Porch Styling

You see that shelf up there?  Some of you might remember my Instagram posts concerning it, but for the rest of you that haven’t seen it yet, let me introduce you to the catalyst for our recent update to our back porch.  (Cue angel voices, as shelving unit spins slowly on display.)  We were driving home one night, when we passed a neighboring home in our community, that had this sitting in their front yard with a $10 price tag on it.  I did a double take as we drove by thinking surely it was a mistake, or it was falling apart, or even made from cheap plastic material which wasn’t what I was looking for, so I asked John to walk down to take a look at it in person.  Come to find out, my fears were fruitless, because this baby is solid wood, and sturdy as can be!

 

I was so excited about this wonderful find for a few reasons.  One, it was only $10.  Two, we were able to walk it home instead of having to wait for something to be shipped to us, and three, it was something I had been looking for and/or dreaming of making myself when I found the time to do so.  Here it was already assembled, ans in great condition.  It couldn’t be more perfect!

I knew having something like this would not only give me space to display my pretty plants, and random porch objects, but it would also add a bit of character to the space.  It really didn’t disappoint, and all of those expectations were easily met once it was home and in position.  Honestly I needed a few more plants to display so I drove to Lowe’s and browsed through the aisles of plants.  When I came upon the hanging ivy near the end of my search I immediately had this vision of it flowing from the top shelf.  It was a no brainier to get one, and oh my gosh it’s beautiful!  I have been so happy with the outcome of this little project, that I completed another project I had been thinking about for a while to go along with it!

The two windows on our porch were plain and uninspiring, although much appreciated for the light they provide the dining room.  I have always thought adding decorative shutters would make them come to life, but John isn’t a huge fan of shutters in general, so I’ve shied away from that idea because of it.  That is until last week, when the shelving found our porch as its new home, and I was inspired to really pull this space together once and for all.  I’m really glad I did, because the outcome is much nicer than I had anticipated.

 

When we first moved in to our home, we purchased this set of patio furniture form Target as one of our “grown up” splurges.  Our previous home had a tiny back porch that basically held two small chairs, and even that was pushing it, so being able to have this set was a pretty nice treat for us.  We’ve enjoyed it ever since, but we’ve never had it set up in a really functional way until now.  This layout allows us to keep a good eye on our son while he plays, and is open to the eating area I will show you in a second.  I chose to decorate with potted plants throughout the space to keep the flow of nature going through the space.  Three galvanized containers hang from the wall holding various types of ferns, which was an idea I came up with after happening upon them in Hobby Lobby.  They have, by far, been the best alternative planter/plant combo I’ve used yet!

Since we have a small family of three, we don’t need a huge space to eat back here, so we purchased a table from Target, two patio chairs from Lowe’s and two bamboo fold up chairs from TJ Maxx.  All on sale mind you!  The mismatched chairs give the space another punch of character that I love.

See that space to the left of the shutter in the photo below?  I’m thinking it looks a little bare, so I considering DIY’ing a fold down serving station that will hang from the wall for extra prep space.  We will see how long it takes to get that done!  Haha!

Oh and in an effort to “keep it real” here is a picture of how this new shelving unit functions in our space for our son’s toys.

I couldn’t believe how perfectly those three lawnmowers fit under that bottom shelf!  They finally have a home!  The buckets above are holding smaller random porch necessities, and kids toys.  It’s nice to have such a space, because it can get pretty unsightly at times without it.

I have a few other projects in mind, like providing a bit more shade from the glaring sun in the evening, to “complete” this space, but for now, it’s very enjoyable, and I’m proud of how it turned out.  I’ll be sure to share any updates as we make them, so stay tuned!

-Iris