Reclaimed Wood Porch Lattice and Planter Box

Last Updated on August 10, 2021

Hey Guys! Corinna here again with a contributor post.

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The last time I was here I shared my Macrame Lamp Shades for my bedroom makeover. I've since finished the room and moved onto working on a new blog (yay! come check it out- A Designer At Home) and my front porch. I remember moving into this house and thinking I'd have everything I wanted done within 5 years. And we've only recently started working on that wish list 3 years later! I find the front porch to be so important because it's the first impression we give to guests and the world, so a porch refresh shot to the top of the list!

I'm on a mission to add cottage charm to our boring brick facade and I need to do it for next to nothing (who doesn't?!). So I've utilized some pretty creative resources, my love for ivy covered cottage charm, and my boring front porch to create a reclaimed wood porch lattice and planter box. It's all built right onto the porch railing which makes things pretty easy!

Material List:

Reclaimed Wood
Wood Screws
Power Drill
Paint
Paint Brush
Measuring Tape
Dirt
Plant
Window Box Planters
Heavy Duty Zip Ties
Shelf Brackets

The Process:

This first thing to do is to measure and cut all the wood, assuming you've already gathered your wood of course. If you haven't sourced wood for the project yet, my suggestion would be to think outside the box a little bit. I tore mine out of our old box spring that was headed to the curb!

Dimensions would vary from porch to porch, but I can tell you how I found mine. Measure from where the top of the lattice can be drilled into the porch to the bottom of where the planter boxes will sit- that's the height for the lattice and your vertical pieces' height. Measure a third vertical piece that's shorter, just to connect the horizontal pieces. Then measure the width of the space it will span and that will be the length for the horizontal pieces (cut as many of these as what looks good for your opening – I chose 4). For the planter box support you'll need 2 pieces that are as long as the window box planters, 2 pieces that are the length of the bottom of the planter to the floor of the porch and 2 that are wide enough to attach to the two pieces that span the length from the bottom of the planter to the floor. And if none of that makes sense, the pictures below show it and I hope that paints a clearer picture!

My pictures are shown in reverse order, as are the instructions, because I made more trouble for myself doing it in the order that I did it instead of doing it in the order I'm showing it. Working bottom up, it just makes sense now!

Set the two vertical pieces cut to the length of the bottom of the planter to the floor of the porch against the porch railing. Make sure they're resting where they'll support the middle of each planter box.

Then carefully screw the back support pieces on the other side of the rail , sandwiching the railing in between the planter support pieces. (I think those ornaments in the dirt down there are from 2 Christmases ago when I thought it'd be fun to put them in the crape myrtle in the front yard… I'll go pick those up now ;) )

Then attach the shelf brackets, leaving room for the wood to sit between the bracket and the planter box. The wood supports the weight across all of the planter instead of just at one point with the bracket. Go ahead and lie those piece of wood onto the brackets.

Assemble the lattice portion by lying the two vertical pieces flat and the horizontal pieces atop it. I chose to make the spacing 11 inch overhang off the vertical pieces and 12 inches inbetween each horizontal piece. Once everything is laid out evenly, use wood screws to attach everything. Not pictured is the addition of the third vertical piece and that gets drilled through the center for extra support and more space for the plant to climb onto.

Drill holes into the window box planters and loop heavy duty zip ties through the holes and onto the porch railing to attach the planters. Because the porch railing isn't as stable as a true window box would be, this will help keep the extra weight of dirt, water, and the lattice from causing stress to the railing.

Then go in and place the lattice into the planter boxes and drill the tops of the vertical pieces into the top of the porch cover. You can start painting the wood at any point in the process. I wasn't sure yet by this point if I'd be painting or staining so I painted after it was hung but it doesn't affect the construction so go ahead and paint when you want.

I really love how it turned out and that I didn't have to spend more than $10 to put the whole thing together. The porch still has a long way to go. We've picked out a gorgeous aqua paint for the concrete landing. I can't wait to go welcome mat and mail box shopping. And those amazing house numbers you see there on the floor (I had them hung vertically, but changed my mind), are Faux Brushed Nickel Finish House Numbers and I think I have an idea for making them even better! I haven't had any trouble with guests finding our house since creating those!

I hope to source more free wood to build a box around the planters. I know that will take this set up from good to great. When I do, I'll be sure to update you all on my blog- please stop by and follow along! Here are two posts you may want to check out below, have a great day and thanks for stopping by!

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