Porch Makeover: After

You might remember the pictures of our sad little porch a couple of months ago. Gross and dysfunctional.  I'm happy to say with a little elbow grease, things have improved quite a bit! 

Would you like to take a tour?

Shown above is the right side of the porch (I can't decide if I like that framed moss better hanging or on the table).

Here's the left side, where the littles like to hang out.

We're so happy to have a space beyond the tiny walls of our apartment.  I've started doing most of our art projects on the porch.  There's a lot of puzzle doing, book reading, and popsicle eating too.  After we tuck the girls in bed, we like to sit outside and eat a late dinner or just chat about our day.

Here's the quick lowdown on what we did:

1. My Mom did most of the work on spray painting our plain wicker chairs to match the wicker couch and coffee table (this is what they looked like before).  We already had all four pieces, so this was the perfect low-cost solution for us.  Thanks Ma!
2. We added a new outdoor floor mat with a pop of color.  It was much cheaper than an actual rug, and cleans really easily, which is great for people with big black dogs like us.  We also added a bit of greenery (cross your fingers it lasts through the summer!).
3. We added chair/couch pads with matching pillows.  This was the biggest expense, but it was totally worth it.  I also recovered two of our existing indoor pillows with striped fabric.
4. We pulled the plastic chairs out of the storage closet for everyday use for the kids.  They're not my absolute favorite, but they're stack-able and the kids love to use them.  We also decided to leave the chalkboard up full time outside and bought new chalk.
5.  Last but not least: accessories.   You've seen the painted luminaries we made, but we also added some moss in a frame and a few colorfully wrapped branches.  The girls' watering can is from the dollar section at Target, and the hanging candle holder is from Cost Plus World Market.