Our enclosed back porch has seen it’s share of action since we moved in less than a year ago. It’s been a garbage pile, a construction dump, and even a gardening shed. But one thing this house is teaching me is to: live in it and then decide what to do with each space. And so, the enclosed porch has been in limbo. Mostly an ugly eyesore in between type of limbo.
With this being our very first spring and summer in our home, we finally had the opportunity to use the enclosed porch. I found my kids going in and out of the house from here all the time. And the dog pretty much lived in the space.
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We tried a few different pieces of furniture and the last arrangement really showed me how our enclosed porch would serve my family best. It wasn’t pretty. Like, at all. But I could see the potential and my problem-solving brain kicked into high gear.
OUR ENCLOSED PORCH BEFORE:
Okay, I’m sorry. Legitimately sorry that you have to look at these photos. I was so grossed out by this enclosed back porch that I basically had to ignore all of it…for months.
But I did learn something by letting the space go:
1. We need some type of storage.
2. We like somewhere to sit.
3. There has to be a solution to the disgusting floor that comes with kids tracking in dirt.
OUR BACK PORCH MAKEOVER:
The first thing I did was to remove everything that was in this room. Most of it was put in the garage temporarily. {Maybe some of it is still in there…maybe…}
This porch is not weather-proofed and these windows are just single-paned old, old windows that are just nailed in place by random pieces of wood. Whoever “built” this room wasn’t going for any awards, that’s for sure. But, I was determined to give it a makeover that didn’t require gutting or rebuilding. {Maybe someday…but don’t tell James I said that!}
And the floor. Ugh! This stain goes back to that week I spent here in our home prepping it for us to move in. Basically, I sanded floors for 12 hours a day. {You can read all about that HERE.} And one late night, I spilled floor poly here amongst the trash bags full of sawdust. And I didn’t care. Guess what? I kinda cared now. Major bummer.
After clearing our enclosed porch out, my trusty old friend, paint, showed up. The cutting in with a brush {THIS ONE is my favorite} was tedious because the two full walls are actually the exterior cedar shake siding that comprises our entire home. To me, it was a little pre-show and a good tutorial building up to when we do repaint our exterior. {Again, let’s keep this between you and I. No need to get James all worked up…yet!}
{Did you know that we repainted the exterior of our farmhouse? You can catch all of those before and after photos HERE. That house was a beast to paint, so this one has us kind of like, “eh, no big deal.”}
I used Behr base white in satin for all of the walls…mostly because I had it on hand, so pretty much free for this project!
I always put a drop cloth down…except this time because the plan was always to clean and repaint this floor. Obviously, it got worse before it got better.
And then I did a thing. It felt like a risk for me. But I have been swooning over this for a while now and our enclosed porch was the perfect opportunity to try it out. Ready…here it is: I painted the window frames black! I was a little nervous that the black and white would have a cold feeling, but the opposite happened…the black made our enclosed porch feel cozy.
OUR BACK PORCH MAKEOVER REVEAL:
Drum roll, please. Mostly because I like to be dramatic about such things. But in the most calm and serious manner, I just have to say: I LOVE OUR BACK PORCH NOW!
For storage, I moved this tall cabinet from our kitchen into the space. The size of the piece here had to be narrow in order to allow the door to our kitchen and homeschool nook to fully open {click HERE for that makeover}.
Yep, this door right here. Which…I painted black too and I have to say that I am quite smitten!
Using some thrift store frames, which I spray painted gold, I simply hung some prints that I tore out of an art book. And basically this is the moment that my husband says, “Why would you do all of this for a back porch?” To which I respond, “Why wouldn’t you?” This is when he smiles and chuckles at me. That’s love right there. ♥
Let’s take a peek at the other side of the porch and this chair. It was a random thrift store purchase last winter and it had been sitting in our basement ever since. I reupholstered and restained it and voila! {More info about the chair makeover coming soon.}
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On the wall behind the door, I hung a simple hook rack to hold things like an umbrella, dog leash, and a head lamp…all essential dog owner things.
In an effort to add a little softness and a cozy feel to our enclosed porch, I made some very simple curtains out of linen fabric. By only covering the bottom half of the windows, we have a bit more privacy, but still have plenty of light.
My solution for the floor was to paint and poly it. Now it can easily be mopped clean. But, I also added a runner in here that will hopefully catch the bulk of kid dirt as they run through here. The bonus is that it is an indoor/outdoor rug that can be washed outside with a hose. Winner, winner…and I usually follow that with chicken dinner, but that has nothing to do with a rug and I’m known for being terrible at making up rhymes on the fly. And now I’m rambling, as usual…squirrel! {But click HERE for the rug link.}
This view…it gets me every time.
And just in case I was worried that I had wasted my time on this enclosed back porch makeover…
The first day after it being done, I found her doing schoolwork out here every moment she could. And later on, I found all three of my kids and the dog just hanging out in this space. It was definitely worth the time.
This back porch makeover was the longest small room makeover for me ever. And at times, I was a bit frustrated that life kept interrupting my progress. But I think it was a blessing in disguise as I really had time to think over my plans. I weeded out the extra and stuck to my favorite thing: functional beauty. And the dog approves, so we’re all good.
How about you? Any project that you are mulling over and using a little bit of time to figure out the solution that works best for your family? I’d love to hear about it!
♥ Leigh
FIND MORE OF OUR PROJECTS:
Phase One: Kitchen Open Shelves
An Office Converted into a Half-Bath/Laundry Room
Vintage Bathroom Makeover with a $100 Budget!
A Garbage Picked Basket Transformation
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This is fabulous! I love how homey it feels, and I’m always inspired by your knack for using what you have and not just nonchalantly dropping a grand here or there for a project.
Thank you, Andrea. We’ve always been on a budget, so it’s kinda “normal” for me to keep the projects low cost, but it’s also a fun and creative challenge.
What a wonderful makeover!! And inexpensive!! The best kind!! It looks soooo good!!! Very inviting! You SHOULD be smitten over it.
Thank you, Cheryl. Your encouragement is so sweet.
Looks amazing. I would say it was well worth every bit of effort because it is a beautiful way to leave and enter your home!
Aww, thank you, Donna. It definitely was worth the time and effort. 🙂
Love it!! Every bit! Worth all the hard work! Loving the contrast of the black and white. Just brings the space to life! What a cozy place to spend some time in the afternoons or early mornings or evenings…..and the curtains and chair are the perfect touches! Great job!!
Thank you, Jana. I was a bit unsure about the black and white, but I’m so glad I went for it.
Your porch makeover it beautiful!!
Thank you so much, Marilyn!
Oh my goodness! It’s Beautiful, warm, cozy and so, so inviting! I Love how it turned out! And those curtains from twin sheets… Wow! You make me want to run and do my sleeping porch now. And I would if I didn’t have a hundred things in front of it to do first but I would definitely love it to turn out just like this…
I also have to mention the chair. You did such a beautiful job on that chair. I do hope you also tell us how you did that. I have two to do and I don’t know where to even start. Perfectly Pretty!!!
Thanks, Lena! I hope you can get to your sleeping porch soon…or maybe by next spring!
This is so lovely, and so worth doing! Thanks for sharing it with us.
Thank you for stopping by this post, Corrie!
I love it all!!
Oh my goodness!!! I love it!!!
Thank you so much, Laurie!
You are so sweet, Sherry. Thank you!
That is the sweetest little back porch! As a kid, we lived in an old farmhouse that had an L-shaped porch with screens on the top half and I always dreamed about making it pretty. I love your homeschool space as well. We are building a home and are planning to use one of the two walk in closets as a small office space and it is also only about 5’ wide and almost 9’ long, so we have it be creative, but we felt it was a better use of the space. We have already found a nice second hand sofa table with a drawer to use as a desk because it is narrower than a typical desk. I love your plan of living in a home for a while to give your self time to figure out how to use the space so that it functions best for your family❤️. I love the beautiful simplicity in your home, something I am certainly striving for.
Thank you, Vicki. And I am so excited about your new home. What a fun time in life! And I absolutely love that memory from your childhood. ♥
Leigh I just love this! Once again you are always making over spaces in a practical, pretty, and budget-friendly way. Growing up my mama was the same way, and we girls loved to sit on the porch in the little haven she created for us. Thank you for sharing! ❤️
I absolutely love to hear this! Hoping my kids have the same sweet memories. ♥
Love how you transformed this space. Very pretty!
Kind of excited to see what you’ll do for the holidays-can’t wait.
Thank you, Michele! It’s anyone’s guess what I do for the holidays at this point. 😉
Leigh! I love what you did with this space! You are so talented! I love how you are able to transform these areas into functional, practical spaces at a low cost but still looks like a million bucks!! I do have a question about the floor. We have a mudroom that has a chipped up painted concrete floor with that stuff that looks like specks of color, do you know what I’m talking about, lol? Anyway, did you just paint it after a thorough cleaning or did you have to do anything else before painting it? And what color and type of paint did you use for your floor? I love the color! Thanks! Kristie from Mountain View Homestead
It looks so great! Cheerful and useable. I want to come sit in that chair. Makes me want to paint my floors green! Happy Spring ❤️
Aww, thank you, Tami! It has become a favorite “room” in our home. ♥
Love the transformation Leigh! The black/white for the windows especially~ How creative and bold and yet striking. I have no patience for sewing so always admire those who are able to make things. Lot of work and love went into this, and yet kudos to the beautiful room created to be enjoyed by you/family! Two thumbs up Friend!
Thank you, Julie! And don’t be impressed with my sewing skills…it’s not a natural talent of mine. I did enough to get the job done. 😉
Leigh, your porch looks wonderful! I too have a small enclosed porch that leads into my kitchen. I too have been considering how to add seating, so how did you decide that one chair would be sufficient versus a bench or set of bistro chairs? And your floor… be still my heart! Seriously my porch floor gets SO nasty, especially here in Michigan with mud, grass clippings and beach sand. I tried terf carpet (indoor/outdoor like fake grass) but was happiest when I pulled it out and painted it gray, but definitely hard to clean. You mentioned using “poly.” Can you tell me about this?? Your story and photos have inspired me to try again! Thank you