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It’s the first Wednesday of the month, and you know what that means: Time to start another $100 Room Challenge! For those of you that may be new to this blog, let me give a quick overview of the $100 Room Challenge. Basically, I give myself 1 month to transform a space with a budget of $100. Every Wednesday, I update you on the things I’ve completed (and share tutorials for any DIY projects I’ve worked on). For a more in depth description of the challenge, and to see all the spaces I’ve previously completed, you can click HERE.
Now that summer has arrived, I thought we’d head outdoors for this “room” challenge, and take on the front porch. So, here’s where I’m starting:
I always share my list of goals because it helps keep me focused on what I need to be working on, so here it is:
1.) Repaint the Front Door
Over the winter, all the paint on our door started to peel off in huge chunks. (Super attractive.) The problem is: painting in sub-zero temperatures isn’t a great idea, so we decided to wait until warmer weather arrived. Now that I can count on temperatures to remain above 60 (hopefully), I want to tackle this project.
Here’s my dream front door, from On Sutton Place. That blue…
We’ll see how well I can replicate it… as in, I should probably get some cute yellow, polka dot, rain boots! (Maybe not in the budget 🙂 ) I do, however, want to make a cute wreath (I’m think magnolia or boxwood), because right now, I’ve got a fairly cute metal basket with some awful looking fake flowers… you can see them further along in the post…
2.) Update Seating Area
Remember, I don’t stage for “before pictures”, I just point and shoot. So, the table is not normally about to fall off the edge. I blame my children. Anyway, we obviously have a couple chairs and a side table, but again, the paint is chipping off the chairs. (Seems to be a theme.) I want to repaint those and add some outdoor pillows to add a pop of color. Question for you: If I can actually convince my husband that we need a blue front door, what color would you paint the chairs/table?
3.) Welcome Mat
Do you see what’s missing here? (Besides a coat of paint on the front door?) A welcome mat. Everyone needs a welcome mat, right? I feel like it’ll cozy up the space, and actually make people feel like they are being welcomed into our home. I’ve seen a couple DIY welcome mats, and they may be just what I need to stay on budget.
4.) Clean Up
This porch needs some major cob-web and dirt removal, so I’ll be gettin’ out my broom and hose, and make it pretty. I feel like I should save that for the end though because how long does a porch remain cobweb free? Like 34 seconds?
… And, seriously, it’s June. Enough with the Christmas lights. (Truth: Those have been up for 18 months. We never took them down last summer.) It’s truly time for them to be taken down.
5.) Other Miscellaneous Items?
I feel like this porch is about as boring as they come, so I’d love to add some elements to create a more homey feel… lanterns… ??? What else? Any ideas? Remember, my budget is only $100, so it can’t be anything crazy expensive.
I think that’s about it. I’m so excited to get to work outside and enjoy the warmth and sunshine this month!
Erin
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My front porch could use this makeover and I can’t wait to follow your progress and see the final result. I wanted to share that when I’ve used a bug barrier (I’ve used Ortho Home Defense but I’m sure there are many effective brands or homemade alternatives), I have been able to almost eliminate the cob webs in my small space. I went from needing to clean my porch, siding and overhangs couple of times a week to not having to clean it but once a month or so.
Awesome! I will definitely look into that! We have spiders everywhere… maybe after living in Arizona with Black Widows and Tarantulas, I’ve just become immune to Daddy Long Legs, since, ya know, they don’t kill people…
Our front doors look almost identical! (And by that I mean, I think the paint/paneling peeled off mine in the exact same spot too). Anddddd mine is that same blue you have your eyes on – and that’s the colour it’s going back to.
I think you’ll be tackling your door before I get around to mine, so hopefully you can figure out an easy way to peel all the paint 🙂
What is wrong with our front doors? This is actually happening on our garage too. So weird. Something in the snow this winter? Do you know what color blue that actually is (or at least something similar)? I am notorious for picking out what I think is the right color, only to be WAY off. I’d love any insight you have! Thanks Nicole!
Erin, as usual, I appreciate your real before pictures. It gives important information as to how a space functions. As you paint the chairs and pick out fabrics, I’m sure everything will be durable and washable. The little table will be used for many things and moved often, by children and others, so no fancy flower pots or delicate knick knacks. I think you might paint the table top and its edges the same color as the chairs. But go crazy with the table legs and braces. Maybe let the kids fingerprint color onto the legs to go with the pillow or other accent colors. I am looking forward to watching every step of this $100 Room Challenge.
Thanks Jewell. I think we’ll definitely need durable and washable with 3 kiddos. Good ideas to keep in mind.
And a piece of great art work on the right hand wall. Maybe a hand painted WELCOME sign. Maybe a large potted plant on each side of the step. A candle, lantern or potted plant on the table, a pillow in each chair and a light weight throw tossed over the back of one of them and you are done.
I think you can do all this and still come in well under $100! 🙂
Janis! You are awesome! I love all your ideas. If you are a plant/flower person, I’d love to know your thoughts on what does well with a negligent owner. I seriously kill everything. I have this horrible habit of forgetting to water things. Not good.
I am absolutely in love with your idea of putting a sign on the right-hand side of the entry! Brilliant! And I think I have everything I’d need, so I can do that for free.
Thanks!
So glad you liked these ideas.
My background just happens to be horticulture, but I love decorating. Wish I could share some before and after pictures with you. 🙂
Anyway – Impatients give you lots of bang for the buck. water them well and you don’t have to water them well once a week or if the temps are very high twice a week. If they look droopy they are begging for water. They usually perk back up in an hour or so. You can set an alert on your phone or write a reminder on the calendar. I can see pots of red on either side of the steps.
Begonias are another tough plant. They can handle some neglect, but, as I’m sure you already know, they will die without water. 😉
I thought you might have something in your stash to make a sign with. I can hardly wait to see what you come up with!
I’m guessing you have a pretty good stash of paint, too. Rugs are easy to paint. Just use whatever type of paints you have then you go over it with a coat or two of polyurethane. I did one years ago and would always laugh when people tried to wipe their feet on it! lol
You are going to do a great job. I can hardly wait to see photos!
Thank you SO much for your advice. The impatients sound like my kind of flower, so I’ll check them out. If you actually do have some before and after pictures, shoot me an email, I’d love to see them.
The obvious is to add flowers. I would also paint the little table white and go with a red, white and blue color scheme. It would look great with the house color. You may want to paint a faux rug.
Good luck with your challenge! It sounds like you have a lot of wonderful things planed for your porch!
Thanks Lauren! I’m so excited to be outdoors for this one.
Can’t believe you are ready for another challenge! 🙂 I am still recovering from the last ORC. Can’t wait to see what you do with your front porch!
I know. That ORC can be brutal! I absolutely LOVE doing these $100 Room Challenges. I get so excited trying to come up with ideas to create a better space on a very tight budget. It’s my creative outlet. Plus, blogging about the spaces keeps me from procrastinating 🙂
If you paint the door blue. You could paint the porch funk tire also. For the summer add yellow pillows. Add some containers with wild flower looks in yellow and white. Make a spring wreath and hang on wall. Can’t wait to see what you do.
Great ideas Shirley. Love the idea of yellows and white with that blue.
You can go with white impatients and/or begonias if you go with the yellow and white 🙂