Dining on the Porch

I am really excited that this project is done and I get to share it with you! First  I wanted you to see the view from our porch dining room. This is what I saw two years ago from this porch that influenced our decision to buy this house and continue with the renovations. Isn’t it lovely? The leaves are just starting to turn, fall is in the air, and the temperature is perfect for Dining on the Porch!

The porch dining room is situated on the left side area of the wrap around front porch.  The door leads into a tiny, cozy guest room. The window is that of our office. As with the corner sitting area in Front Porch Make Over, all items were re- purposed from other areas of the house, found at thrift stores or made. Let’s take a look at the breakdown.

• Table and Hutch: Purchased years ago from an antique store in Hattiesburg, MS. Came out of an old church.
• Chairs were a find from a local thrift store. 5 for $25.00.
• Tobacco basket is vintage and a gift from my dad.
• Quilt came from Craig’s List and is vintage. $50.00.
• Rug was pulled out of office in hopes of a new one coming soon. 🙂
• Cabinet in corner was a “rescue” from neighbors trash pile and re-purposed.
• Plates and Bowls I had on hand as well as the fall decor.

Here is the old kitchen cabinet that I pulled from my neighbor’s trash pile. Renovation projects are on going here in Corn Stalk Heights and one’s trash is truly another’s treasure!

Because the cabinet was wobbly, my original thought was to put that board down the front. Then I remembered that I had all those old porch board so I attached them to the back. Then I cleaned, sanded and scraped the whole thing and painted with some paint left over from another project.

So here is how it turned out. Stocked with some items I had packed away in the basement.

Story of the lamp. This lamp has been in my office for years. We are getting ready to redecorate the office so I thought it would be a nice touch on the porch and it is. There was an accident of course as I was trying to style this area . The tobacco basket fell and completely destroyed the original off white lamp shades.  I remembered that I had these packed away. They are the type that are pre-treated with adhesive. You peel off the paper and use that as a pattern. So I cut out a piece of burlap using that pattern and stuck it on the shade. I really like the effect!

I had a vision and that vision helped me get through this…

and this…

Until I got to this…

Visions and plans are so important when it comes to decorating and DIY. It is also important to be flexible along the way and allow the area you are working on to evolve. We would love to hear about your visions and what you are working on at your house!