Small Screened-in Porch Makeover: From Drab to Fab in a Day
4 Materials
$300
1 Day
Medium
When we purchased our 1960’s Garrison colonial with a screened-in porch addition, I dreamed about creating an idyllic outdoor room. But after we spent a small fortune on a major interior renovation, there wasn't much left for our porch.
Finally, through some trial and error, I finally have the cheerful screened-in porch I always wanted. The best part? We managed to create our little outdoor oasis on a budget in just one day! Read on for how we did it.
This beat-up porch with drab floors and a rusty ceiling light aren't inspiring, are they? But, even a dark, small 10x12' porch is better than none at all. When we first moved in, I simply transferred our old patio furniture for our previous home and lived with it for a year.
The following summer I added a DIY succulent wreath, small area rug, and shopped our home for a few more accessories to add some life to our porch. But there was a big, ugly problem with the small outdoor room.
Our gas grill is just to the left in this photo. My husband enjoys grilling year-round, so having it on the porch was ideal for him. But, the rusty monstrosity took up precious space, especially with the oversize patio furniture in the way as well.
Additionally, the grill prevented us from having a larger rug on the porch (grill + rug = major fire hazard!).
After convincing my husband to move the grill outside, this summer I finally had the opportunity to turn the drab screened-in porch into the cozy, cheerful outdoor room I always wanted.
Here's what our small porch looks like now! A smaller table and stackable chairs from Target fit the space so much better than our old furniture, which I sold on a local yardsale website.
The large indoor-outdoor rug, formerly in our dining room, covers the ugly floor (we power-washed both the floor and rug first).
A small resin wicker settee from Lowe's, topped with colorful pillows, sits where our grill used to be and is a cozy spot for reading.
Did you know there are hooks especially made for vinyl siding? They're easy to install and made it possible to hang some pretty metal wall decor I dug up from our basement.
By shopping big box stores and using items we already had, our small screened-in porch transformed from a dingy gray box to a bold, bright outdoor room that coordinates with the rest of our home.
Read the full blog post to see all the decorating tricks I used to make this transformation possible. Plus get a free e-book with six must-know decorating tricks to create a beautiful, functional home your whole family will love!
Want more details about this and other DIY projects? Check out my blog post!
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2 of 43 comments
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Beautiful porch.
Some paving rocks to raise it above ground level and a tarp and stretch tie(s) to hold the tarp in place can protect your grill from the weather off the porch year round.
If you don't like seeing the grill parked near the porch, perhaps you could try creating a 4' wide trellis in a box as a divider wall between the porch and grill.
https://i.pinimg.com/originals/4b/5a/f3/4b5af30e18db403cd81f5b0ef4db8465.jpg ;
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I have a back pouch, n I would love to spurs it up. I have purple lawn chairs ( that I painted) n a purple n white table ( also painted) I was thinking about staining the wood n paint the railings white or stain the whole thing .
Frequently asked questions
Have a question about this project?
Will the hooks used on your siding work on my asbestos tile too?
I couldn't help but notice that 2 different rugs were in your renovation. Any advice for someone who doesn't have a clue on different rugs? Of course, indoor/outdoor is a must.
Any tips on how to easily install screen on porch?