Side Porch Makeover ... Part One
When we moved from California to Virginia and started our house shopping, our realtor asked us to tell him the top three things we were looking for. Hilarious! I had a bucket list and a very high expectation that I would get everything on it for the price that I wanted. I didn’t think I was being too unreasonable … after all, I wasn’t asking for a castle with a turret, or a moat, or even a drawbridge. There were two specific things on that list, though: a patio/deck and a front porch … this is Virginia, after all! Well let me tell you what … we hit the porch / deck / patio lottery! This house is PORCH RICH! It has a front porch, a two-tier back deck, and a side porch. Whoo hoo!
We LOVE to be outside. The porch is the place to be, whether for grilling, dining, reading, storm watching, playing board games, or just relaxing with friends.
Our first summer here, though, we quickly realized that we weren’t going to be able to do a whole lot on those porches if we didn’t give them a bit of a makeover and screen them. Let’s just say this … California ain’t got these ‘kinda bugs.
And so the side porch makeover got bumped to the top of the “to-do” list.
The porch was in its original construction state when we bought the house. The posts and decking were now well-weathered natural wood. As much as I love the look of natural wood, it wasn’t cohesive with the look of the house. It looked “un-done.”
Our first shopping trip to Lowe’s® was to figure out what we would use to cover the wood. The paint specialist in our Lowe’s has always been very helpful and hadn’t failed us yet, so we hunted him down. We told him what we were doing and how we intended to use the porch.
Whenever you move to a new area and have exterior projects to do, always check with local professionals. The will steer you in the right direction for your climate needs. You might be surprised to know that we didn’t use paint, but rather we stained the wood and we are so happy we did.
Now the porch looks like it’s part of the family!
We LOVE to be outside. The porch is the place to be, whether for grilling, dining, reading, storm watching, playing board games, or just relaxing with friends.
Our first summer here, though, we quickly realized that we weren’t going to be able to do a whole lot on those porches if we didn’t give them a bit of a makeover and screen them. Let’s just say this … California ain’t got these ‘kinda bugs.
And so the side porch makeover got bumped to the top of the “to-do” list.
The porch was in its original construction state when we bought the house. The posts and decking were now well-weathered natural wood. As much as I love the look of natural wood, it wasn’t cohesive with the look of the house. It looked “un-done.”
Our first shopping trip to Lowe’s® was to figure out what we would use to cover the wood. The paint specialist in our Lowe’s has always been very helpful and hadn’t failed us yet, so we hunted him down. We told him what we were doing and how we intended to use the porch.
Whenever you move to a new area and have exterior projects to do, always check with local professionals. The will steer you in the right direction for your climate needs. You might be surprised to know that we didn’t use paint, but rather we stained the wood and we are so happy we did.
Now the porch looks like it’s part of the family!
The porch on our new house was beautiful, but not practical, especially during the summer months.
On our bucket list of "must-haves" for our new house was a patio or a deck. We scored big time with our new house!
The well-weathered natural wood on the posts and deck needed to be cleaned, sealed and painted to coordinate with the exterior of the house.
A couple of coats of white stain, and the porch is already looking better.
The decking we stained in gray. One coat (as shown) was pretty good, but it still needed another coat.
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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2 of 9 comments
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I want a porch my home has a little stoop
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What I could see looks fantastic
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