Porch Makeover!

I have been in the house for a year now and still so much to do.  This weekend, after working on paperwork all day Saturday, I just had to get out and do something, anything that was outside!  I decided to finally tackle the front porch!

The front porch had been a catch-all place, out of the weather, no ability to really use the space for anything.  It was a hot mess!

There was quite the collection of "stuff".. an old piano bench waiting to be refinished, an old hope chest I am  hoping to get around to doing something with, empty boxes, Christmas lights, trash, lots of cobwebs and dust.

First things first, clear everything out and clean!  What is nice about doing an outside space is you can actually use a hose to spray everything off with out making a huge mess.  Then I whipped out the Simple Green to scrub down the dirt and grime and then back to the hose!  Leaving it empty and clean is a huge improvement!

Last week I had stopped in my local home improvement store, Jerry's, for a fire pit, and walked out with that, an umbrella and a bistro set.  The cool thing is that the bistro set was originally $329 and there is no way I would have paid that...but summer end (really it is July!) sales placed it at $99 so it found its way into my Jeep.  I also found a cute little outdoor rug at the World Market regularly $34 and now $14 and the rest I had been collecting for use at a good time....

Why yes that is a broken rake hanging on the wall!  You can use it to display all sorts of things!  I also found the sign buried in all the stuff on the porch.  I had bought it for my folks about ten years ago, so only fitting for it to go back up.  How do you like the planter?  I picked that up at Big Lots.  Love all they ones they have and at reasonable prices.  The bistro set looks wood, but it is actually iron, so will last for a long time.

Here is a shot of the rug!  So bright and cheerful!  it is made from a plastic like material and hoses off real well.  I actually have a huge one in my living room!

A view from the side , there are actually three wind chimes hanging.  I love the sound and you can hear them from the living room.

And finally the view from the yard!  Yes, I sort of like flowers!

I am thinking that this may be a great place to do some work in the afternoon with my laptop.  Not too many folks get the opportunity to work from home, let alone from a nice relaxing spot like this!

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