I am not the first to say this ..."what a difference a year makes".

My front porch July 4th 2016 is on the left - My front porch July 4th 2017 is on the right.

My Front Porch Before & After

Not the first to utter those words, but definitely to the first to enjoy a crisp glass of Rose' on the 2017 front porch!

I shared my porch all done up for the Styled & Set Tour last week, but really wanted to share with you where it began.

Not to show "look what I did !!", but to show how much an area of your home can change with effort, ok, lots of effort, paint and thrifted pieces.  

Only the rug, check pillows & Fouta throw are new.  Everything else I have had for years, recently thrifted or repurposed to work on the porch.

Yeah, effort for sure, but so worth it.

Now it didn't take a whole year of effort focused only on the porch of course, we had some bigger projects going on inside too - like the kitchen, three bathrooms & well, pretty much something in every room.  Did you see those befores? Kitchen HERE - Bathroom HERE.

Once I turned the efforts full force to the porch, it took about a month.

Here is another year old photo...

Now we have all this additional square footage to enjoy.  And enjoy it I do!  My goal is to get out there as much as possible.

Read a magazine, write a blog post, entertain friends ~ the front porch is a mecca for me.

Think about it, do you have an area in your home, that you can transform into a mecca for you?  It might be easier than you think to make a dramatic difference.

If so, start with a mood board, like I did HERE.

The addition of the drop cloth drapes really gives the porch the sense of being a room.  

These were super simple to make & hang.  I used metal closet rod hangers & had a 2" metal pole cut at the hardware store.  Then just sewed a few seams to make the rod pockets.  And then ironed ( worst part ) and hung.

The new buffalo check pillows are from Pottery Barn.  You can pick up similar covers HERE.

The rug is a outdoor sisal, like this RUG.

The fringed fouta throw is from Balthazar & Rose, by way of my favorite local shop Lloyd and Lane.  

Wish you could come on by, pull up a chair and have a chat...

I know we'd have lots of talk about and when the sun goes down we could enjoy the sounds of fireworks from the Rose Bowl or stroll down the block and watch them from the Pasadena Bridge.

Maybe next year and who knows what exciting new things will be upon us all by then.

Hope you had a wonderful & safe 4th of July.  Feels like it should be Sunday today, but alas, it is Wednesday. Wednesday, that means a new episode of Decorating Tips & Tricks!  Listen in here.  

Thanks for letting me share my front porch before & after with you!

** Kelly **