American Furniture and House Design

Showing posts with label outdoor decor. Show all posts

In-Between Porch Decor and a Winner

It's such an odd time of year, one might call it the "In-Between Season."

There are no holidays in sight, it's too cold to decorate for spring, and decorating with the grays and browns of winter has gotten old. To cure the winter blahs that one gets in the in-between season, I pulled out my brightest spray paint colors and some old, very old, thrifted items.
First I gave an old frame and a piece of scrap beadboard a fresh coat of bright orange.

Then I painted the legs of a stool with a creamy yellow and finished the top off with gray.

The beadboard is now the ideal spicy backdrop for an average woody wreath.

Faux ranunculus in a crusty pot resting on a silver tray are appropriate for this time of year. Fun Fact: Ranunculus flowers season is usually from January till May. The flowers look so pretty framed in orange with a bright yellow little bird that seems to be enjoying the scene.

Even though the flowers are fake I couldn't resist adding a cheery teal watering can into the vignette, along with an over-sized lantern to shed a little light in the crisp early evenings of this time of year.

I now have a bright, delightful, and perfect In-Between Season porch.

According to Random Generator, the winner of the Thirty-One Gifts Giveaway is number 35.

Hooray Gayle! Gayle is a very talented rug hooker and loooong-time reader of my blog. I'm so excited for her. Giving prizes is always fun but when it's someone I "kindda" know (we've never met in person but I saw her on TV), it makes it even more exciting!
Thank you Diana from Thirty-One Gifts for hosting this giveaway.

A Spooky Welcome

in: halloween decor outdoor decor

The outside of my home is prepared to

welcome October guests.

Some may think it's a little batty.

But I think that it's something
to crow about.

Garden Delight

in: gardening outdoor decor

I want to thank you all
for your very warm and
welcoming comments
on my comeback post.
It's good to be back!

Summer days have come to an end but luckily
my vegetable garden is still in full production.
The tomato plants have filled the obelisks that we built.

I grew heirlooms this year and it makes me giddy
to see them ripening.

I've had so many tomatoes, zucchinis and summer squash
that I set up a table on my front porch
and asked my neighbors to come help themselves.

I am delighted to see so many pumpkins

and gourds

of all colors, shapes and sizes growing in my garden.

I'm sure this may seem strange to some,
but sometimes I think that my purpose
for growing a garden is more for the
happiness
I get from decorating with my harvest
than from the eating of it.

I suppose both serve a similar purpose;
one feeds the body, the other feeds the soul.

A Secret Garden

in: gardening outdoor decor

There is a shady little strip of land

at the side of my home.

It isn't seen by many so I like to think of it as
my secret garden.

I've decorated it with odd little pieces of yard art.

Because of it's less than ideal location,
plants struggle to grow and what plants do grow
become dinner to the snails that live there.

But it is still a favorite little spot of mine,
to sit and ponder,

or simply to walk through and smile.

The Ol' Screen Door

in: client furniture I a-door outdoor decor we built it

One of my favorite projects for the porch redo began with a door
that was originally propped in the corner of the side porch.

It was there because my client has
a love for old screen doors
and she had purchased this one to use as decoration.

Without telling her my plans I kidnapped her door to give it a makeover.

(She gave me a budget and told me she didn't want to make ANY decisions!)

I dry brushed it to give it a real aged appearance
and show off the details.

We purchased two sets of bi-fold doors from the thrift store.

And added plywood and molding to make a shelving unit.

I gave the outside a few coats of the exterior red paint
that was used on other porch projects.

The interior was painted a calm gray.

Now the ol' screen door is not just pretty to look at,
it's functional too.

The perfect little potting shed!

A Flower Place

in: client outdoor decor we built it

We really enjoyed building a few projects for my client's porches.
One project was a plant stand.

We built a simple box out of MDF,
added some decorative molding to the front,

and attached stair balusters for legs.

To make it easy and inexpensive to change faux flowers seasonally,

I designed it with an interior board that rests inside the box.

Holes were drilled into the board and it was covered with moss.

Flower picks are placed securely into the holes.

If the homeowner wants real potted flowers,
she can simply remove the interior board and place them inside.

But for now the faux flowers are
pretty and maintenance free.

I think it looks perfect
sitting beneath the welcome sign I made.

Address This

in: client diy outdoor decor

My client shares a long driveway with her neighbors. She wanted a way to let people know which home was theirs. I thought about making something like this

to show off her address, but she also asked for items that were low maintenance.

I walked the aisles of the home improvement store until I discovered the electrical section. I purchased a long conduit pipe, two bent sections,

and a bag of joiners.

I also picked up address numbers and a small piece of galvanized sheet metal.
Mr. JofH cut the pipe and assembled the frame. He backed the sheet metal with cedar boards so the numbers could be screwed in, then hung the address from the frame with a few links of chain.

I was thrilled with the no maintenance, simple industrial look and so was my client.