Front Porch Mini-Makeover

Number 1 on the list to accomplish this weekend was a mini-porch makeover. As you probably read in my update, it turned out to be a lot harder than I imagine to accomplish my goal.

The initial plan was a dark colored wicker chair with bright colored cushion, a new wreath and some black pots for some bright colored flowers. As you can probably see, we went in a completely different direction!

1. The biggest change is that I sacrificed vanity for practicality and we put in a SCREEN DOOR! It really takes away from the curb appeal, but it is infinitely practical for us. As there are NO opening windows on the main floor, aside from the patio doors off the dining area, we really needed something to provide a cross-breeze in the warm weather!

Plus, the cats seem to love being able to look out onto the street. I did however, choose the best looking and most expensive one they had, so at least I had looks in mind!

2. When I couldn't find the chair I was looking for, I decided that we didn't need one. Until I got home and changed my mind again. Luckily, we had a few on the back deck that weren't being used. Thankfully, it turned out wonderfully!

3. I had planned on picking up some square black pots to add some bright colored flowers in. Infact, I hadn't even started looking for pots yet, when I stumbled across these off-white woven beauties. They were actually a LOT more than I wanted to spend, but I knew they'd be perfect! Thankfully, I was right and they look great against the house! Even Cory said so, which means I hit the nail right on the head!

I still need to pick up at least one more pot, and some more of the rounded evergreens and actually pot eveything, but I like the look of the greenery here best.

4. Lastly, I was at Michael's trying to decide what sort of a wreath I wanted to do and had pretty much picked out a whole slew of things, when I decided that it would be silly of me to have REAL GREENERY on the porch and FAKE FLOWERS on a wreath. I decided a sign would be more fitting. I found this lovely buttefly plaque and loved it immediately!

5.The only thing we need now, is for the builder to put on the treads on our stairs. (Can't wait for them to finish that eyesore!)

Here's a little re-cap for you. This is what the porch looked like a few weeks ago:

And here it is now:

The best part? I set myself a cosmetic budget of $100.00. I am not counting the screen door since it was purchased for airflow purposes and DEFINITELY NOT for its looks!

Here is a little breakdown:

Chair: FREE from our backyard

Pots: $55 for both; HomeSense

Door Plaque: $17.00 (after 40% off coupon) Michaels

Plants: $25 for evergreens

(Hydrangea was bought previously and will be planted in the ground once we have a yard!)