Mini Porch Makeover

by 48 Comments

With Mother’s Day around the corner I thought it would be a great time to treat myself to a patio makeover. As a busy mom of three I think it’s important to take time every once in awhile to focus on myself and sneak in a few minutes of relaxation. One of the best ways I like to relax is with a good book, only problem is I don’t have a quiet and relaxing spot to read in. So a few days ago I set out a budget and went shopping at Kmart to makeover my patio into a relaxing area filled with some of my favorite things.

In case you’re wondering here’s the before. As you can see there are toys everywhere! If you look closely you can even spot chalk scattered on the other side of the bench. Not relaxing at all!
The first thing I did was obviously clean up the area by storing the toys in the garage. It already looked ten times better but it was a little bare. I was left with only a bench, which meant it was time to accessorize. So my favorite shopping buddy and I went to see what we could find. Of course no shopping trip is complete without pushing a lawn mower around the store…

I am in LOVE with the yellow pillows. And guess what? They were only $10 each! I also made some placemat pillows. Can you tell I love the blue and yellow combo? It’s pretty much taking over my house. The placemats were less than $3 a piece, which were right along with my budget for this makeover.

Another fave is this tea light chandelier. I like the scroll design and the fact that it doesn’t have to be plugged in. Ahhh I can see it now..a nice Summer evening sitting on the porch watching the kids play with their friends while I relax in a lit patio. Just thinking about it makes me happy!

I picked up two side tables as well. One is to accessorize and hold my drink/book/etc and the other to display flowers on. Since the furniture is black the flowers and pillows add a nice splash of color. I’ve thought about spray painting the tables, but I don’t think I’m brave enough to. I’m afraid I won’t like it so for now the classic black is OK in my book. :)

 I also found these solar lanterns. The round one came in blue, yellow, orange, and red.
 I’m already looking forward to spending a lot of quality time on my patio this Summer.

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Comments

  3. Kathy Murphy

    May 3, 2012 at 4:14 am

    I love all the color you brought to your porch – the pillows and plant really bring it to life. I like the pattern on the pillows too! Great spruce-up.

    Reply

  15. Doris

    May 4, 2012 at 6:26 am

    Everything looks so nice….first person I saw who used a placemat to make a pillow was Gail, over at MRL..which is where I saw your link just now!

    Reply

  17. Ruth

    May 4, 2012 at 5:24 pm

    Your porch looks beautiful. What a great place to relax and read. I love the blue and yellow pillows. The print on the yellow ones is great.
    Ruth

    Reply

  29. Leah

    May 7, 2012 at 7:15 pm

    Thanks for the inspiration1 We’re in the process of screening in our front porch and I’ve been looking for some cheery ideas.

    Reply

  34. louise

    May 8, 2012 at 1:31 pm

    Very nice! I need to do this to my porch as well! We hardly use it, but maybe we would if it was cuter!

    Reply

  40. Shauna

    May 12, 2012 at 7:09 am

    Beautiful! Thank you for sharing. I am seriously in the middle of this same project and you just helped me make up my mind on a few details.

    Reply

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  3. […] Ever {Placemat Pillow Tutorial} May 21, 2012 Leave a Comment A few weeks ago I showed you my budget-friendly porch makeover with its bright and colorful pillows. The yellow pillows were from Kmart but the turquoise pillows […]

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