Our Simple Summer Porch

Ever since the snow melted I’ve been spending every morning I can sipping my coffee on our front porch. It gets glorious morning sun, but it needed a good clean and some better seating. I thought I would share the little changes I made to our simple summer porch. It’s a deck, is that still a porch? Or are porches covered… I thought those were verandas. I don’t know. Don’t mind me. I am sticking with porch!

Here is what I started with. It might be time to take down the winter wreath and Christmas lights… just maybe.

This is not a huge makeover, just a few changes to make it a little more inviting. The first thing I needed to address was the seating. I realized that those little bistro chairs are not all that comfortable. We’ve only had them for about 7 years…

So I painted these old adirondack chairs that I got from a garage sale also about 7 years ago. They had seen better days, and one had a broken seat bar. A quick repair and painting with the 3 year old and they were good to go. Don’t inspect too closely.Let’s talk about this urn. I have always wanted an urn, so I finally bought this one from Home Depot this spring. It was $29.99, is apparently self watering (I don’t know how) and is very sturdy, so it won’t topple with the wind. Would you believe it is made of recycled rubber?

Truth be told I haven’t always wanted “an urn” I’ve always wanted urnS- and I would love to get a few more. Hoping they either go on discount later in the season or that they carry them next season, and my urn budget has increased by then.

I planted it up with a flowering kale, pink and purple wave petunias, a sweet potato vine, a white dahlia and that silvery thing I can’t remember the name of. I wanted some tall grasses or draconia but I couldn’t bring myself to spend $6 on the pitiful offering at the garden centre! So perhaps I will spot something to add a little height. Everything in it is happy and has filled in nicely.

I’ve had the throw pillows for years and originally found them at Superstore. These chairs are much more comfortable than the bistro set, and the arm rest acts as the perfect beverage spot.

I swapped the winter wreath for my living floral wreath, and once it’s done I think I will hang a basket of some sort for blooms.

I have a pile of perennial pansies that grow abundantly in my yard, so I decided to pot some up for inexpensive color around the yard. I put most of my annuals in the backyard so we can enjoy them, as we spend more time back there. But this was a good way to cheer things up.

That rather large deck box is my solution to kids toys. Balls, bats, helmets and whatever else get stored in there so that they are easy for the kids to get to, but don’t get left all over the yard. It works most of the time.

I hope you enjoyed our simple summer porch update… I know I sure will! It doesn’t take much to make a spot feel cozy and inviting for the season.

-Miss Ash