Upstairs Porch Uplift

Everyone agrees that the hike up the old narrow, steep stairs is worth the trip.  

The second story porch has been transformed into a cozy and relaxing “get away”. 

I think it might be my favorite part of this old house. 

It just adds so much charm and it is so wonderful to be able to step outside from

the bedroom and sit for a spell.

Where no one can see you but you can see the mountains and rest…

and do a little flower box gardening, snipping and watering and sniffing and adoring… 

So, I added some red paint to the floor awhile back hoping it would come to life…

but it really didn’t. So I added furniture. 

Wicker Furniture! and still it just looked drab! 

and sad and uninviting…

So it began. the searching through boxes for all the items collected over the years,

still waiting for a place in the house and hauling it all up the steep narrow steps to the upstairs porch…

Even fallen branches from the yard to make a tree that holds abandoned nests found on the ground.

An old chest was drug out of the basement and painted on the sides really makes this feel like a room

and almost outdoor room…

Favorite games are stashed away in the wicker chest…

The thrift store owls find a place on the old chest with an old mantle clock.

Take a look at this thrift store find.  I love the price tag, an extra large poker card.

With a little quilted fabric left over from making a pet bed from a vintage suitcase, the thrift store chair is transformed. 

The old screen door is leaned against a wall where there once was a door, long ago…

But what really brought this space to life and makes people ohh and awe and feel like they are at a B&B….

 is the stenciled floor.

It added movement and interest and brought the space to life

and made all the furniture and things look so good.

It was a lot of work, like on your hands and knees

rolling around on the floor for days  weeks work.

It involved adding layers

taking away…

stepping back to soak it all in

and scouring the house from top to bottom to find just the right accessories.

When I step out on the Upstairs Porch, I don’t think about the work

or the frustration…

I just feel happy that I was able to make this space happy and pretty again. 

And we enjoy it everyday…