FOXTAIL + MOSS: Porch

This past weekend, I put the finishing touches on my back porch and I'm really excited to finally share the AFTER photos with everyone (check out the BEFORE photos here). I am extremely happy with the way it turned out! Adding in simple decorative elements, bringing houseplants outside, and working on a few simple DIY's can make a huge difference to any outdoor space.

When I decided to redecorate, the first thing I thought about was furniture. Do I want to buy new pieces or keep what I have? My current black chairs and table were in good shape, so I decided to simply freshen them up with coat of white spray paint. Not only did I save money, but also it gave new life to the furniture, making them look new and different in the space. Then I went to our local craft store, picked up outdoor fabric I liked, and made my own cushions and envelope slip covers for the chairs.

Next I grabbed a plant stand, spray-painted it white to match the table and chairs, and loaded it up with some of my houseplants and knick-knacks. Since my porch gets a lot of afternoon sun, every spring I bring out as many of my indoor plants as I can and keep them out till it gets cold again.

This year, instead of putting up my usual planter boxes along the railing (which usually takes up more a lot of room on the porch once they all grow in), I decided to go with hanging plants. I picked up a tradescantia and two ferns at the local nursery and hung them on the outer rim of our porch. This added more greenery, but didn't take away any porch space.

Putting in a few decorative elements to an outdoor space really makes it feel more inviting and comfortable. I put up our yarn wall hanging to add a bit of art to the plain brick wall. Recently I purchased a woven basket from Alapash, which holds all my blankets for those chilly nights outside.

To save room in my garden, I pot herbs on my porch. This year I'm growing basil, mint, and rosemary. Later this summer, we'll be sharing some of our favorite recipes with these herbs.

Hope you enjoyed poking around my back porch makeover and collection a few tips on how to improve yours. I'm looking forward to spending even more time outside in this space. Do you have any outdoor spaces you'll be redecorating this summer?

{Claire}

One of the (many) things I love about my apartment is the back porch. When the weather nice, my husband and I spend countless hours outside: whether its having a cup of coffee and reading a book in the morning, playing a board game and enjoying a cold pint of beer, or grilling with friends and having a nice dinner outside, our porch is used constantly. Every spring we bring lots of our house plants outside, plant some herbs in pots, put out a knickknack or two and voilà! that's the extent of our porch decorations.

Since it is a space that we spend so much time in, I decided this season I want to give it a bit of a make over. Below are a couple of snapshots of the current state of my porch. We'll call these the "Before" photos. My goal is to give the space more warmth and comfort through decoration and by reorganizing the way I display my plants. You can see my inspiration and design ideas on our PORCH Pinterest board. Can't wait to share how it turned out. Stay tuned!