Front Porch Makeover: Phase 1 Complete & Spread The Kindness Link Up On the Edge #770
Heading into the weekend of July 4, I decided to give my front porch a makeover. The wood was starting to look a bit too weatherworn for my taste and I figured a fresh coat of paint would cheer it up while also offering some weather protection for the aging wood. I actually believed that I could complete this project over the course of the 3 day weekend but I very quickly recognized that this was a crazy impossible goal. In fact, it turns out that this painting project is so big that I need to complete it in phases.
Phase 1 was all about getting the paint onto the porch which I finally completed with my husband’s help last weekend, six weeks after I began the project. Ha. And I really thought I could do it in 3 days! Phase 2 will need to wait until next summer.
Phase 1 began with choosing the paint colors. I had decided if I was going to the trouble of painting the porch, I was going to make it cheerful and bright. I wasn’t going to waste my time and efforts on a simple boring wood stain since it takes the same amount of time and tedium to apply as a brightly colored paint does.
My vision was to create a color palette that represents a joyful garden beneath a clear blue sky. I chose a rich blue color for the ceiling to represent a clear summer sky and a vibrant grassy green color for the floor. Dark teal accents coordinate with my teal front door and the light turquoise really just made me smile. I added little touches of reddish brown to match the fading color of my dingy old shutters. It turns out, I now hate the brown shutters and painting them teal is on my list of Phase 2 tasks. That is going to be a very big project because my house has a lot of shutters. So I am relying on my husband and his lack of acrophobia to take the darn things down, clean them for me, and then hang them back up after I paint them.
Let me share my progress with you.
I started with the ceiling which didn’t seem like a big deal until I got up close and personal with it. There are approximately 90 thin wood slats that make up the porch ceiling. The size and texture of these slats required me to use a 1 inch brush. In fact, I painted the entire porch using just a 1 inch brush. I find that smaller brushes are easier to handle and necessary to paint outdoor weatherworn wood with all of its bumps and grooves. You just can’t get the paint into all those cracks using a larger brush.
Each slat took approximately 5 minutes to paint. With 90 slats, that calculated to about 7.5 hours of painting just for one coat. It took me two solid days of work (15 hours) to apply two coats of paint to the ceiling. And then two more days to finish all the rails before I even got to the floor. So that was the entirety of my July 4 weekend! And then I just kept painting for days and weeks with a few breaks in between to accomplish other life things.
Once the ceiling was painted, I moved onto the trim and railings applying the dark teal first followed by the light turquoise.
Once that was complete, I moved onto the deck part which also was way bigger than I first anticipated.
For the final coat of green paint, I added some sandy gritty stuff that makes the steps non-slip because my front steps have a tendency to get very slippery in the rain and snow.
The final step to complete the painting was the top trim section which I couldn’t reach without a very tall ladder. This is where I got stuck because of my fear of heights so my husband climbed the ladder, which was often very precariously propped against the house, and I stabilized the ladder from below by holding it still for him. It was like a scene from a comedy but we got it done!
Next I had to paint all of the existing porch decor to coordinate with my new bright makeover. I used the brown color for the house numbers which I love against the light turquoise. I had considered replacing my black and white mailbox altogether, but decided to save money and paint it in teal and brown instead. I painted my no soliciting sign a few years ago when I painted my living room and front door.
Next up for a paint makeover was our cement soldier statue that the children had purchased for Jeff many years ago. He has been sitting on our front porch ever since in his naked cement color. I wanted to bring in more of this brown color so I painted the soldier with it. He ended up looking like he was made of chocolate! So I blotted on some light turquoise to create a sort of patina effect. He doesn’t look like he is going to melt in the sun now.
Now I was ready to put my porch back together and hang my wind chime collection back up. I had painted the porch bench teal earlier in the spring in preparation for this makeover. It was previously painted blue and white to match Jeff’s Penn State flag that will be hung from our porch this weekend.
Here is a view of some of my chimes from under the porch roof when sitting on the bench.
Once I had my porch all back together, I realized that I needed some new furniture pieces to make it a comfortable and practical sitting area. We do love some front porch sitting so I want it to feel like a sitting area more than just a porch.
I was on a recent thrifting adventure when I spotted this old plant stand for $5. It was bit beat up but it was sturdy with good bones so I bought it to use as an end table instead of a plant stand.
I gave it a quick sanding and a creative makeover in just one day.
And it is perfect for what I wanted and needed. I couldn’t be happier with my work!
And that, my friends, is completion of phase 1.
Phase 2 will include painting all the shutters, painting the sidewalk, replacing my porch light, obtaining a colorful welcome mat for outside the door, and adding more wind chimes to my collection. I also need to paint the firewood racks to match the porch. I have already spray painted the cinder block stands for the firewood racks. I still need to paint the wood slats, order two cords of wood, and get to chopping and stacking it before the temperatures drop!
I am so pleased with my progress so far. My porch is bright and visible. As soon as you turn the corner onto my street, you can’t miss the bright blast of color that hits you in the face and I freaking love it!
Would you ever paint your front porch in obnoxiously bright colors? I am really excited to get to the sidewalk part. That is going to be so fun when I am finished with it!
Featured Favorites
Botanical Garden at Tower Hill– August 2025 Trip.
Keeping it bright on the edge,
Shelbee
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
I am a midlife woman, wife, and stay-at-home mother of 2 boys and 2 cats. I have a passion for helping other women feel fabulous in the midst of this crazy, beautiful life.
20 Comments
joanne
That really does look so lovely and bright and cheery! Thank you so much for the feature.
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Aww, thanks so much, Joanne!
xoxo
Shelbee
Nancy
Well no one can walk into your home in a bad mood, that’s for sure! I love the colour combination! I also love the type of your house with such a porch, we don’t know that here. What a great job you did!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Nancy! It definitely puts me in a good mood so I hope it does the same for any visitors or passers-by! I absolutely love my front porch. I always wanted a covered porch so I could enjoy sitting out there in all kinds of weather. It’s a really good porch, for sure!
xoxo
Shelbee
Beth
Thanks for hosting a FABULOUS linky party every week Shelbee!
Don’t forget to join us over at the Creatively Crafty Linky Party every Wednesday through Sunday
https://creativelybeth.com/creative-crafts-linky-party-2/
Pinned!
Creatively, Beth
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Beth! I appreciate you! Have a wonderful weekend, my friend.
xoxo
Shelbee
Sally in St Paul
Oooh, I love it! Of course I’m a sucker for all the colors in the green-to-blue spectrum so you had my attention right away. Looking forward to seeing phase 2!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks, Sally! The green to blue color spectrum is my favorite, too. I didn’t realize just how bright the light turquoise was going to be and before I finished the green deck, it looked like these crazy bright rails just floating in the air! But it came together perfectly in the end. It is a very happy front porch!
xoxo
Shelbee
Di
Shelbee, you are a makeover maven! Your newly refreshed front porch is so inviting, colorful and cheerful. I love the colors that you chose. I hope the weather is perfect for spending time out there now. Thanks for sharing your crafty skills and hosting the link up. Hope you have a great weekend!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Di, thanks so much, my sweet friend! I have only received wonderful comments from my neighbors and visitors. I’m sure some people don’t like it but no one has ever told me they don’t like it. Even if they did tell me, I wouldn’t care. It’s my house and I can paint it whatever color I want! Hahaha
xoxo
Shelbee
Marsha Banks
Gurrrl!!!! I freaking love this!!! Our neighborhood is so daggone boring. Every condo is brick, but most of them are this obnoxious “polka dot” brick. Ours is an ugly dark brown which is not what I thought we were getting. I want to paint my front door so badly but that’s against HOA rules…what’s that you say…better to say I’m sorry? I just might do that once I talk Mike into a new door with a bigger window! I am going to paint the ceiling on the back porch that “haint” blue they use in the South. If one of the HOA board members sees it, that means they’ve been in my backyard…and then there will be hell to pay!
I love, love, love the colors. It’s just such a happy space, and I bet you smile each and every time you walk out on it or come up to it from the street! Thanks, too, my friend, for the link up!
https://marshainthemiddle.com/
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Marsha, thanks so much, my friend! I definitely get super cheerful whenever I am out in front of my house. It is really bright and kind of obnoxious but I love it! The neighbors that surround my house all love it, too. Which is good since they have to look at it more than I do! I can’t wait to paint the front sidewalk, too. It is going to be so stinking cute when it’s all completed. But holy cow, what a massively large project this turned out to be. Most houses in my town are boring as well…all blues, grays, whites, and browns except for one house that has bright pink steps up to the front porch. I think those steps might have inspired me a bit! Thankfully, where I live, we don’t have any rules about painting our houses. However, the houses along the local park area which is just a few blocks from my house, are very regulated. They can’t even hang their laundry outside. That would make me so sad!
xoxo
Shelbee
Melynda Brown
Wow! I love how you have made your porch an outdoor room as well as the bright and welcoming colors! Thanks for the visit and the link up! Have a creatve week ahead…
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Melynda! I am so pleased with the outcome of my cheerful porch!
xoxo
Shelbee
Gail Is This Mutton
That required lot of tenacity and patience to get it done! Love the vision and the colorful result.
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thanks so much, Gail! It really did require a lot of tenacity. Thankfully I have lots of tenacity!
xoxo
Shelbee
Laura Bambrick
It’s so cheerful now! I like the bright colors you chose and can’t wait to see the final result!
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Thank you so much, Laura! It is so much more cheerful! It was starting to look so weatherworn and unkempt, I couldn’t stand it anymore.
xoxo
Shelbee
Michelle
I love it too! As you know, I love bright color combinations, and this makeover is perfect. (My husband loves it too.)
xoxo
Michelle
shelbeeontheedge@gmail.com
Awww, thank you so much, my friend! And thanks to Dan, too! I knew you would really like the colors I chose for this project!
xoxo
Shelbee