Laravel 5 change public_path()

You can override the public path using ioc container :

What worked for me flawlessly was adding to public/index.php the following three lines:

 $app->bind('path.public', function() {
    return __DIR__;
});

For more detailed explanation click here

While accepted answer works for requests coming from HTTP, it will not work for artisan.

If you need artisan to know your custom public path, you need to extend Laravel main Application class. I know it sounds scary, but it's actually very simple.

All you need to do is following:
Step 1: In the file: bootstrap/app.php change the very first declaration of $app variable

$app = new Illuminate\Foundation\Application(
    realpath(__DIR__.'/../')
);

to reflect your own custom Application class:

$app = new App\Application(
    realpath(__DIR__.'/../')
);

Step 2: Define your custom Application class somewhere. For example in app/Application.php

<?php namespace App;

class Application extends \Illuminate\Foundation\Application
{
}

Congrats! You have extended Laravel core Application class.

Step 3: Overwrite the publicPath method. Copy and paste Laravel original method to your new class and change it to your needs. In my particular case I did like this:

public function publicPath()
{
    return $this->basePath.DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR.'..'.DIRECTORY_SEPARATOR.'public_html';
}

That's it! You can overwrite any method in Application class the same way.