Focusing just on the porch today…

Before:

Our door was standard brown and the door handle blended right in. It also had a brass dead bolt. There was really nothing special about the entire front porch. I have always wanted a porch to hang out on while watching the kids play. I wanted it to be welcoming and pretty.

After:

 

While there is still more to do (a new chair or two, maybe some flower baskets on the rail or hanging, PAINT the rail!, decorate that blank corner somehow, etc, etc), we’re pretty much done for now. We actually finished it last fall but I just got around to doing this.

House numbers: We put new ones on from Hobby Lobby for $2 a piece. Now people driving by can actually see them instead of them being hidden behind the column.

Doorbell: Our old one was the standard $2 plastic rectangle that had shattered and was an electrifying liability. I thought all the doorbells at Home Depot and Lowe’s were super blah so I bought this beauty on Amazon for about the same price as the one’s at the store. $15. Such an upgrade and it’s one of my favorite things. It’s slightly annoying to see the screws but oh, well.

 

 

Knocker: We decided to go with a classic look and install a knocker and kick plate. The knocker is cheap. Honestly, too cheap. It wiggles and feels lightweight but at least it looks nice. I didn’t like drilling through the door and the screws show on the inside. Definitely not ideal.

 

Kick Plate: I love the look of the kick plate but I almost didn’t go for it because it was $30 for this plain, thin piece of metal. I have no idea why it cost so much. In the end I’m glad we installed it. It just completes the look. All the kids in the neighborhood use this, literally, as a kick plate. I always have to tell them, “Stop kicking the kick plate!” Haha.

 

Here’s the hanging lantern. After looking at outrageous lighting prices online I was going to give up but then I happen to find this at DI for $7. It was brass, of course, and we painted it black. After hanging outside for 2 seasons it needs a cleaning and touch-up. It looks great at night all lit up. We are a corner house and the street is very dark at night as there are hardly any street lights. When our porch light is on it just lights up the whole corner. It’s so welcoming and I love it. It was a pain to install! It took Rob 4 reinstalls in 4 hours over two nights just to hang this thing.

I got two Yew trees and put them in plastic pots that I already had and painted black. I wanted evergreens so that they look nice and welcoming even through our long winters. They survived! I’m hoping they grown enough to need a repot next year.

 

Pillow fabric leftover from another project.

 

Just over a year ago we had to get our concrete redone. It looked great until a couple of months ago. Now it’s even worse than before they “fixed” it. The whole top of our porch is coming off. It’s a problem we’re going to have to address soon.

 

The blue door was a bit stressful. It was supposed to be slate blue and it turned out a little less slate and a little more blue than I was counting on. After Rob spent $35 and 4 hours to paint the dang thing so I wasn’t going to change it. I have since grown to really like the color (it has a luminescent sheen) and we receive compliments all the time.

 

Finding this outtake made me smile!

Like I said, there’s always a ton more to do but I can’t wait forever to document. Having a house and a yard is fun but SO much work! I really do want to give lots of props to Rob for his hard work in making my visions come to pass.

Total Cost: About $100 including the yet-to-be-used black paint for the rail.