Front porch makeover

Budget Friendly Front Porch Makeover

There was nothing really wrong with our front porch but if I had to sum it up in one word it would be faded and tired…I know, that’s two words but who’s paying attention? The front door was faded, the shutters were faded, the paint around the door frame and on all of the trim around the porch was chipping off, the deck itself had mildew on it. It just needed love and a good cleaning. Here she is getting ready for her makeover.

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It has been on my to do list since the weather started warming up. We came home recently from a trip to find doggy doo on our front porch. No joke-a pile of poo was on my front porch. Either there was a confused stray or my husband made someone mad. But whatever the case, the front porch makeover got expedited thanks to Fido.

A few months ago, the husband took my minivan to Aldis and came home with 5 rockers for the front porch…yes, from Aldis. I can’t say I would have picked them myself but I made them work and they have grown on me. Apparently, the price couldn’t be beat. (Note to self, don’t let your husband take your big car again.)

I found the cutest (and inexpensive) outdoor pillows at Walmart to dress up my Aldis rockers. They kind of make me like my rockers a little bit more. I’m sad to say I can’t find them online anymore for you guys but my friend Amazon still has some cute outdoor pillows.

The front door might be (one of) my favorite updates. I painted her Nature’s Reflection by Behr and I could not be happier! See my tutorial on how I paint my doors here. That cute Magnolia wreath is from Hobby Lobby and goes on sale every other week.

This plaid rug…oh how I LOVE her! I found her on Amazon and she might be tiny but she’s mighty (and still a little wrinkled from the packaging). Rumor has it though this plaid rug is becoming hard to find these days. This one would be cute too or this smaller version with this welcome mat. This coir rug is similar to mine. (See more of my home decor finds from Amazon -including more outdoor rugs here)

I rounded up some of my favorite outdoor rugs in this post

I’m not entirely sure what was going on here…the steps were rocking two different risers. And if you look really closely you can see how bad the paint on the trim by the front door was. Bad iphone pic coming…

But the husband (surprisingly) suggested I paint the risers so the steps look more cohesive. He redeemed himself from bringing home those rockers with that idea because I love how the steps turned out. Huge difference!

Let’s talk about something I will never do again…painting my shutters. I think I’d rather run a marathon on a 100 degree day. I’m not taking the shutters off as I paint because I fear I won’t be able to put them back on. So that means I’m doing it all by hand (no quick spray painting technique being used). I’m sure I’m doing something wrong because Pinterest told me this was supposed to be easy and it is the complete opposite! Anyways, they were a faded hunter green and they are slowly being painted black. I have TWENTY-TWO shutters to paint. If anyone wants to come do the rest for me I only have 14 more to go. I’ll buy you a pillow for your hard work.

I found this little guy in our barn and gave him a spray tan. He was dirty, redish pink and needed love. And he also weighs 456 pounds and has found his new home on our porch because I can’t move him. And excuse the faux plant. I haven’t had time to plant anything real and whatever I do plant will die immediately (black thumb owner). I think I almost killed a fake plant once, for real

I am so glad I got this front porch done. I think I have sat out here once since we moved in. Maybe when the kids are in college I’ll sit out here and relax with a large glass of ~~lemonade~~ wine.