As of yesterday, we’ve lived in our house for 10 years. When we moved in, I was 8 months pregnant with Meghan. At that point in time, I was more concerned with having a bigger space for our growing family than in making it feel homey. Mike painted all of the rooms to freshen things up — mostly a lovely neutral beige. And over the past 10 years, we’ve slowly made this 70’s ranch *ours*. Now, if you’ve ever experienced a 70’s ranch, you will know that they lack, well, uh, character. Our first home was a 1920’s cape cod that was adorable, even unfurnished. The new house had so many awesome perks — the pool, hot tub and finished basement sold us! But it took *so* long to actually make it feel personal. It’s still a work in progress, but I can finally say that it feels like home.
One of the spots that has bothered me for some time is our front porch. The porch at our old house was a source of pride. People would stop and comment on how adorable our house was all the time, mostly thanks to the former owner who added the cute porch. The porch on the ranch . . . well, not so much. In the summer, it’s an awkward seating area that no one uses. In the winter, it’s an ugly repository for summer patio furniture. Bleh.
Over Memorial Day weekend, since we stayed home, I decided to make it my fix-it project! And I’m quite pleased with how it turned out! It started with a small bistro set I found at a great price . . . and snowballed from there!
Take a peek:
A close up of the new seating area:
To the bistro set, I added some cute cushions with a lime green & robin’s egg blue paisley pattern, a fun felt placemat and a potted plant (that I will mostly likely kill by summer’s end! Green thumb I am not!) I also hung a lantern over the table for a little evening ambiance!
On the wall behind the table, I created a fun focal point with a cool vintage window frame (that my friend Barb gave me years ago, and had to be unearthed from the corner of my garage!), a wreath and a “relax” sign that I found at TJ Maxx!
Love it! To finish off the porch, we added a few colorful flower pots and strung some grapevine lights across the front. These look awesome in the evening, all lit up!
It appears that my little “makeover” worked! We’re using (and loving) our front porch a lot more!! Last weekend, Mike and I enjoyed a cocktail while watching the rain pour — and we stayed dry and cozy! Last night, as the sun was setting, I took advantage of the sunset and western exposure to take these photos and enjoy some quiet time with my nook and a cup of coffee!
Aah!!! Heavenly!
But focused on my work, which is good.
