Happy Wednesday friends! I can’t wait to share with you a project that my younger sister and I took on yesterday. I’m calling it a “screened-in porch makeover”. Come check it out!
My younger sister, Stephanie and her husband Tim, moved to their dream home a few months ago. They had searched high and low for a beautiful, mature property that had its own water source, pond and lots of acreage for farming and gardening. And they finally found it! Ever since they moved in, they have been slowly renovating the entire house, room by room. They lived in the basement for several months while they tore out the old kitchen, and made several small rooms into larger rooms for their office, master suite and bathroom. Now they are living upstairs but still have a long way to go. Meanwhile, their front screened in porch, understandably had become a catch all.
Stephanie had turned one end of the porch into a place where she could grow her veggies and herbs from seeds, so she had racks of tiny seedlings with grow lights hanging over them. They had bags of items to donate to Good will and extra furniture that landed on the porch with no place to go. Steph decided she wanted to relocate her plants to a cute little green house downstairs and reclaim her front porch. So she called in a favor, and I was very happy to oblige!
Steph and Tim’s front porch is huge and amazing! It’s so light and bright and overlooks their beautiful front gardens. The lights and fans are original to the house and they want to keep as much of the vintage charm as possible. Eventually they plan to paint the entire porch but for now cleaning and a little TLC is all that’s needed.
This little cubby on the porch was filled with cleaning supplies and wood for their wood burning stove, and miscellaneous furniture. Again, things just needed to be organized and relocated in order for the porch to function as they wanted.
So, first of all, Steph and I loaded up her truck with all of the bags and things to donate. Then we started carrying down all of the seedlings, grow lights and garden accessories down to her green house. Once this side of the porch was cleared out, we swept, mopped and wiped down all of the window ledges.
We brought up a small table and four matching chairs from the basement to use for al fresco dinners and for family game nights. The adorable little light that belonged to Tim’s parents swags over the table for added light. We hung a picture our niece made for them on the wall in between the windows.
Tim and Stephanie inherited this beautiful rattan furniture from Tim’s late parents. The furniture sat on their screened in porch for as long as Tim can remember, so they were pleased to be able to bring it home to live on their new porch. This area got a good cleaning as well. We hung two pretty botanical prints on top of each other to the right of the kitchen window. A faux green wreath that Stephanie made brings a touch of color and texture on the adjacent wall. (See their sweet kitty Dewey eating his dinner?)
We turned this forgotten little corner into a sweet little desk area for Stephanie. The vintage desk, chair and lamp were also inherited from Tim’s family home. Such special treasured pieces! Now Steph has a nice area where she can do emails or work on her garden plans, while gazing out the windows.
Beside the front door we placed this vintage cabinet for storage. The antique cauldron belonged to our great grandparents. Steph and I added some wood so that it’s right by the front door for easy reach on those chilly mountain nights. Their wood burning stove is still hard at work, even this time of year! A pair of gloves and a small hand ax are handy too. Such a welcoming and functional entry way!
And a few more before and after pictures….
Without spending a dime, Stephanie and I transformed her screened in porch from a hot mess (her words) into a usable and functional space for their family! Now her seedlings are safely downstairs in the little green house and the porch is filled with nostalgic family pieces. And just in time for Spring! Sweet tea anyone?
Thanks for stopping by! Please leave a comment and let me know what you think of mine & Stephanie’s hard work!
I hope you have a lovely day! Much love, Dell
