A Fresh, New Look For An Old Fashion Screened In Porch

 

These days the outdoor living area has morphed into a covered area with flagstone floors, a fireplace and a kitchen.   And, they are wonderful, functional and tons of fun.  But, there’s something oddly cozy and charming about the good old fashioned screened in porch.  

We had a screened in porch built years ago – long before the current outdoor living area became so popular. And, it’s probably the favorite room in the house. We lounge out there, have dinner out there……coffee and newspaper in the morning, wine in the evening. Whenever the Texas weather allows it’s the most used room we have.

  But, recently my rattan furniture has looked a bit “tired” and in desperate need of a facelift.

I didn’t want to spend the money on new furniture, but wanted something fresh and fun.  I haggled back and forth between paint colors……did I want sage green or did I want black?

After giving it some thought I settled on black.  So I hauled all my wicker furniture out into the back yard, wiped it all down with a moist rag…..

Then started painting…..

And, painting…..

And, painting!

Everything thing got a couple of coats of glossy black spray paint.

Including this $50.00 rattan bench I purchased on clearance from Big Lots to add more seating to my dining table……

And, this tall storage chest.  (This was originally a natural fence post color for my boy’s play room from twenty years ago that I later painted this creamy white for my daughter.  She had this color in her room for a few years and then I moved it to my porch. It worked for a time in this creamy color, but now it’s time for a new look again in black to match the rest of the outdoor space.)

When I finished painting it looked like this.  Fresh, fun and new.  I got this fun rug at Walmart for $59.00.  Love the bright, bold colors and pattern.

But, I felt the space still needed “something”, so I tried hanging sheers to see if it gave me the final look I wanted or if it was just too much.  When I stepped back to check it out I immediately knew it gave the porch the cozy look I was shooting for…..

So I went to Bed, Bath and Beyond and bought enough sheers to cover each corner.  I used my $5.00 off coupons and my 20% off coupons and got each $20.00 panel for $15.00-$16.00 per panel.  By the way did you know at Bed, Bath and Beyond you can use a coupon for each item you buy?  I had ten panels and ten coupons – one for each sheer.  And, for those of you who don’t know this – they will take expired coupons up to seven years old!

Adding the sheers created the charm and coziness that I was looking for.

Then I tweaked the accessories, adding lime green flowers to my arrangement and bringing in this antique plate from my collection in the house to compliment the lime green in the new rug….

I also added this adorable dog bed from Hobby Lobby for our cute little Chihuahua, Harley.  It was already black so it fit perfectly.  (And, of course it was on clearance or I probably wouldn’t have gotten it.)

I painted some of the accessories black….

Added some lime green to my potpourri – again to pull the green from the new rug in.

I also painted all the dining chairs black and switched out my cushions to this fun red and cream from Gardenridge.  This chandelier over the table was originally cream…..

Then I painted it turquoise for the wedding photo booth….

….then recycled it again by painting it black to hang above my table on my porch.  Remember paint is our easiest, cheapest design tool…..it makes everything better!

I made good use of this palm that was left over from the wedding by placing it in the corner for a cozy touch and painted this urn black (originally gray) to match everything else.

Then I added some some new accessories like these garden balls to give it a fresh, new look.  Notice my black cabinet in the corner?  Love it in this color!  Simple, inexpensive paint has helped me re-create this piece that I’ve now had for twenty years.

I have a collection of birdhouses and bird cages sprinkled all over the porch.  I just gave them a quick clean.

I painted these tall candle holders black from the rusty brown color they were originally.  You can see them used at a shower I did on my blog post here.  The shorter candle holders were originally gray.  I got them at Hobby Lobby for $5.00 on clearance and painted them black, too.  (I was on such a roll painting everything I think my husband was afraid if he walked by I’d paint him black, too!)

The end result is a fresh, updated “old fashioned screened in porch”.  Though it’s mostly recycled items that have been painted, rearranged, or tweaked  -  it feels brand new now, and I know we’ll continue to enjoy it as a family for many more years.

Happy Decorating!