Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Decorating Dilemma Party - The Front Porch Edition

"Hey  y'all!  So glad you stopped by.  Can I get you a glass of sweet tea or strawberry lemonade?  Let's go out on the front porch and sit a spell."  These are not words that come out of my mouth.  Wanna know why?  Because my front porch is, well, boring.  BORING!!  It needs, well, something. 

This is the front of my house.  Taupe and BORING!!!  Obviously this was a builder's spec home so everything was picked and finished before I had a say in it.  Everything on the inside and outside was taupe.  UGH!  I've got most of the rooms inside painted now, but the outside is still boring and taupe. 




Yes, I covered my house numbers with paper just in case because you can never be too careful.  Yes, I am a total overprotective freak about stuff like that and I'm not smart enough to figure out how to blur it out in the picture.  Anyway, on to the problems.  The bikes obviously need to go to the garage.  Hubby painted the bench for me, red of course.  I'm thinking of painting the door black.  What do you think?  I know.  I know.  I paint everything black, but I just can't seem to help myself.  I think I need to go to black paint rehab.  I'll get on that as soon as I get out of Golden Double Stuff "Crack" Oreo Rehab.  Anyway, I bought some outdoor fabric at Joann's the other day.  Wanna see? 



I know my reds are a little off, but it's not soooo bad, is it?  I ADORE the zebra, of course.  Anyway, I plan on making pillows out of those to go on the bench.  The other problem? 



They are hand-me-downs from my MIL's front porch when she moved here from Georgia.  I loooove them, but am undecided about repainting.  I like the chippy white paint, but nobody EVER sits in them because they would be covered in chipped white paint.  There are little white paint chips all over my front porch.  Hubby says they definitely need to be painted.  Should I suck it up and repaint them?  If so, what color?  White again?  Black?  I'm totally undecided! 

One more thing.  Please don't tell me to get rid of my fern.  I just got it.  It screams "southern home front porch" to me and I love it.  I have vowed not to touch it, lest it die a tragic death (I have a black thumb), but Hubby said he would take care of it for me. 

I know I need something for the front door too.  I'm thinking a cute wreath.  Maybe a cute burlap number?  What do you think?

Have a dilemma of your own?  Are you a decorating genius?  Hop on over to Amanda's blog and join the party. 

Decorating Dilemmas

13 comments:

  1. This will be like the blind leading the blind regarding front porch boredom because I need a front porch make over too!

    BUT... my 2 cents on the rockers is to paint them. I love the weathered/shabby look myself, but on the porch it kind of tends to look neglected or something. I agree with your husband to suck it up and paint them.

    Or let HIM paint them. wink.

    I really love your fabrics and think they are going to add a great pop. Wreath on the front door is a great idea too!

    I will love seeing the transformation.

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  2. Such potential! I say paint the door black or blackish, we just painted our black fox (not so black, but still black enough)! I think a wreath on the door would be adorable, but you could also put it in between the door and window too! Love the fabric you picked for the pillows too! The rocking chairs are just gorgeous! What if you would repaint them white or creamy white, sand, distress and then glaze to leave black in the crevices? I also think it would look nice to add something to the corner where you have the star, maybe add some flower pots to each side of the door? Is there enough room on your porch to put one rocking chair on each side of the window and move the bench to the left and then your bench won't be in front of the window? So much potential, can't wait to see what you do! Good luck!

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  3. I vote black for the front door. I would definitely do a wreath so the door isn't naked. How about a vinyl "Welcome" sign to the left of the doorknob and I would do a kick plate on the bottom. They have them at Lowe's. It would definitely make the door pop and would match your bench and fabrics.

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  4. I like the red bench, and I think a black front door would look great. Add a white "Welcome" or "No. _ _ _" for your house number and it would pop. I think a burlap wreath sounds fab. You could add in pops of red or even some aqua.

    The bike streamers made me think of aqua. That looks so cool with red. I could see that zebra pillow trimmed in aqua.

    I'd repaint the chairs. Black might be too hot to sit on, but white would be good. Maybe add a plant stand and/or a small outdoor rug?

    Wonder if you could hang a chalkboard or a plaque or something to the right of the door for something fun....

    Thanks so much for linking up! Hope you have some fun visiting around. :)

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  5. I think it's a great blank slate.

    Ok, I think the painted bench is great and I think painting the front door black is a fabulous idea (I'm about to do the same to our front door too.)

    I think the bench would look nice if you moved it to the left of the front door and put a rocking chair on either side of the front window. I think you should paint the rockers too - I like the idea of painting them a creamy white, distressing them, then glazing them and leaving the glaze all dark in the crevices and corners. I think that would look GREAT with your red bench, black door and those gorgous fabrics! Like Amanada said - maybe bring in some aqua - like in a plant stand (and keep that fern - I have ferns on my porch too) and a fun chalkboard!

    Can't wait to see what you do!

    Oh and any advice you have for my sad little porch would be very welcome!
    http://widdlebugs.blogspot.com/2010/05/front-porch-flower-pots.html

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  6. I am actually thinking a red front door would look cute. Then paint the rockers black, and put the red bench in the middle, with the rockers on each side of it.
    And, yes, a wreath would look great. :-)

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  7. LOL - your opening lines made me laugh. I think your porch has tons of potential! I LOVE the fabrics that you have picked out. The zebra with the red stripe would be such a statement. I would paint the chairs. Maybe a dark brown to tie in with the zebra or red or the white is nice too. And a red door would be fabulous! I can't wait to see what you do!

    XOOX
    Jen

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  8. LOVE YOUR FRONT PORCH!! I think a black door w/a burlap wreath would be FAB!! then maybe something in the space between the door & window? OH & can you just seal over the chippy paint to keep them from shedding yet keep the chippy-ness? OR paint them one red & the other black? LOOOOOOOVE the fabric!!! Can't wait to see what you do!!

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  9. Definitely black front door, maybe with the house numbers on it...just like mine ;) I also hang a wreath on the door and change it seasonally.
    I love the rockers (paint them, black I think, if the door is black) and the red bench, but is there really room for all 3? At least put a rocker on either side of the bench to make it look more intentional. Love the fabric and it will look great as pillows for both the rockers and the bench.
    How about shutters on either side of the window? If you're lucky enough to find old ones, great, but you could just get some inexpensive vinyl ones at Lowes. I think I'd stick with the black for the shutters, but wouldn't rule out the possibility of an accent color, maybe the red.

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  10. Go with the black on the rockers and the door! Will look great with that fabric you picked out. And I cannot buy golden double stuff oreos anymore-- I eat them all....man they are good...see what you have done...I will not be able to do anything the rest of the day!

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  11. I would paint the chairs a bright aqua then distress them with brown and paint the door either red or brown and distress
    and put house numbers or welcome on the door along with a wreath

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  12. That's so funny. I'm a privacy freak too! I love your red bench! I would totally paint your door black. The pillows will look fabulous in that color. Then I'd sand the chairs, leaving a lot of the paint though and stain them a dark black stain. You can see what that would look like here: http://www.etsy.com/listing/38111176/vintage-window-frame-custom-made-to (look at the before and after photo). I'd pop the red star up on the door and put a planter in it's place.

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  13. I think the front door would look GREAT painted black. You might also consider painting all your window sashes (is that what they are called? the criss cross pieces of wood in the windows?) black as well. Then the windows will really pop. I would paint the rockers white and then distress them. Make cushions out of the stripey fabric and then pillows for the red bench out of the zebra fabric. Get a colorful mat for the front door. The space to the right of the door would be a great place to hang something. A metal piece maybe? Good luck. You have a nice canvas to work with!

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