Skip to main content

Conversation #3

How about a little spring/summer face lift?

That is exactly what our sun porch needed.  I wanted to really make it feel like a room, another living space, an expansion to our house.  Honestly, the oppressive humidity and extreme heat the last couple of weeks has rendered it useless unless you rise in the wee hours of the morning.

Oh well.  It still needed an update, and I love being able to entertain out there.  It gives are tiny living room and moderate kitchen a much needed break.

Let’s first take a walk down memory lane of what it looked like in the beginning.

Here is a shot of the sun porch on the first day we looked at our house.  Don’t you just love the indoor/outdoor carpet?  Oh, and we are pretty sure we found an old rat’s nest when we took down the barely working ceiling fan.

P3160039

This was what the outside of the house looked like with the sun porch.  I had forgotten what all we had done back there.  Sadly, we had to remove those trees right by the house on the left because they were threatening the foundation.

P3160037

Here is the inside of the porch once we started “demo”:

DSC00461 DSC00465

We decided to rip up the carpet, replace the door, replace the outside siding, repaint inside and out, built a little patio outside and put in some new landscaping.  We also did some built-in bench seating.  We also replaced the lighting fixtures, too. Here are the first after shots:

CIMG0003 CIMG0005

CIMG0001

This is the state the porch was in for quite a while.  We put in a “deck” floor and I did have placemats on the table and a three pillows on the bench, but that was all.  Then we decided to look for some plantation rockers because I have ALWAYS wanted some.  Craigslist to the rescue!

CIMG0006

Here are some shots of the outside work:

DSC00834 DSC02250

The landscaping along the porch has really grown up.  We planted some beautiful rose bushes, and they are just gorgeous now!  Some roses, you say?

DSC01272 DSC01273

Finally, the most recent spruce-up:

DSC03606 DSC03607 DSC03608 DSC03609

I went to my favorite fabric outlet to pick up outdoor fabric to make little curtain valances and lots of pillows.  Then I found some decor type things at garage sales, and finished off the table by making a runner out of burlap and ribbon.

The last shot is of the new outdoor ceiling fan, but we actually replaced that when we first moved in.  I love being able to have a warmer and more inviting space to relax in after a long day or early on a cool morning.  This space was a challenge because originally we thought we would tear it down and start over.  However, we soon realized the structure was attached to the roof, and that job seemed much bigger than our humble DIY skills could handle.  So we decided since we don’t plan to live in this house forever, let’s just make it enjoyable.

I hope you enjoyed the trip down memory lane!

Comments

Ashleigh said…
I like the curtains!

Popular posts from this blog

A Conversation about Absenteeism

Wow!  It has been too long.  I have still kept up on reading everyone’s blogs, but commenting and writing have been out the window for me.  I have thought often about blog topics, and I’ll try to get back on regular posts tomorrow. Basically, the last few weeks have been full of preparing for this past Saturday.  What was this past Saturday, you may ask?  My incredibly intelligent and amazing husband graduated from law school!!!!!!!!!  I can hardly contain my excitement.  I am proud beyond words, and now we just have one last hurdle: the bar exam.  I know the next two and half months will still be full of study, but it still doesn’t squash my excitement of no more late night classes, missed parties, or tension filled finals weeks.  We are done!  I only say “we” because it is definitely a path that affects both the student and family, but trust me, the hubby did ALL the work!  Needless to say though, we had lots of family in town...

Conversation #19: A blast from the past – Monday Movie Review

Ever since the hubby and I ended our blockbuster subscription, we have really not watched too many movies.  Honestly, he has been so busy that we just haven’t had the time.  However, my amazing in-laws have been entertaining me during this bar exam review time, and we went to see the Sorcerer’s Apprentice on Saturday.  (Picture from here .) I thoroughly enjoyed the movie.  It was exciting and thrilling, and in my opinion, I’m not sure I would take a really young child to it (maybe 10 and older…)  It kept my attention, and I don’t think that it drug on too long either.  Sometimes I think these epic type movies go on and on and on, but this ended at a nice time, and it had the most adorable bulldog in the cast, too! I definitely recommend it! (Picture from here .) We also recently watched The Paper Chase .  I guess this movie itself is kind of blast from the past – 1973 to be exact.  Our neighbor actually dropped it in our mailbox as ...

Conversation #32: Kitchen Design Help!

Okay, I don’t really know that too many people read this blog since I moved to a new address, but I’m begging if you do, please help me.  I am at a loss on what to do with part of my kitchen. Here is how I painted my kitchen 3 years ago: It was fun, bright, and I like it, but we decided it needed to be a bit more grown-up these days.  I knew we would have to paint it before we moved so we decided to just go ahead and do it now for a change.  We decided to go with a gray so that it would be neutral but not boring.  However, the gray had a strong blue tone to it on the walls and now I need to phase out my turquoise decor I think. Here are some afters (still putting it back together): Some of these are the same shots but with/without flash to show the colors.  I think I really like the new color, but the turquoise trim does not go anymore in my opinion.  I’m trying to figure out what to do with it, and I need help!!! ...