The porch is an important part of a home. Some porches are an outdoor living space used every day, and others are just a cozy welcome. Regardless, let’s bring the cozy style that we all love and adore to the outside. Whether you have a small front porch or a large front porch, we have a budget friendly five-step approach to updating your space.
We are going through a DIY farmhouse porch of our own.
[Content in this blog post is sponsored by Wayfair, but all thoughts and options are my own.]
Our Porch Update
Recently, we removed the rails and spindles. Most of them were rotted and falling apart, and from the moment we moved into White Cottage Farm, this porch was always on the to-do list. It kept getting pushed aside, and its finally up for its makeover, just ahead of fall!
After the rails were out, we sanded the floor to allow for us to repair any bad boards and get it prepped to be repainted. To our surprise we love the way the porch looks raw, it has good color and if sealed correctly, we think it’ll add some farmhouse charm to the outside of our home.
In addition to the porch floor, we also updated our exterior lights. We created a bolder statement with the size and overall stature of our exterior lights around the porch, giving it a more historically accurate look.
As it sits today, we need to finish sanding the perimeter of the porch, paint the skirt board around the entire deck, and fully replace the stair treads leading up to the porch. We will be sure to share along the way on our social, but now let’s jump into a budget friendly approach to updating your porch.
The 5 Steps to Updating Your Porch
1. Assessment: Step Back & Take a Photo
Looking at your porch from multiple angles—from streetside, to driveway, and to sitting on the porch yourself. You need to fully immerse yourself in the space to fully identify areas that may need attention and areas you may want to change.
If you have a printer at home, I recommend printing pictures. I love printing out spaces I am about to tackle. May sound a little old school, but I love have print outs, that I can sketch possible looks on, or take notes like measurements and other top-of-mind thoughts you may have. I love taking it with me to the hardware stores, and it’s just more practical for me than only having a digital copy on my phone.
2. Dream: Identify the Needs & Get Inspired
There is nothing cozy about going out of budget. During your first step, prioritize any needs you may have found during your assessment step. More times than none, we go to jump into a very quick hour project, only to turn it into a weekend project filled with headaches and more questions than answers. Be thorough during your assessment—step and really address any needs that you find. This might be a broken light fixture, cracked or broken siding, a damaged window-screen, or rotten rails and spindles. No matter what you find , try to fix those things before making the space pretty.
With all the needs identified (hopefully none), now let’s get inspired for the fun and pretty part of the project.
Take your photo from the assessment step and scour the Internet. Look through Pinterest boards, find your favorite designers on Instagram, or see what trends are happening within the Facebook Group you may be in. Get inspired and dream on how you can showcase your style and vibe without stepping foot inside your home.
3. Organize Your Plan by Price
Organize your thoughts by cost or an estimated cost. Start with how many light bulbs you need to change, to paint colors, and all the way up to changing out the front door. If you create a sound budget for yourself, and organize your thoughts by price, it’ll be easier to plan whether you should take on one big project or a bunch of little projects.
Check local lumberyards or building suppliers to see if they have an extra inventory of doors and windows. You would be surprised to find out some suppliers have really nice products at a discounted rate because a door was ordered with the wrong swing, or size. You can get some really nice products this way.
4. Bringing in Seasonal Wreath, Plants, & Decor
Sometimes a floral or décor refresh is all you need to completely change the look of the home. Typically this is the most affordable fix to accomplish any look.
5. Find Annual and Holiday Sales at Your Favorite Stores
Right now there are a lot of Labor Day sales and this is a great way to spruce up your porch while staying within your budget. If you don’t know where to start, look at retailers that have the majority of everything you may need. Wayfair Labor Day sale is going on right now and some of my favorite things are on sale, with items up to 70% off, head over to Wayfair and start getting some steals! So its worth stopping by. Here are my favorites finds going on right now.
I hope those five steps make updating your porch easier and more financially attainable. There is no right or wrong way to do it, just helpful ways to save some money while creating a cozy space for you and your guests.
