I mentioned back in May that I was revisiting my earlier plans to decorate the porch.  I had bought new furniture and a new rug, but needed to add some layers and to pull everything together.  Well I finished, and finally took photos!

Just because Mike’s leaving for a few months doesn’t mean I’ll stop decorating!  I may even do it more since he won’t be around to call me crazy.  (Just kidding Sweetie, I won’t change a single thing while you’re gone, HA!)

The furniture and rug were nice, but it needed a lot of accessories to make it awesome.

Before:

and After:

To connect the chairs I added a gold drum table I scored on clearance from Target. 

I wanted a pouf for additional seating and to kick my feet up on (I usually sit in the chairs, while Mike lounges on the couch) and after trying this one from Target, I settled on this gray knit pouf from World Market.  Both were comfy, but the knit one is firmer, and I didn’t like the giant stitching on the other.

I was stumped for a long time on how to fill that area between the windows.  I saw this wicker mirror from Target on sale and grabbed it wondering if I was crazy to put a mirror on the porch.  A couple days later I saw Julia from Cuckoo4Design use a couple mirrors in outdoor settings and knew my idea would work!  

I tried using the heavy duty/waterproof command strips, but the hook wouldn’t lay flat against the siding and didn’t have enough connection to stay up.  Mike suggested some vinyl siding hooks and I found a pack of hooks small enough on Amazon to work.  These clips fit right into the siding seam and can hold up to 5 pounds.  The only problem was that I was limited by the seam of the siding on the height.  I had the mirror a little lower, but had to move it up for the clip.  It doesn’t bother me at the moment, but I may use some fishing wire to hang it a little lower.

I had a heck of a time finding outdoor pillows I liked, but finally found several from Society6.  I also came across these Zuma Stripe Indoor/Outdoor Pillows from Pottery Barn and grabbed 2 of those, then picked a couple coordinating ones from Society6 from my short-list.

I went with two Beverly II Throw Pillow by THE AESTATE and one TX01 Throw Pillow by Georgiana Paraschiv.  I bought the inserts from Society6 as well, but I wasn’t that impressed with them.  Next time I’ll buy them separately.

They don’t necessarily look like they match, but the coordinate well together.  And they make me happy!

The porch itself has a lot of neutral colors with the tan siding and carpeting, and white trim.  I tried to stick to a simple palette of natural wood, blues, greens, metallics, and black. 

The plants bring in a lot of the green, while the pots and small accessories, like these lanterns I was gifted with at my wedding shower years ago, add the black elements.

I also picked up these Threshold lanterns (in small and large) from Target.  I bought the giant plant pot and saucer from Ikea before I found this massive fern at the grocery store.  I’ve already under-watered it from the brown leaves I see, but I’m determined for another grocery store success story like my Japanese maple.  I also added the metal “M” that’s the match to the one in our basement family room.  My sister gave it back to me after using it in her apartment for a few years and I honestly didn’t know what to do with it!

The only thing I had in my plans that didn’t get included was a overhead fan.  I have dreams of a giant fan keeping the mosquitos at bay while we sip margaritas out here, but 1 - outdoor fans are expensive (!) and 2 - the ceiling isn’t that tall, and a fan with a light would be just above 6 feet.  Meaning any adult could hit the blades if they raised their hands.

I was still gung-ho, but Mike suggested that before we spend the money and time let’s see if adding a box fan would increase the amount of time spent out here.  So far, we have spent a lot more time out here enjoying the summer evenings, but I’m not sure it’s enough to warrant a ceiling fan just yet!

I’ve only showed the one angle, but the front door is on the other side, and there’s really no space for anything else.

I tried to add in some red to go with the door, but I just wasn’t happy with it.  Maybe the red coordinates with the orange tone of the furniture and mirror?  I think that’s a stretch but I’m sticking with that reasoning.

I still love that red door, even though I don’t use red a lot.  With the tan siding and black shutters, it really needs a red door to make it stand out, especially under the covered porch.

The porch furniture doesn’t show very much over the railing, but you can tell it’s finally got it’s sh*t together even from the street.  And, all the boxwoods made it through the trauma of temporarily being moved to the side yard!  It was touch and go there for a minute, but we’ve even got new growth happening!  What didn’t make it though is that center hosta, which is weird because I was under the impression that hostas could not be killed, which is why I love them so much.  These were all taken from the side yard either completely or split, so I’ll get another to put in the center later.

Overall I love the new front porch space and it’s literally my favorite “room” this summer!

Later this week I’ll share a budget breakdown of all the items, since it’s basically all just bought items that created this space.  Until then, you can most likely find me lounging out here with Mike and Benelli and some adult beverages.