A back porch makeover with money-saving DIY home improvement projects and budget decorating solutions for a breezy summer retreat.
There have been the quick 1 monther room makeovers at our house where Robert and I swooped in, stuck to a plan, and got it done as fast as possible. And then there are other spaces where we learned to eat an elephant… one bite at a time. (That saying is so gross, by the way, right?)
Say hi to our elephant… well, one of them anyway. Our back porch:
(Some affiliate links are in this post.)
This is what it looked like when we bought the place, and it’s really one of the main things that sold us on this house.
And then we dragged in our hodge podge leftovers from our old house’s back patio, and it went downhill reeeaaally fast.
But little by little, we worked away on it.
First by painting the ceiling Benjamin Moore Palladian Blue last summer to mimic the gorgeous traditional “haint blue” Southern porch ceiling. And we replaced the old fans with these that were more our style.
This winter, we limewashed our exterior brick, brightened up the yellowy cream trim with a whiter Behr Ultra Pure White, and painted the doors with Behr Cracked Pepper to flow with our dark charcoal interior doors.
We’re still not totally finished, but we’ve come a long way by just cleaning up our old patio furniture, reusing our old string lights, adding a couple of outdoor rugs that fit better, buying an inexpensive outdoor dining set, and hanging some cheap mosquito net curtains to keep the bugs at bay.
We wrapped up the majority of it in time for The Happy Housie’s Seasonal Simplicity Summer Deck & Patio Hop. (You can check out all of the pretty outdoor spaces on the tour at the bottom of this post.)
We were able to reuse our old bench and chairs from our old patio that we got at World Market 3 years ago and just cleaned up all of the dirt and grime on the cushions using this solution. (The furniture has been discontinued, but here’s a similar outdoor bench and armchair.)
And after using this rug on my parents’ porch that I decorated for them last spring, I decided I wanted one for myself. 😉
A few weeks ago, I scored this cute pillow for cheap from a Pier 1 store-closing sale, and even though it’s not technically outdoor, I just sprayed it down with Scotchgard weather protector and am crossing my fingers.
It’s missing a pom pom, but no one will notice, right? Not at 70% off anyway.
I snagged these garden stools last spring too at TJ Maxx and love how versatile they are. They’re great for a makeshift coffee table or end tables, if you want to separate them. Or we can use them for overflow seating if we end up with a large group of guests and someone needs a place to sit around the conversation circle.
I’d been on the hunt for a while for an outdoor table and dining chairs that would work with our already existing furniture. This table and these chairs were $170 for the whole thing and it’s small enough to prevent the space from being too crowded.
And I found this outdoor rug from Target that had a great pattern and texture but still was a great neutral in case I ever want to play with different colors out here.
We already had Father’s Day dinner out here by the pool this past Sunday, and it was so nice to chow down on burgers from the charcoal grill in the shade.
I doubt our indoor dining table will see us at all until winter.
And since the evenings get extra mosquito-y and buggy, we can just pull these curtains closed to keep them out, turn on the string lights for some ambience, and still feel the breeze.
I swear this porch looks BIGGER!
We still have the other end of this porch to contend with now that we’ve removed the outdoor TV and mini fridge. We have big plans to build an outdoor fireplace with an electric insert for some warmth in the chilly months, and we’ll put the TV back when that’s finished.
So for now, to celebrate July 4th in a few weeks, we put up our DIY yardstick flag art and will put shelves in the little cubby to hold towels and sunscreen for an Independence Day pool party.
Even though I would love a mojito this summer by the pool (#pregnancyproblems), morning coffee out here isn’t too shabby either. 😉
If you want to know about any of the sources we’ve used on our back porch, you can see them all here:
- Ceiling color: Benjamin Moore Palladian Blue
- Trim color: Behr Ultra Pure White
- Door color: Behr Cracked Pepper
- Limewashed brick
- Outdoor ceiling fans
- Round outdoor rug
- Rectangular outdoor rug
- Outdoor bench (similar linked – ours is discontinued)
- Outdoor armchairs (similar – ours are discontinued)
- Garden stools (similar – ours came from TJ Maxx)
- String lights (Ours have been going strong for 3 years. We have a box of these bulbs on hand for when the occasional bulb goes out – 3 so far.)
- Lumbar pillow (similar – ours was a clearance find)
- Nautical rope pillows
- Outdoor dining table
- Outdoor dining chairs
- Napkins (similar – Homegoods find)
- Plastic goblets
- White melamine plates
- Mosquito net curtains (tutorial)
- Yardstick flag art (tutorial)
Pretty sure this will be our evening hang-out spot for quite a while well into the fall months now that it looks like this.
I really can’t believe how different it looks in our backyard a year later…
If you want more summer porch and patio decorating ideas, you can check out all of them in the Seasonal Simplicity Tour:
The Happy Housie / Inspiration for Moms / Rooms for Rent / Bless’er House
Shabbyfufu / Summer Adams / Making it in the Moutains / TIDBITS
Confessions of a Serial DIYer / Clean and Scentsible / Just a Girl and Her Blog / Stacy Risenmay
Zevy Joy / Finding Silver Pennies / Deeply Southern Home / A Pretty Life
Southern State of Mind / Amber Tysl / Newly Woodwards
There are very few décor images that grab my attention more than the contrast of light wood and white. If there are still people out here who think décor doesn’t matter…. think again. The serenity of this porch is calling my name.
Absolutely gorgeous, Lauren! I dream of a covered porch or deck one day… it truly feels like an extension of your home – bring the inside right out! So glad you could join me on this hop!
Oh my goodness! I am jealous of all that (covered) space! I love the new rug. Everything is styled to perfection!
This is soooo lovely, I dream to have a porch one day. Just have to convince my hubby ?
This is just beautiful. And that looks like a ton of work you’ve done on your exterior. It was lovely before – now, it just looks amazing. Like something out of a magazine. I love all the wood tones in your furniture with the white!
What an incredible space, Lauren! Every detail turned out so beautifully! LOVE!! Hope you’re having a wonderful week my friend!
~Abby =)
Thanks, Abby! Hope you’re having a wonderful week too, love! Can’t wait to see you have Haven soon!
Such a beautiful and inviting space, Lauren! I love the addition of the curtains…functional, but beautiful too! XO
Thank you, Christy! I didn’t know how much I’d really love them. No bugs! Yaaay!
This is just THE DREAMIEST outdoor space! Those brilliant curtains, that lovely furniture and those twinkling lights … absolutely head over heels in love with it all!
Thank you so much, Kristi! I can’t believe what a difference just those curtains alone made.
Lauren! I’m so in love with every detail! especially the blue ceiling! Great job… XOXO
Thank you so much, Summer! Your tablescape was so beautiful!
Beautiful…just curious about those ikea dining chairs. Are they practical for a ‘full sized’ adult? I love the look, but my husband is stubbornly practical ?
They worked well for us this weekend when we had all adults sitting in them eating for Father’s Day. They’re definitely not chairs you’d want to sit in for hours, but they weren’t as uncomfortable as I thought they’d be. No worse than the the usual metal folding chairs. You can get cushions for them too. And they’re good if you’re tight on space. I got them because I was afraid bulkier chairs would cause a traffic jam on this side of the porch. If you want ones you can lounge around in for a long time though, I’d keep looking.
I love every bit of your porch. That white wash brick has made it looks so bright and I love the blue ceiling. It is so airy and lovely and perfect for summer. LOVE all your styling too. Hope you enjoy so much time out here this summer. xx
The porch looks fantastic! I wanted those garden stools last year when you shared them. No luck finding them again…
I’m not one to comment on too many things, but I have to say, I really love the makeover on your porch! It has a really relaxing vibe! Y’all did a great job on it.
Just beautiful. Can’t think of a thing I would change.
Envious – that sure isn’t Oklahoma
Oh my goodness! This is just GORGEOUS!! I love everything about it! The light blue ceiling against the black windows is perfect. I would never go inside.
Your porch is amazing! You have really captured the essence of an indoor room. I’m most impressed with your use f a fabric protector to make your indoor pillows resilient. I am never really crazy about the outdoor pillows I see and they are never comfortable!!!
The Ikea table and chairs are awesome. You have so many ideas here. Thanks so much!
Jane
What a fantastic space…it’s so airy and gorgeous! I LOVE the ceiling and the colour you painted it. Very dreamy!
Great job!!! When I saw the before picture I wondered what you were going to do to make it look better, because it looked pretty good already. I gasped when you said you painted the doors black and the ceiling blue. But you were right on – it looks perfect. Love the wood and white. I wouldn’t change a thing.
This is the perfect time of year to showcase an outdoor living area! I’m a southern girl and feel it should be a requirement that every house have a covered or screened porch. ? I love the blue ceiling and the sheer curtains. I can simply image sitting down with a glass of sweet tea, relaxing and having a great conversation with family or neighbors. Good job!!!
What a beautiful porch!! I love every detail. I love our bench from World Market. It’s a shame they stopped selling it. It’s so well made. I bet we’ll have it for years and years to come! I also love the neutral color palette you’ve got going. All of the textures are so warm and welcoming.
Thank you! I know! I hate that they discontinued it! I linked a similar one but of COURSE it’s more expensive than this one was. Sigh…
Love how the porch turned out!!
I was looking at purchasing the same dining set for our back deck, but didn’t know if the table folds up? We get lots of snow in the winter so we would have to put it in storage but I don’t want a table that takes up lots of storage space.
Thank you!
Hi Kay! The legs do fold up, yes. 🙂 They’re not quite as easy as a metal folding table though.
Love this space! I would probably be out there year round too! Just curious…how do you like the table and chairs from Ikea after having them for a while? Thinking about purchasing the set for our patio.
Hi, Missy!! I am still happy with the purchase of the chairs and table. We are not looking to replace them any time soon. 🙂
good post, love it
Just gorgeous! I’m curious about the flooring. My husband and I have been looking at the pictures trying to figure out what it’s made of.
So you have to worry about the string lights being to hot when they touch the curtains when they are closed? I have the same curtains and worry when the wind blows them if I would start a fire if I hang lights. Thanx!
What did you use to hold up your string lights?
I use Command light clips. 🙂
What an absolutely beautiful space!!! I have to ask though, is that tree really growing through the steps 🙂
Yep! The previous owners had cut a hole in the steps to allow the tree to stay there.
Hey Lauren! The hubby and I are screening in our back porch and are using your design as a layout for the patio! Just out of curiosity do you know the dimensions of your porch? Our set up looks SO similar but not quite sure we have as much space! We also have some different entry points to work with but if the size is comparable I think we can make it work! I LOVE what you did with your porch!
Marissa
Thanks, Marissa! It’s 12×18!
Just found you! Loving everything I see? Just curious…What size rug is under the table and chairs from Ikea on the porch?
I’m pretty sure we ended up going with the 5×7
Your porch is just gorgeous and so inspiring! 🙂 I just loved the giant clear vase you have on the table with your flower arrangement, where did you happen to find that gem?
Thank you! The vase came from IKEA 🙂