Decorating My Front Porch
Now that I've done a few little things to spruce up my front porch, like make a self-watering planter, spray paint my table teal and lay out a new rug, I thought it was time to decorate a little.
I wanted to add a few cute things, but because it is outside I didn't want to add anything valuable in case they got ruined. 
My first addition was inspired while I was perusing the Ann Arbor ReUse Center. I found a tiny wooden plaque that someone had hand painted with the message "Blessed are the brief...for they have fewer phone bills." At first glance it was pretty tacky, but when I flipped it over the backside was a nice already stained plaque in good shape. It was only $0.50 so I was sold.
Once I got home I decided that I wanted to add a little house silhouette on the front of the plaque. I had some extra vinyl left over from when I made my templates for etching my Limoncello bottles so I used that. I sketched out a house outline on the back of the vinyl, cut it out and adhered it to the plaque.
I needed something for the plaque to stand on and a tiny wood easel that I bought for a dollar from Jo-Ann Fabrics did the trick. I wanted to add a little color so I painted it coral pink with some craft paint. Once the paint was dried I set up the easel on my front porch table and placed the little plaque on it.
With my little home plaque joining my self watering petunia plant on the top of the table, I turned to finding something to go on the lower shelf of the table. Rummaging through some old things I came across this white ceramic geisha drink glass and thought it would be perfect. When I turned twenty-one I celebrated by going out to Benihana (yeah, I am a wild one!) for dinner and my very first legal alcoholic drink was a fruity mixed drink in that glass. Over the intervening years I've held onto it but it really hasn't done much other than collect dust. It was just the right size and proportion to fit on the shelf so outside it went.
While I was at Home Depot picking up some paint I stumbled across these coral pink and light blue outdoor pillows on sale for $11. The pattern picks up the colors in my scheme and looks bright and cheery. They are also very soft and comfy which will make relaxing on the front porch even better.
I'm pretty happy with how everything has come together and while I am sure that I will probably do some tweaking later, I think it is basically finished...for now.
Are you enjoying your front porch this summer? Is it someplace that you enjoy hanging out? Have you done anything to decorate it?
Sunday, July 8, 2012 at 6:59PM | Posted by Lisa | 3 Comments | Share Article | Email Article | Print Article 
Reader Comments (3)
I like your re-purposing of the plaque. No front porch for me, but I do enjoy sitting on my patio in the back yard. Yesterday (Sunday) I watched a horse show held at the farm behind us; enjoyed the daylilies (my favourite flower in the garden) & watched a chipmunk scurry about trying to get the sunflower seeds before the squirrels, all this in the comfort of my new chair pads.
Your front porch looks so welcoming. I am staying at a friend's house while he is out of town. He has a porch swing on the front porch. Maybe I'll try to decorate a bit for him while he is gone. :)
Mary-Lou- Thank you so much! It sounds like you get a lot of good use from your back patio. That is so cool that you could see a horse show from your yard!
Rene- Thank you! I just love porch swings. You are lucky to be staying someplace with one while you are home hunting.