Our $498 Front Porch Makeover

Oh happy day! The time has finally come to reveal our recent front porch makeover that we completed as part of the 48-Hour Challenge with Better Homes & Gardens and Home Depot. The task? Turn our snore of a front porch into a bellissimo outdoor space for relaxing with a $500 gift card to Home Depot and our wits. Here’s a reminder of the booooooring blank slate of a before that we were working with:

But lets not dwell on the past. It’s time for the after pictures!

Our big porch makeover project can be broken down into four major categories: painting, building, sewing, and hanging. First we painted the old dark-planked porch with tan and cream stripes for an instant face lift (we really wanted our new “outside room” to feel light and airy to match more of what we have going on inside). We even used an extra bit of cream paint to lighten up our old black square planters (we actually got them at Home Depot right before the challenge and painted them black– d’oh!).

Then we assembled our glider bench and made a totally workable little side table with a large planter and a terra cotta saucer that we sealed, painted and turned into a tabletop. Now there’s a spot for a book, a little drinky-drink, or even a plate full of bbq.

We also purchased a sweet green paisley lounge chair cushion… only to take a scissors to it. Cutting it in half and resewing each piece back up created two all-weather floor pillows. And you know what floor pillows mean to Burger, right?

A perfect place to unwind after a hard day of chasing bugs. Look at the sheer bliss on his little dog face. He LOVES his new puppy lounge and sits staring at the front door in the living room until we let him out to play- er, bask.

You might notice the leash on Burger in the pic (although I don’t know how you could see anything at all beyond his adorable face). Well, we couldn’t very well allow our precious pooch to roam free like we do in the fenced-in backyard, so we devised a way for him to have full range of the porch without being able to take off after a squirrel and dash into the road. For just $2 we snagged a hook and a carabiner which we used to create a little leash-holding-apparatus for added peace of mind. And he doesn’t seem to mind a bit! Safety note: we use an extra long leash so Burger has full range of the porch and can even go down the stairs and into the yard (so he can’t hang off and get strangled). We also never leave him outside unsupervised (we like to have him on his leash even when we’re out there in case he gets spooked and bolts for the street). We do not advise recreating this hook setup if you plan to leave your pet unattended at any time!

Maybe it’s because we also made a small food and water station for him with a piece of wood, some wood glue, and four molding pieces that we reimagined as legs. Painting it green made it fit right in, and Burger loves grabbing a snack or a sip whenever the mood strikes. What more could a dog want?

We also wanted to add more greenery and texture without breaking the bank. Two feathery hanging ferns (for just $9 a pop) created even more of the “outdoor room” effect by serving as abstract dividers so you feel enveloped on the front porch, even though they don’t really obscure any of the view.

We also snagged a tan doormat that works well with the tone on tone stripes that we painted as well as our cheery red door.

The mat and the bench coincidentally had extremely similar coloring, which injects a nice bit of balance and cohesion to the whole space (gotta love happy accidents).

We also seized the opportunity to bring in more green and cream planters to flank the bench and a few plush outdoor pillows for that sit-and-stay-a-while vibe. Oh and see that pillow with the cream and green medallion detail? That baby was just $6 on clearance. Gotta love Home Depot!

For a bit of interest and ambiance (and because we still had a few bucks burning a hole in our pocket) we created hanging candle holders with inexpensive bulb covers from the lighting department and some wire (we were all about trolling every aisle for ideas).

We intentionally picked thick durable ribbed glass so they’ll hold up outside (we’ve already had a few torrential rains and we’re happy to report that they’re doing just fine).

Here they are doing their thing in the dark. Ooooh. Ahhh.

As the sun sets slowly and the stars come out, so ends the big porch project reveal. Of course we’ll be back with step-by-step tutorials for every project (from the pooch food & water station to our striped porch painting process). Stay tuned…

But wait! There’s still the budget to attend to. Here’s an approximated breakdown for ya:

• Glider Bench: $200
• Porch & Floor Paint: $45
• Planter-Turned-Side-Table: $40
• Other Planters & Plants To Flank Bench: $80
• Bench Pillows: two for $25
• Lounge Cushion Converted To Two Floor Pillows: $25
• Dog Feeding Station: $10
• Burger’s Leash Hook: $2
• Hanging Candle Holders: three for $20
• Hanging Ferns: two for $18
• Doormat: $15
• Misc. Supplies (paint brushes, hanging hooks, etc): $18
• Grand Total: $498

Words can’t even express how happy we feel every time we step out the front door (which has been happening quite a lot these days, rain or shine). Thanks so much to Home Depot and BHG for this amazing challenge. Air kisses all around!

Oh and don’t forget to head over to BHG.com to check out our reveal pics and details as well as the fabulous transformations that the other four challengers drummed up!