When we found out that a friend used to work with floral design, we were thrilled to have a green thumb to complement our black one. The first joint project? Replacing the traditional concrete urn planters in front of our house with something a little less fussy and a little more modern.

We purchased some great planters at IKEA, but their ridiculous "no drainage holes" construction made us take them right back. Instead, we wound up with some simple lightweight versions from Target (similar to these, but just $29) that fit perfectly with the small scale of our house. Next, a trip to Portland Nursery resulted in a lime green and purple combo of blackie sweet potato vine, euphorbia (martini), coleus ( Florida sun jade), asparagus fern and red cordyline. Now that we’re done with the planters, the next step is changing out our generic front door with a vintage option from the ReBuilding Center. Stay tuned!