Decorating a Country Cottage Summer Porch

Hi All,

Since Labor Day is upon us I figured there was no time like the present to share some photos of my Summer Porch before it is no longer Summer! I have had these pics for quite awhile but have been too busy to show them off. This is a “Before” picture of what my front porch looked like…

 

Spring Porch

This makeover began as a simple, much needed project that was created out of necessity. My daughter’s Christmas puppy “Jingles” from last year has become a bit of a Houdini around here. If someone opens the front door the little stinker will run out and take off. There is no catching her either. She will run and run and run until she is tired and then finally come home. I got tired of putting on a show for the neighbors, as we chased our naughty puppy around screaming and yelling every time she escaped. It was exhausting and annoying.

Jingles Jackabee

My solution???? I built a lightweight gate! I created this attractive gate out of individual fence pickets I picked up at my local Lowes Home Improvement store. I painted it white and think it looks great! It does its job of keeping Miss Jingles from running away when someone opens the door for more than a few seconds. She still occasionally sneaks out of the back door of the house but the gate has dramatically cut down the frequency of the Hogan Family Comedy Hour of Swansboro.

 

Garden Gate

I liked the new look of the gate, but the front door started nagging at me. I wanted to spruce it up a bit . It had been the same burgundy red color since we moved in 7 and a half years ago. It was time for a change.

red door

I painted the front door Valspar’s Tropical Mist Blue in exterior satin. I love the new look….

Blue Front Door

I created new  indoor/outdoor pillows with this fun blue and yellow fabric I bought online for my pair of pink flea market find chairs.

Porch Chairs

I bought this small porch swing a few years ago for $5.00 at my favorite Habitat For Humanity ReSale store. I kept it in the “shabby” state of peeling paint I found it in.

old porch swing

I chose to paint that too in the same pretty blue and re-added my hand painted sunflower pillows .  It really freshened up the swing.

porch swing

I found two gorgeous geranium hanging baskets on sale for $5.00 at a local discount store.

geranium

And here’s the finished result……

front porch

I love my vintage bike/garden art in the front garden bed. It adds a bit of unexpected charm to the garden.

TIP:

I am constantly battling weeds in my gardens and quite frankly I am fed up! My sister-in- law told me to use a few layers of old newspaper under the mulch to keep the weeds out. We have tried the black landscape fabric underneath but I find it to be a pain since I have to cut a hole in it every time I want to plant new flowers. So, I tried the newspaper trick. So far so good! It’s easy and cheap too!

a summer porch

On a final note, my master bathroom is completed and I LOVE it! I have uploaded tons of pictures to my computer and as soon as I am finished editing them I will be posting about the transformation. Here’s another sneak peek…..

 

shabby chic bathroom hobnail wall vase

Well, that’s all for today. Thanks so much for visiting!

~Lisa

 

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