I found a porch swing on Craigslist that I really like, but someone beat me to it. It looks a little something like this:
I’m crossing my fingers hoping the other person doesn’t pick it up! I’ve been looking for weeks and this was the first swing I actually liked.
Yesterday it was 65 degrees. Today: 27. Still, I keep thinking ahead to spring and all of the things I’d like to do outside.
As cute as our front porch is (and it is pretty cute), I’m wondering if maybe it should be more of a lounge area.
Right now those chairs are on the patio in the backyard, mixed in with some other wooden folding chairs. The white ones are much more comfortable, so I’m thinking about picking up four more so that we can have a matching set. It bugs me that the chairs are all mixed up! I don’t think I could ever go for the artfully mismatched look, even though I think it looks great when other people do it.
But… I can’t decide.
Option 1: Put the four white chairs we already have back on the front porch and keep it as a little dining area (it’s nice to sit there when it’s raining). Store the uncomfortable wooden chairs (we have 6) for extra party seating. Find 8 new matching (and inexpensive) chairs to go around the table in the backyard.
Option 2: Keep the four white chairs on the patio and pick up four more (they’re only $30 each). Store the 6 uncomfortable wooden chairs for extra party seating. Find lounge furniture for the front porch. Maybe two comfy chairs and a little side table? Maybe a porch swing or a gliding bench?
Any ideas?
It’s much better than the current look, don’t you think? Here’s a detail:
You can look at the whole thing in a larger size here.
In case anyone’s feeling creative/bored, you can download a file for the mockup. Feel free to play around with it… I loved seeing what everyone came up with last time!
[download#5#image]
Brandon and I are starting to think about what we want to do to the house once the weather warms up. Of course, the arrival of spring will also mean the arrival of our baby, so maybe we’re getting ahead of ourselves!
Our house was originally built in 1910 as a little bungalow with two bedrooms and one bath. At some point (probably around 1970), the attic was expanded with dormers to add three bedrooms and another bath. The stairs leading up cut into one of the original bedrooms (now Brandon’s office), making our home a 1400 sq. ft., 4 bed, 2 bath house. Great! Except that they didn’t bother to blend the addition.
This is what the house looked like when we bought it (and pretty much what it still looks like):
Even if we do nothing else, we at least need to paint the trim. It’s something that we knew needed to be done when we bought the house, and two years later it’s just looking worse and worse. Of course, I want to do much more than that…
I would love to change the color of the house. The stucco has been visibly repaired in a few places, and there are probably a few more spots that need some attention. It would be nice to blend those repairs and freshen things up a bit. Plus our house is an exact match with the house on the right, so it would be nice to have ours stand out a little. I like these three color combinations from Behr, though right now I’m leaning toward the first:
I’m not sure how much we’ll be able to do this year, but it’s certainly fun to think about. Last summer, I worked on a mockup of the front (and several readers contributed!). I think I’ll have to continue playing around with ideas… at least I get to see what the house could look like. You know, given an endless budget and time. ;)
YAY! Today is my birthday and do you know what I got? My egg chair! It was a big group gift from Brandon and his family.
It’s big enough to curl up inside with my legs tucked under myself (my favorite way to sit). I’ll have to make sure I don’t plant any bee-attracting plants directly around the chair! I came up with this little plan awhile back and I think I might stick with it.
Here’s the view from inside the chair:
I’m so thrilled! What an amazing gift.
I’ve never had an outdoor space before, and of course that means I didnt have any outdoor furniture either. Well, except for this wicker chair which I bought years ago for some reason:
I love that this house has a front porch because I love the idea of sitting out there for lunch, or sipping lemonade and reading magazines… it seems like such a lovely thing to do. First we would need a table and some chairs though.
I went to IKEA (one of many, many excursions by now) to look for a table. I picked up two of the drop-leaf Muddus tables. They’re nice because they’re: a.) red b.) cute c.) flexible d.) did I mention they were red and cute?
I waited for chairs because I buy way too many things at IKEA and I thought that maybe I could find some cute vintage wire chairs. Yeah. Except in the summer, everyone else is looking for cute vintage wire chairs, and the prices are adjusted accordingly. Back to IKEA I went, and I bought four white folding chairs (they were with the outdoor stuff, so they should be OK outside).
The two tables seemed kind of like they were just slapped together (um, not that they were or anything…), so I picked up a little table runner to unify them. Then I got a little kooky.
You know those big tissue paper fluff balls everyone’s been making? I kept seeing them in people’s flickr photos, so I picked up a kit (they’re by Martha Stewart for Michael’s). I thought I’d hang them over the bed, but then I thought they’d look sooo good outside. Maybe my neighbors will not agree. I may take them down.
I hung a few paper lanterns out there too, and the space is so pretty at night.
And you know what? It IS nice to sit out there for lunch, or to read magazines… or sometimes both! I know – CRAZY, right? I’m living la vida loca, for sure.