Front porch makeover {Sprucing up the outdoors for Spring}

So excited to show you my newly re-decorated front porch today!

But first let’s revisit the before.  Here was my front porch at the beginning of the spring.

You will remember that I painted the rails white again

and I re-stained the deck back in April.  You can see more in this post.

I also refreshed my door mat a few weeks ago.  I have had this door mat for 5-6 years (bought from Kohl’s) and I really liked it cause you could change out the center portion.  Well, Kohl’s doesn’t carry those center pieces anymore but I have a few of them that are still in good condition so I can still use it.

But the black rubber part had gotten rather faded.

So of course, I grabbed my trusty can of SPRAY PAINT!   (Seriously, spray paint is like magic in a can… I don’t think I have found anything that CAN’T be fixed, refreshed, or transformed with a little paint!  I even used spray paint on some bridal shower decorations this weekend and they were amazing– but that is for a future post!)

A quick spray with some black gloss spray paint and my welcome mat is as good as new!

Now back to the front porch.  So this is what it looked like after some new paint and stain, after refreshing the door mat with some spray paint, and after adding my color-filled flower pots (which are pots I us e every year but I refill with flowers in the spring.)

Definitely not bad and much better than before.

Here’s the view from the driveway.

But I really wanted to give it a little makeover this spring.  I had some yard sale profit burning a hole in my pocket and a plan…

I would love to have a front porch like this (from Southern Living) with room for a sitting area on the side.

Or like this (loving that yellow door!) from here

Or this Craftsman style house with a big front porch (I ADORE Craftsman style houses  – that is my dream house style.)

But remember… I am learning to love where I live!  So time for me to make the best of the front porch I have.  I really wanted some seating out here for a few reasons.  I thought it would help create that welcoming, Southern feel I was wanting PLUS I am spending much more time out there watching these little ones play in the driveway.

One downfall of my front porch is the door is all the way at the end.  If it would have been at the beginning of the porch, I could have arranged a seating area maybe even put up a swing at the end.  But that isn’t possible with the door all the way at the end.

So I started looking for benches – specifically narrow benches.  I found the best deal at Home Depot but it was only available online (with FREE shipping!), so I ordered one and waited.

Then I had fun putting it together (it was a little damaged so I had to wait for a replacement part.  I have big plans for the damaged part – super excited about that!).  Then it was time to “decorate” my front porch!

Here is the AFTER!

Of course you saw my $3 spring green wreath in this post.  The metal decorative wall hanging was something I had ordered from ABC distributing when I was still working and hadn’t found a place for it yet.

The little plant stand was something I have had for a while.  The plant was 50% clearance at Wal-mart last week – $1.61.  And I made the pillows!!  First time making simple envelope pillow covers and I was amazed at how EASY they were to do!  Full tutorial coming soon.

And beware new pillows are going to be popping up all over my house!   The fabric was some 1 yard scraps I got at my favorite fabric store – Ohco.  Each piece of fabric for the pillows probably cost $1.50-2.00 (they weigh by the pound so I don’t know exactly but it was cheap) and I already had the pillow forms.  I added some little fabric rosettes (first time making those too and I need to work on my technique) on the striped pillow with some scraps from the flowered pillow.

The little glass table was actually in my yard sale pile (my mom had found 2  of them on the side of the road a few years ago) but when I was working on the porch I realized I could use it.  The little bird statue cage thing was a yard sale find from last year.  I have some ivy in it that I hope will grow larger and fill it up.

I am enjoying my front porch!    No, it isn’t my dream HUGE front porch on a craftsman style house, but it is pretty and functional and is on the house God has given us for now.

Here’s a few more pictures…

And let’s compare:

Before…

After…

Oh, and I had a hard time deciding between using this metal star that I had (and spray painted burgundy) or the metal decorative piece on the end wall.  I asked my husband and he said “They both look fine and it doesn’t matter cause you will change them next week!”  LOL!   Which one do you like better?

One more outdoor project crossed off my list!  I still need to reveal our deck and finish my mailbox garden then my outdoor projects are done for a while and we will end our series!

What outdoor projects have you been working on?  Do you dream of big front porch too?

{cj}

Sometimes I link up to these wonderful parties:

Sarahndipities, Skip to my Lou, Today’s Creative Blog, How to Nest for Less, Home Stories A to Z, Apron Thrift Girl, Tools are for women too, Not just a Housewife, A bowl full of lemons, Uncommon Designs Online, Someday Crafts, No Minimalist Here,Somewhat Simple, 36th Avenue, Sew Much Ado, The Style Sisters, The Thrifty Home, Domestically Speaking, House of Hepworths, The Shabby Creek Cottage, Weekend Blogging party at Serenity Now, Home Happy Home, Tatertots and Jello, Funky Junk Interiors, The Girl Creative, Miss Mustard Seed, Chic on a Shoestring Decorating, Remodelaholic, The Lettered Cottage, Before and after party at Thrifty Decor Chick, Pinterest Challenge at Young House Love