Are you ready for another round of Farmhouse Friday?
Well, it's the 4th Friday of the month, so ready or not we're talking farmhouse. And we're talking porches. Summer porch decorating and porch entertaining to be exact.
Porch. Veranda. Portico. Deck. Whatever you crazy people call that thing attached to the front or back of your house, we're all over it!
At the end of the post (don't cheat and look now!!!), you'll find links to other summer porch decorating ideas and inspiration (gee, I hope we're a little bit inspiring) from the other farmhouse gals, so please run over and see what's up.
If you're new here, pull up a chair and get comfy. It's a casual joint, so kick off your Keds, grab a glass of lemonade and let's chat.
We've lived in this house for a little over ten years. I love it. It's not the largest house you'll see in blogland, but it's ours and it fits out family to a T.
When we were house hunting, one of the things that made me fall in love with the house was the front porch.
You see, I didn't have a real porch growing up and it's always one of the things that I envied about the rich kids in town.
The town where I grew up was a little strange in that there were your typical poor kids (that was me), your typical middle income kids (most had moved there during the building boom of the 70's) and then you had your extremely wealthy kids from the country club.
Kids that had elevators and wings in their homes and got Corvettes for their 16th birthday. Me, I did not have an elevator, nor a wing.
Hell, I didn't even have a porch.
Uh, and I had to buy my first car and it was a 15 year old clunker that leaked oil and had a huge rusty burnt spot in the middle of the hood, but that's a story for another time.
Anywho, the rich kids lived at the country club with the private lake and had porches and porch furniture and flowers planted by their gardeners and watered by their housekeepers.
As a poor kid, it's what I thought I wanted.
When my husband and I bought our first house it had a teeny tiny postage stamp sized stoop that wouldn't hold more than two people. I didn't really consider that a true porch, but hey I made the most of it.
A pot of flowers and a flag was about the extent that I could decorate it, but I felt blessed to have that little stoop.
When we were looking for our next house, a porch was definitely on the list of "wants". When we toured this house and not only did it have a large front porch, but a back porch and a deck, I was in love.
Before we had even finished the home tour, my mind started to race to how I could decorate the porches.
I could buy porch furniture!!! I could buy planters!!! I could buy doormats!!!
The possibilities were almost endless.
Sometimes I get carried away with decorating it and I'm sure the neighbors think I'm a little wacky about the whole thing. Let's be real, I'm sure they think I'm wacky for a lot of reasons.
But I'm making up for years and years (and years) without a porch. A girl's gotta make up for lost porch time, right?
What about you? Are you a porch lover? Do your neighbors think you're nuts too?
I don't normally do that, but the nursery had them priced so low that I couldn't have recreated them for less than twice the price.
Anyhow, the pots didn't have tags in them, so I am not 100% sure of what the flowers are, but my best guess would be:
A bright pink trailing petunia - probably Surfinia Trailing Petunia in Magenta
Two types of trailing verbena - a white variety and a pink with white eye variety
A calibrachoa - probably Minifamous Light Pink + Eye
And then the geraniums in the lower planters are most likely the Boldy Hot Pink variety.
Again, I bought plants with no tags. Go ahead and throw mulch at me.
I do have to say that they are probably the hottest hot pink I have ever seen though. And I lived through the 90's.
Kathy
Hi Pam I wanted to know if I may have permission to use your porch pictures from 2010 with the flags and then in the fall with the 1 & 2 pillows and pumpkin face on my companies face book page. I'm just getting the page started and was looking for a cover photo that gave a family feel to what we are a family own and run business. Your photos are very peaceful. My husband and I have owned our concrete lifting business for 12 years now and try to always treat customers the way we would want to be treated if we were needing work done. I will await your response Thanks Kathy
janae
I have a lil front porch and a deck that I LOVE to decorate!! And my neighbors TOTALLY think I"m crazy - from all the ever changing decor to the curbside treasures I pick up that air out, hang out while being painted or sometimes just plain sit in the driveway for a day or two!!
Laurel
I live in a medium rich kid neighborhood, on a corner, in an Italianate Victorian, fixer upper. They are known for their long side porches and my front porch is a big square with double doors. There's a size able back porch and the other
side has a patio. I'm a single mom hairdresser on a limited budget. I've found all my furniture at either tag sales, flea markets and my coveted glider was given to me by a wonderful friend who now lives in her camper. I also have an odd paint job ( by choice) so only reds, oranges, yellows and blues are good companion colors in flowers. I've become an expert at wintering over my geraniums to save on the cost of having so many outdoor areas to jazz up with plants. Be careful what you wish for. I've got my hands full !!
Pam
Your house sounds wonderful! There's an area in Columbus that has lots of stately Victorian houses with wonderful porches. I should drive over there and take photos one day soon. I really love that architecture. I guess I never thought of having to furnish the porches though 🙂
Megan
You said it so well Pam, yes a girl has got to make up for lost porch time! Thank you for sharing your story and your beautiful porch!
Sue P.
Your porch looks so pretty and ready for the 4th of July with your flags and bright flowers. I especially like the way you used your vintage pieces as pots. Such a cute swan planter!
I too love porches! When we decided to move to Tennessee, we looked at 25 houses in two days. We'd hoped to find one with a porch and hit the jackpot with this house. The front porch extends across the front way up on our hillside with an expansive view.
In the back we have a screen porch and just had a new composite deck installed to replace the old wooden deck. (blog post at http://lasthomebeforeheaven.com/all-decked-out-composite-deck-replaces-our-old-wooden-deck/) My husband then built a cantilevered pergola over part of the deck to dress it up a bit. It's such a nice place now to have dinner or just sit out there reading or talking after dinner.
After our crowded townhouse community in Maryland, we're so blessed to finally have a place with porches!
Jennifer @ Town and Country Living
Thanks for sharing your story, Pam! I always love getting to know my fellow bloggers a bit more. Your porch is beautiful and I'm so happy you found a home with the porch you've always wanted. 🙂
Sam @ DIY Just Cuz
I enjoyed hearing your porch story - you definitely have a porch to be envious of now! I certainly love the way you decorated it, it looks super relaxing for a warm summer night. Thanks for sharing your little slice of porch heaven!
taryterre
The flowers are pretty. And your front porch is charming, indeed. You do a lovely job decorating for the seasons.
Deb @ Frugal Little Bungalow & The Sacred Eclectic
I can understand how much you enjoy your front porch because I have one and love it too 🙂 I pretty much bypass my 'living room' for 3 seasons unless it's too hot and humid to be out on the front porch 🙂
Debby messner
Having a porch is a big deal for me. A front or a covered back porch. I have fond memories of sitting on my grandma's road coming in her now vintage rockers.....the metal ones. She lived next door. I grew up n cow country and had few neighbors.
Stay safe n the storm warnings tonight.
Nana Diana's new book is a great read.
Pam
I've been meaning to read it! I think I'll do a book review on it when I'm done (don't tell her that though)!
Musings from Kim K.
I always enjoy your seasonal porch decorating. Lots of good ideas and special little touches. Although I love decorating my front porch, especially at Halloween and Christmas, I'm realizing we don't even have chairs on it. Now, the back decks...that's a different story. Maybe the lack of chairs says something about me not wanting to socialize but hide in the privacy of my backyard. I've been caught!
Pam
There's probably too many blow molds on the front porch for you to put chairs anyhow 🙂
Kris@Junkchiccottage
Pam,
Your porch is beautiful. Enjoy every minute out there.
Kris
lynne@lynnesgiftsfromtheheart
Like you I love having a front porch, I spend lots of hours on mine. I adore the antique pulley, reminded me of the one I have downstairs, now to pull it out and put it to good use. Thanks for sharing your darling front porch. fondly ~lynne~
Patty Soriano
I'm proud to say that I had to buy my own first car, too! We didn't have a porch either.... we had a cabana room attached to a mobile home. I wish I had that room now! Rich kids do not know what they are missing! My hubby grew up in Georgia and Mississippi where old homes had huge wraparound porches, so we wanted one when we bought our own home. It's fun to decorate with wicker furniture and hanging baskets. I don't have neighbors to see my porch and that's okay with me. But I sure love seeing your porch!
Stacey
You've got a rich kid porch and it's beautiful! ♥
Pam
Thank you. BTW, I'm enjoying your summer book reading list. I'm going to pick up the graveyard book this weekend 🙂
Yvonne @ StoneGable
Oh I wish I had neighbors. I love living among the farm fields, but it would also be so nice to have some people live close to me.
You have such a sweet porch! No wonder you have been dreaming about one for years.
Pam
Well, I have farm fields on two sides of me, but one neighbor to the left and one across the street. So best of both worlds 🙂 The one beside me always seems to be pulling out of his drive whenever I'm outside in some weird position taking forty photos of my porch or something!