Front Porch Makeover (on a Budget)

This fall I finished our front porch renovation! This is a "Before & After" journey.

This is how the front porch looked in April, 2016, the first time we walked through the house with the realtor. (I took pictures every time we viewed houses so we could look back at things during the decision making processes.) Something about this photo reminds me of my childhood dentist's waiting room. It's so strange that something like that can cause residual anxiety.

Look at those heavy curtains! They were the first thing to go.

July 2016, right after we moved in. Things were moved around a bit before we found an arrangement that worked, but the chair stood the test of time in that corner. The dresser was given to us by a family member and held most of the outdoor gear. (The missing mirror from the dresser is the one I plan to use above the sink in the bathroom.)

This is how the porch has looked since last fall. Our first upgrade was the coat hooks along the far west wall since the porch doubles as a mudroom. It's simply a 1x6 board I painted white, attached 6 large coat hooks (from Wal-Mart) to, and Eli screwed the board into the wall. Shoe storage with this many people is tricky. They are everywhere. The shoe ladder I made a couple years ago is still going strong.

The next thing to get updated was the little light by the porch door this summer. Previously it was a little mason jar light that had lost its mason jar cover for the bulb. I found this light fixture on Amazon. 

You may also notice that one of the railings is missing on the steps. Boys tend to swing around anything they can hang on to when they're navigating stairs. The railing gave out this summer, which is when we discovered that the edges of the concrete steps are crumbling away under the lovely green outdoor carpet. (Why was this so popular?!) The plan is to build a new wooden landing/stoop and stairs over the concrete steps next summer. The raised bed on each side of the steps will be raked clean of rocks and I hope to start an herb bed there.

The dresser that held our snow pants, hats, mittens, hoodies, and porch (formerly back door) rugs for the past three years was ready to retire...it took a wrestling match to get the drawers open, and sometimes they won. I asked Eli to build a storage bench against the west wall under the coat hooks. (The bucket briefly housed a "pet" grasshopper the boys names Pickles...or Steve. I can't remember. He lived there for a week before I made them release him.)

Now, building things is not so much Eli's forte but mine; however, he has a strong desire to learn and make a hobby of wood working. I drew up my "plan" for the bench, said a prayer, and walked away. It took a colossal effort on both our parts (mostly will power in biting our tongues) to make this happen...some feelings were hurt along the way (ha!). But it got done and it works so much better for us than the dresser.

We had literally no extra money to put into this bench, so we only used things we had on hand (minus the hinges and a 1x10 and 1x8 for the lid). Eli salvaged the 2x4's from a scrap pile at one of his last manufacturing jobs (and yes, the pile moved with us last summer). Wood is like gold around here. The white panels are scraps of beadboard leftover from the bathroom and laundry wainscoting projects. I used the leftover Glidden High Endurance paint that I've used to redo the computer desk, school bookcase, porch chair, etc. 

I stained the door/top with Minwax gel stain that I had leftover from previous projects. This was done a few weeks later so I could finish painting the porch walls before the door was put on.

A tote inside holds hoodies; snow pants are on the left. The paneling and old flooring remain intact inside the bench, like a time capsule of what once was. 

I used two coats of Zinsser Bullseye primer (because it was cheaper than KILZ) on the paneling before I started painting. The mirrored shelf with hooks on the wall to the right of the coat hooks I found at a garage sale last spring. It was a redish color, so I primed and painted it white with chalkboard painted panels to match.

The change was pretty dramatic. It reminded me of Narnia under the spell of the White Witch.

The yellow paint I used was ColorPlace "Lemon Ice" in satin finish, and was leftover from Aidan's bedroom makeover (which will be a different post). The bad thing I've found about most yellow paint is that it does not cover well. It took 3-5 coats in most places.

The white paint I used for the trim, sills, and baseboard was ColorPlace exterior white. I removed and tossed all the vinyl mini blinds and their hardware, and removed all nails and curtain hangers (and yards of 2-sided tape!!!) from the trim. I also pulled out the non-working doorbell wire that ran the width of the porch and filled all holes in trim and paneling with wood filler and sanded it. The sills were chipped and peeling from the windows being left open all summer and needed to be scraped, primed, and painted. 

I had to get a visual of what the new floor would look like against the paint colors.

I also switched out the cracked black plastic outlet and switch plates with metal oil rubbed bronze plates. (I'm slowly getting all the plates changed in the house as I get each room done.)

I won't tell you how many "sit down and enjoy the progress made" breaks I took. It was a lot.

I did half of the porch at a time. It saved having to shuffle stuff around constantly. This was the start of the east side. There were cracks in the tile flooring that I leveled with wood filler to make the most even surface possible for the new floor.

East side painted! The bamboo roll-up blinds I found here at Big Lots for only $25.

Laying out the pattern for the flooring, I went with a 1/3 plank stagger. I bought the vinyl, self-adhesive tiles from Amazon last summer. I was honestly worried they were too silver when I first saw them, but I love how it turned out. In my "home renovation mind" I really wanted a wood-look tile floor...which would have required removing baseboards, ripping up the existing linoleum tiles, laying thinset or mastic, grouting, getting a tile cutter, and the likelihood that tiles would crack as the concrete underneath settles. Not to mention the cost, and how slippery most tile gets when wet. While the cost of these particular vinyl tiles has increased significantly on Amazon since last summer, they were a pretty cheap flooring option initially. Most of the cuts I made with a scissors. After reading reviews I chose to also glue the tiles down with DAP Weldwood floor adhesive instead of relying on the self-adhesive to hold up.

This is how far I got the first day.

Temps had dipped down into the 30's by the time I tackled the floor, so I ran a little heater in the porch until the adhesive dried. It was like having a whole new room in the house.

Only a couple pieces left to install! I
 discovered working with floor adhesive is not pleasant. I had to keep a warm soapy rag in arms reach.

The east end completed! 

Mojo was soaking up the heat while he could.

The west end completed!

I tried to total how much the porch makeover cost, and while I may be missing a few things, this number is pretty close. I didn't count the black paint or stain that I already had on hand because I used a pretty minimal amount of each. 

• Zinsser Bullseye Primer: $19
• ColorPlace White Exterior paint: $18
• 1/2 gallon ColorPlace "Lemon Ice" paint: $6
• 6 oil rubbed bronze coat hooks: $18
• New wood for bench door and hooks: $26
• Hinges: $6
• Switchplate and outlet covers: $8
• Bamboo blinds: $25
• DAP floor adhesive: $6
• Vinyl plank flooring: $90

For a Grand Total of: $222!