to stay out and the cushions I'm bringing out used to be a very dark green but they got bleached in the sun and now they look more of a straw colour. I'm going to repeat down at this end because I do like to repeat fabrics and textures and colours. I really think it does help draw everything together. Let's refresh the coffee table. Now this is supermarket basil, just two little pots. Popped it into the much bigger container and it is looking very healthy out here so that is going to sit on my little coffee side table. That pot is going to go back into the and look at this candle. It has never been lit. We have had such a hot dry summer that the wax just melts and then it sets and then it melts again. I'm going to do the same with the placemats that I painted and white waxed. Flick them over and then you've got a straw coloured base which looks again very autumnal. I love these stems. I could only get four of them. If I could have got more I would have done and this was a few years ago from HomeSense. So with just a few little switches, changes, couple of maybe new purchases, looking around your home, seeing what you can reuse, what you can place in a different area, you can really create a sense of the next season. But the true test of any decorating in this house is really what the furry supervisors think about it. It's time to release the hounds.