#36...porch panache

Here is the finished result of my decorating endeavours for Nancy's new front porch room. A bench, a rocker, two round coffee tables that double as seating, a small side table, an outdoor rug, and some easy-care potted plants furnish the porch. The space is a cozy 6x9 feet in size, and offers seating for 5 or 6 friends to enjoy a cool summer beverage.

The bench and rocker were both purchased at discount chain stores and tweaked to coordinate with the new porch color scheme. I recovered the cushion that originally came on the bench, and added a striped panel down the center or the rocker webbing to tie the pieces together. I found some two-sided Ikat-like fabric and sewed the pillows for the bench. The outdoor rug came from Home Decorators.com, and the small side table under the window that has a plant and citronella candle on it, came from a local thrift shop. I spray painted it to match the color of the powder-coated aluminum rocker.

porch before

porch after

I like to paint spiders, butterflies and other bugs. I painted this spider using metallic fabric paints on sunbrella fabric for the rocker.

The two round yellow coffee table/stools are my favorite thing on the porch. I found one at Marshall's and scoured several stores looking for a second one, with no luck. I decided to have Tyler help me build a second table. Using the wooden vase pictured here to the left, we cut it down to the appropriate height, and cut two circles out of plywood for the top and bottom. We attached the wood column vase to the circles using screws and Gorilla Glue. Next both tables got sanded, as they were both originally dark brown. I spray primed them and then sprayed them the yellow color with an exterior spray paint. I think they really add some pop to the porch. Now........ as soon as the temperature dips below 100 degrees, I know several friends and neighbors who can't wait to sit out there relaxing.... a mojito in hand.