My front porch is a work in progress. I like simple and classic coastal cottage decor. I don’t like things modern nor too fancy. I want my porch to look simple and comfortable, nothing high maintenance and certainly nothing that costs a fortune to do.

I thought I would give you a glimpse of what I’m working on. Like I said, it’s a work in progress.

The wood rocking chair was given to us and was originally a dark red brown color. I sanded it down to the bare wood and painted it white. I then picked up a chair cushion and added a sand dollar print outdoor pillow. It’s my favorite chair to sit in!

It’s hard to see in my photos but I have 3 metal plant stands that I picked up at yard sales and flea markets. Each one less than $2.00 a piece. All were black in color. I spray painted them with an outdoor paint white to fit within my coastal cottage decor. Buying them new and in a white color would of cost me at least $20 a piece! Wow, I saved a lot of money!

The storage trunk that serves as a table was made by my brother. He painted an old wooden storage trunk a bright turquoise color. He removed the original hindged lid and added a wooden surf board to serve as the new hinged lid. I like to store some of my small seasonal items in it like additional throw pillows, garden flags, etc. Next year I’m going to strip it down and change it to a lighter sea glass type of color.  In front of that you’ll see my navy blue whale outdoor door mat.

I love houseplants so I move about 40% of my houseplants outside during the late spring, summer, and early fall seasons. They thrive in the fresh air, in-direct sunshine, and warmer temperatures. It always gives them a nice boost in growth before bringing them back inside for the winter season.

Sprinkled all around our front porch are my hand painted seashells. You’ll find all of the designs and how-to’s on the Two Classy Chics blog. They add a nice pop of color and are the perfect little decorating accents.

At the far end of the porch is a small bookcase shelf that I completely refinished. Again, it was a brown color and I repainted it a coastal gray color called STORMY. I have a lot of my houseplants sitting on it along with painted and unpainted seashells. I just blogged about that project a couple of weeks ago and you can check out that post to learn more about it.  There’s a lot more plants and shells sitting on it now than what I’m showing in the original photo above.

Along the porch railing I have a small white wood bench which is currently holding houseplants too. When company comes over I take the plants off and add a cushion onto the top of the bench for more seating. I store the cushion in the storage trunk that I previously mentioned. Storage trunks are great tables and great for storing those items that you don’t need on a daily basis, but want access to quickly.

One thing that I did invest in was beautiful flower hanging baskets…except I went with the faux. I get tired of climbing up to water, prune, dead-head, etc. the real floral arrangements so I opted to go with 4 faux hanging baskets this year. Since we have 2 porches I have 2 hanging up on each one. I admit, they were expensive at $50 each but well worth it! They look extremely REAL until you’re ontop of them. No watering or maintenace needed and they’ll last for years with proper care. I’ll be storing them in our garden shed once fall arrives.

Like I said…it’s a work in progress. I ordered an outdoor coastal print rug but it hasn’t gotten here yet. Suplly chain issues! Ugh. I’m hoping it will arrive within the next couple of weeks. I’m currently on the lookout for another wooden rocking chair that I can strip and paint white…so that we’ll have two on that porch. Hopefully I’ll find one within the next week or so scouring the local flea market.

There are a few additional things I want to do to the front porch and will continue working on it. I’m determined to get everything I want and to do so on a budget!

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