DIY Farmhouse Porch Remodel | House Update
Before & After of my DIY Farmhouse Porch Remodel
Today I'm showing you how I converted an old addition into a gorgeous Farmhouse style front porch!
The hot Summer sun was out in all it's glory this past July. Images of iced lemonade, and rocking chairs on a front porch were front of mind when I closed on my 1943 farmhouse the month before. I knew that with the Fourth of July just around the corner, this was absolutely the FIRST project I wanted to complete! Front porches are where memories have been made for hundreds of years. It's where stories have been told, love has grown, joy has been shared.
Front porches are for sitting in your loved one's lap, watching the kids play in the sprinklers. It's for trays of snacks and sandwiches to fill hungry tummies after building fairy houses under the honeysuckle vines, and climbing the old walnut tree. This year, it was for sitting on the porch, legs swinging away. listening to Toby Keith and Bruce Springsteen while watching the fireworks explode over the pasture. I only had about two weeks to complete this project, and boy was it a rush!
One of the abandoned rooms of the additon.
The First Step
Cleaning Out the Addition
The farmhouse had been left as it was when the previous occupant, a United States Air Force Veteran who went by "Bob" passed away. It sat empty for around 10 years or so, and unfortunately was vandalized by a few kids in the area during that time. The front room addition that I decided to make into the porch was in rough shape! There was stuff everywhere, the roof and ceiling had rotted. Moldy ceiling panels had fallen and broken into pieces. Cleaning out all the pieces I could get out myself became my number one priority! I stole my dad's truck and backed it right up to the house, suited up in gloves and a mask, then got to work. Sooooo many loads were hauled off to the dump over those few days!
A Rainy Demolition Day
Getting to the Fun Stuff
Demolition & Placing the Porch Posts
Demolition was an adventure! I was blessed to have a lot of help with this! My brother LOVES demo, and I do too! So he, my dad, and I worked on getting everything pulled apart and down to the studs! Pretty much everything had to go, but I did save the window, wood, and a super cute chair that I later re-upholstered and repainted! My dad called in some friends to borrow tools and gain some extra man power!
Placing the porch posts, and removing the framing.
Step #3
It's Time to Paint!
I truly have a love/hate relationship with painting! Well, painting houses anyways. Paint makes a MASSIVE difference, and it always is a great place to start. However....the process is only fun for about five minutes. ;P Of course, the blue and yellow two toned look just wasn't doing it for me, nor was the chippy blue and white on the paneling. I found the perfect wispy off-white paint color, and accented it with black and dark stained wood.
Painting the black trim around the front window.
Now for the Greenery
Time to Get to Planting & Spreading Wood Chips
I have a lovely, hundreds of years old, walnut tree that casts shade over the entire front yard! Of course, with the Juglone this can create an interesting obstacle when it comes to plants and landscaping! I planted four honeysuckle bushes along the porch, as they are Juglone resistant. I then planted some dwarf fruit trees in large whiskey barrels placed along one side of the pathway, and added additional potted plants along the other side! The property came with some old telephone/power poles that I used as edging for the wood chips. We couldn't fit quite enough wood chips to cover the yard in the truck, and admittedly still have that on our to-do list.
The Final Step
Now to Enjoy the Front Porch!
I can't wait to have my first fall evening on the porch! I'm excited to gather cute antique pieces of furniture to set out there, and I'm also hoping to add an outdoor canning kitchen/dining section. From what the town has told me, Bob used to set up a tent in his front yard and sit out there and talk to any folk that came along. He'd also keep an outdoor fridge full of treats for the local neighbor kids! I'd love to continue some of those traditions with this porch!
Our view of the fireworks from the porch!
Western Farmhouse Décor
If you're on the lookout for cute western or farmhouse home décor, check out my Salty Farm Life line of décor! I'm thinking of adding the Seamstress' Bunch framed poster to the porch above an old treadle sewing machine!