Front Porch Progress!

Good morning!! I am excited today because I have a few photos to share with you that I took this morning. Over the weekend, Benny and I were our own demolition crew and went to work ripping out the very old (and ripped) screens surrounding our front porch. This was quite a project (never mind being 7 months pregnant…) because the old screen frames were all nailed in deeply and we had to literally tear them out in tons of little pieces. But wow. It was totally worth it…

As you can see, the only part we were not able to do was remove the frame for the screen door – I think we will need more tools for that! But even with that small portion of screen remaining, the amount of light coming into our front porch is such an amazing improvement. I love it! I think that the house looks more friendly and welcoming from the street now, what do you think?

Now that the demolition is (mostly) out of the way, I can begin to think about the fun part – adding landscaping, porch furnishings and flowers! Here are the first things on my list:

1. Remove the screen door frame.
2. Plant large hanging baskets of flowers on each side of the porch.
3. Add two large planters at the top of the steps.
4. Remove part (or all) of the grass as well as 2 of the bushes (we will leave the hydrangea there on the right), filling in the landscape instead with perennials.
5. I am thinking about putting in an arbor near the front of the walkway, with climbing roses planted at the base.

And on the porch itself…

1. Large planters (as I mentioned above) will go here instead of trees.
2. Hanging baskets of flowers.
3. Chill area with colorful outdoor rug, glider bench, chair, small table, and colorful cushions.
4. Small café table & chairs atop a rug that matches the one on the other side of porch.

I am so excited – I just want it all to be done now! But I do need to take it a bit slow and search out the best deals on planters and outdoor furniture instead of buying everything right away. Do you have any good sources for bargains on outdoor stuff? So far I have been checking out Overstock.com and local ads on Craigslist, and we are planning a trip to good-ol’ Ikea in a few weeks :)  I would also love to hear your thoughts/advice on what I have planned so far. Oh! And what do you think about colors to include in our plantings? Any landscaping tips you would like to share?

{images: Laura Gaskill}

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