Front Porch Musings

I love love love my front porch, but when I first bought this house it wasn't much to look at.

This house was vacant when I bought it and the only thing on the porch was a giant trash can. After buying the house I moved that to the side of the house out of sight and in it's place I put a beautiful snow shovel which remained there for six months. The house definitely lacked curb appeal well after I bought it. But then, I got it painted and everything changed!

My favorite feature is the original (I'm assuming) porch ceiling. So pretty! After getting the house painted I finally bothered to add two craigslisted chairs and an old table and a bunch of empty planters. 

It is finally starting to look slightly lived in but it's not quite there yet. I've found out that most people that read this blog and haven't been to my house think that this porch is either screened or glassed in well let me blow your minds... it is just empty framing. I know, super cool right? The first time I visited this house I did the cautious arm through the frame thing to see if it was filled in or not. I think I even said out loud, this porch would be so easy to screen in because it is already framed out. Yes, super wise Jasmin-of-the-Past it would be super easy to screen in except you aren't qualified to do that and paying someone to do it is money you don't have. So it has sat, as is, for the last 18 months. Unframed, yet still dearly loved. Seriously, this porch is great because it's just big enough and it is somehow always shady.

But I've got grand plans for this porch. Okay maybe not 'grand' but definitely an upgrade from how it is now. 

Step 1: Screen in the porch and add a door

I'd like to finish this step by the end of the summer. I don't think it will be super expensive and it will be really nice to sit out there and not get bitten by bugs. Although, having a door on the porch will be a sort of an annoying adjustment, but I'll get over it.

Step 2: Get better furniture

The two chairs are great and for only $10 for the pair they were totally worth the money but I'd like to upgrade to something more comfortable. I've toyed with the idea of putting a twin daybed out there because it would be nice to sit and nap on, but I'm a little worried about it all getting too wet. I've been doing a case study on how wet the porch gets during storms and unfortunately my data is inconclusive. Some storms the porch is bone dry and then one day it will be misty and the whole porch floor will be soaking wet so I'm not sure what to make of that. If I don't do a day bed I've thought of getting something mega comfortable like this: 

via Pinterest

This one is no longer in stock and is a billion dollars anyway but I like the idea of it, though maybe in a more fun color. 

via Pinterest

I could also go the DIY route, but that takes planning and tools so that's probably not going to happen. 

Step 3: Repaint the floor or get an indoor/outdoor rug

When I had the house painted I also got the porch floor repainted because it was hunter green which was super random considering the rest of the house was two shades of blue. But over the past year the floor has really gotten torn up. 

I could probably call my painter back and have him repaint it but he was super creepy so I'm just going to deal with it on my own. So in my mind I have two options, repaint it myself or get an indoor/outdoor rug. I'm strongly leaning toward the latter considering I've done more painting in my lifetime than any sane human. 

Step 4: Stylize

I'm thinking art, plants, pillows, lanterns, string lights, basically the works. 

When all that is going to happen is TBD but now you know, I got plans yo!