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If The World Had A Front Porch

Eric and I started our home thanks to the generosity of so many people who have given and continue to give us "hand-me downs." Restoring each piece of furniture has been an investment of time, but has taught us to be good stewards of our finances and to truly appreciate what we have. We are so proud that the only piece of new furniture in our home is the couch, and that was thanks to the kindness of Eric's parents.




Our front porch is no exception. The wicker chairs were a blessed gift from my parents who had painted them white while using them in their own home. To better suit our style, Eric painted them black. First we had to use a steel brush to get all the white paint off. Then, we had to spray them down with water. Once they dried, Eric primed them and painted them black using his dad's paint sprayer.




The topiaries were also given to us from my parents who were no longer using them. I used my birthday money from Eric's mom and dad to buy all the paint supplies and the red pillows you see here.




The cushions were a gift from Eric just this week. I had looked long and hard to find black and white cushions, but they were all too expensive. So, I just used the red pillows. Well, the Lord blessed us this week when we went to a discount shop here in town and right when we walked in the angels sang above these cushions...ha! Something like that!




The next project is one of my favorite. My dad found this plant stand in a dumpster about ten years ago, and since he had never used it, he sent it to me. It didn't have a top and was missing one of it's wheels. Plus, it was green!





Well, Eric spray painted it black and somehow rigged the leg up to make it sit even. The most drastic change is the top! He bought some inexpensive wood and painted it white. He then used an old gift box to cut a stencil of a "W" which he spray painted black. The final result was this custom table....








I LOVE it!! I love that we now have a beautiful front porch to welcome our guests. More than the porch I love the generosity of our parents who gave us unused furniture, loaned us the tools to work on the project, and kindly blessed me with money on my birthday. Of course I also love my husband who worked so hard to make it PERFECT just for me!!





Ya'll, I'm walkin'/ talkin' proof that you can decorate on any budget. To show you, here is the rundown:






Furniture: Free


Table: Free


Paint & Tools: $50


Cushions: $39


Pillows: $30


Plants: Free


Flag: $16


Wreath: Homemade


Comments

  1. KellyAugust 19, 2011 at 12:32 PM

    Looking at these pictures, makes me want a porch! It looks great! I am jealous!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Sabrina PateAugust 19, 2011 at 3:03 PM

    cute cute cute!

    ReplyDelete
  3. SarahAugust 19, 2011 at 5:46 PM

    You all are so talented at doing this. Maybe you can give me some tips for my house. I don't have the best eye for decor. lol

    ReplyDelete
  4. Kathryn GriffinAugust 31, 2011 at 8:59 PM

    So pretty and inviting! Wish I had a porch. Anyhoo, found you via Beneath My Heart. Tootles, Kathryn

    ReplyDelete
  5. The mum of all tradesSeptember 2, 2011 at 5:48 AM

    I love this!I'm having my first blog hop this weekend. I would love for you to link up some projects. I think my readers here in the UK would really enjoy looking at your beautiful, typically American home.
    Hope you can make it.
    http://mumofalltrades.blogspot.com

    ReplyDelete
  6. UnknownSeptember 20, 2011 at 3:38 AM

    Hi Morgan. You porch looks as Southern welcoming as can be. The red and black is really pretty and I really like your monogrammed table.

    Hugs...Tracy :)

    ReplyDelete

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