Show Me The Progress Party...The Front Porch Edition

Amanda is having a Show Me The Progress Party today, so I thought I'd show off the front porch because it's pretty much the only progress I've made lately.  This is the original post.  Here is the before picture: 

Boring, right?  The whole house is tan.  The only color was from the bench Hubby painted red for me and the color from the kids bikes, four to be exact!  I'm sure our neighbors must think I am the old lady from "There Once Was An Old Lady Who Lived In A Shoe" from all the bikes and/or scooters on the porch.  So, we moved the bikes off of the front porch so that it's not quite so obvious that I'm the old lady who lives in a shoe - actually I live in a shoebox size house, but that's another story. 

I painted the front door black (find that post here)

 and made a new burlap wreath (find that post here). 

Then I made some new pillows for my bench (find that post here.) 

Let's just pretend that I dusted the bench before I took this picture.  You can pretend, right?

This is the current photo:

I still have a lot to do.  I still need to paint my chippy white rockers and I still need to add something between the door and the window and get a new doormat, but it's progress anyway. 

Run on over to Amanda's and check out everyone's progress.

Front Porch Pillows

A few months ago, at Amanda's Decorating Dilemma Party (see post here ), I complained about my front porch.  It was BORING!!!  I got LOTS of suggestions and have made a few improvements, including the pillows I made.  Wanna see?

I love me some zebra!  I adore the envelope pillow with the green button.  Wanna see a close up?

Isn't it cute?  I used a ribbon covered button and a hair tie for the envelope closure.  It's far from perfect, but I think it turned out pretty good considering I didn't use a pattern.  I really wanted to try a pillow with cording, but I ran out of time .  I was trying to get this done before my company got here so I didn't have time for trial and error. 

So, here's the front porch now:

 

I still have some improvements to do, but it's looking better. 

I'm linking up to: 

Dollar Store Wreath

So, as you may know, I have been trying to get my front porch spruced up.  I've been wanting to make a wreath of some sort for my front door, which was painted black last week.  I picked up a wreath form at DollarTree and some burlap at Wal-Mart. 

I have seen many, many versions of the burlap wreath and I love them all.  Then last week I saw this adorable rag wreath and I was torn.  So, I decided to combine the two of them.  I cut my burlap into strips and went to work tying them on. 

My dining room table looked like it had snowed from all the fraying burlap fuzz.  Lovely.  Anyway, I tied and I tied and I tied and I tied until I could barely lift my already very sore arms (durn shoulder presses!  UGH!).  Anyway, then I made a few fabric flowers using some of the fabric I bought to make pillows for the front porch. 

I also added my Modge Podge "M" in the middle.  I'm not sure if that part is staying.

I know I need another flower, but I need to add in another fabric - green I think.  Hopefully, I can make a trip to the fabric store soon. 

I'm entering this project at:

 

Go on over and enter your latest dollar store project.

I'm also linking to Frugaliscious Friday @ Finding Fabulous and Weekend Wrap-Up Party @ Chocolate Sundaes and

    

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.