At some point our front porch makeover will include french doors, but I do not think that will happen this year. It’s not just the money. It’s also going to be a bit more of a challenge than it usually would be. Our current front door is in an awkward corner in the play room. So we are thinking of putting the french doors in the dining room where a window is. There is a base board heater there also that needs to be moved. That’s a headache we are not yet ready to take on. At the moment there are bigger fish to fry.
Anyway, all that to say I don’t want the lack of beautiful french doors to keep me and my family from enjoying this outdoor space. We have maintained the space as far as staining the deck and everything, but it’s been kind of an eye sore. We’ve just been placing whatever out here and forgetting about it. We can obviously see this space from the dining room so it’s been a stressor. I just want to be able to sit out here and put my feet up or paint with my kiddos and enjoy the beauty of this space.
As you can see from the picture below, it has definitely become an enjoyable extension of our home. I’ve always wanted the patriotic bunting. It’s just so classic and romantic. I wanted to build on the patriotic vibe, but I did not want to go cheesy and over the top. I tried to stay classic, and stick to the old farmhouse vibe since our house is an old farmhouse at it’s core.
Porch Makeover Step 1: Clean
The first thing I did was take everything off the porch and give it a good clean. I did the glamorous tasks like take down the cobwebs on the ceilings and wipe down the walls. I swept the deck, and then swept it again after planting my flowers in their hanging pots and getting dirt e v e r y w h e r e.
Once the porch itself was cleaner than it had probably been since the day we took this place off the market I started cleaning everything that was coming back into the space. I cleaned off the table and chairs and daybed, and even went the extra mile and sprayed and cleaned the outside of the grill which had probably never been done. I also made sure things that were not going back onto the porch were put away.
While cleaning I was also taking inventory of what we already had that I wanted to reuse. While also making a mental list of things I needed to shop our house for or shop shop for. It was a productive cleaning session.
Porch Makeover Step 2: Plan
The main things we used the porch pre-makeover was grilling and my oldest child loved to paint out at the table. So I knew we still needed a grilling station and an area to paint. What I wanted from the porch that we didn’t have before was a cozy place to curl up with a book or drink some coffee in the morning.
The layout didn’t change much from what we had before. I had already been kind of rearranging things before this project came to be. So as you can see in the plan there’s 3 areas: the grilling/deydrating station, the eating/painting area and the comfy lets hang area. I moved the smoker over by the grill which is nice because they can both be covered with the same cover. Also it’s nice we don’t have to look at the back of the dehydrator when sitting in the dining room, and when we come out that awkwardly located door we don’t walk right into the dehydrator anymore. What a concept.
Of course this might change somewhat when we add the french doors. I’m thinking we might just add a little cabinet where the current door is. It would be nice to store wood chips and grilling supplies. It’s not absolutely necessary though, overall from the last few weeks of enjoying the space the layout works really well.
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Porch Makeover Step 3: Shop
Like I said before I knew that I wanted to have the patriotic bunting for this front porch makeover. So I knew it was just a matter of figuring out how to walk that fine line of a patriotic color scheme, but not over the top Americana. To each their own that’s just not the vibe I was going for. I did want to have a little more fun with this space. I think you have an opportunity to go more out of your comfort zone with colors and such in outdoor spaces.
Once I ordered the bunting I knew I needed to figure out the daybed cushions. The daybed is actually an old crib I got from an antique store. I actually used it some with our first born as a napping spot on our main floor when he was a baby baby. It’s a weird size that has been hard to work with. I first bought these gray cushions from target that were very standard and neutral. They just lacked any sort of character and seemed so blah. I returned those, and saw someone I follow (sheholdsdearly.com) talking about french mattress cushions.
I’d never heard of a french mattress, and once I saw it I could not get it out of my head. I went to Etsy and they are pretty pricey. Especially for the custom size. In the end I found some from walmart of all places that were good enough for now (Here’s this cushion that’s similar). Maybe someday I will splurge on a custom sized cushion. Or maybe I will feel confident in making one myself someday. I just wasn’t sure if I bought all the materials that I could pull it off. I love the deep blue of these cushions and the texture that they add.
With some birthday money I bought some throw pillows on clearance at Target. They have polka dots on one side and stripes on the other so they seemed pretty perfect and fun. (Here’s some decorative pillows I found that are pretty cute too since I don’t believe those other ones are sold anymore) The American Flag pillow had actually been given to me. The large pillow in the back I made out of an old tablecloth. It has these cross stitched flowers and stripes on it that are red, white and blue. It gives the whole thing more of a boho vibe which I love.
Porch Makeover Step 4: Decorate
When it came down to decorating the first thing I did was hang the bunting on the railing. I originally pictured hanging the bunting from the inside of the beams up top. I couldn’t hang it the way that I wanted to because of the blinds that we have on the front beam. These blinds really come in handy first thing in the morning because they are on the east side. So it wasn’t worth removing them. I thought about hanging the bunting from underneath the beams with hooks, but I didn’t want to be able to see the grommets from the road and was afraid they would blow off.
With all that said I really like how the bunting turned out on the railing. I’m a little sad that no one can really see it from the street. Lets be real though it probably matters the most to me anyway and I have been enjoying it just the way it is.
Once all that was done I did some rearranging and hanging of bird feeders and the wind chime that was my Grandma’s. I will take a second to say that I think it’s important to honor special things like that in our homes, in a place where we can enjoy them to the utmost and remember those we love.
Speaking of love, I love the flowers in the metal buckets hung on a pulley and rope. The pulley and rope came from our barn, and i’ve had the buckets for awhile. I’ve been wanting to do something like that for awhile and outside on this porch was the perfect spot.
I painted the rocking chair black to make more of a statement. The stain and clear finish on it was failing since it was not intended for outdoor use originally. I do love having the rocking chair, it’s just such a classic and dreamy porch must have. Of course usually I’m lounging on the daybed, but every once in awhile you can find me rocking with one of my babies. I also threw a fresh coat of paint on our gate/old door.
I ended up cutting the metal mesh off the bottom of the daybed. It wasn’t strong enough to hold anyone other than a baby. My husband was nice enough to help cut a sheet of plywood down to size, to put in place of the metal mesh. Once that essential step was done I was able to play with the cushions and the pillows I had acquired and made. I love all the blue together, and the pop of the American flag pillow is just enough to tie in the patriotic vibe we’ve got going on.
Once I had done all of these things I knew it was pretty close to being finished. The blank wall behind the daybed started to beg me for some embellishment. That was the final piece of the puzzle. I took a few days to let ideas roll around in the back of my head.
I was out in the barn at one point and started eyeing the pile of old windows we have in there. There were just a few with broken glass and I thought it would be fun to do something with them. We happened to have some chicken wire on hand and the rest is history.
I hung those 3 window frames from metal wire and hooks because I didn’t want to put holes in the siding if I could help it. These old windows are so versatile, which I love. I can decorate them for any time of year or just leave them plain. I had made this little ribbon garland a bit ago to decorate inside our home. It’s so fun watching it blow in the breeze now that it’s out on the porch. Those window frames and garland were the piece de la resistance (in my humble opinion).
I am so happy with this little front porch makeover. I hope you got some ideas or were inspired to refresh one of your own spaces. If you would like to see more before and after’s you can find those here. If you would like to see some projects I have worked on click here. Thank your for visiting our old farmhouse, I hope you stop by again soon.