Street Side Front Porch | One Room Challenge Week 6

Edited 7/19/18: Please see the bottom of this post for an exciting update. 

Wow!  Six weeks have come and gone, and reveal day has finally arrived. I have been pretty quiet on social media and the blog because I have been working tirelessly behind-the-scenes trying to get the street side front porch ready for its close-up.

Let’s take a little peek at a couple of before shots. It is hard to believe that the porch used to look like this:

Green, green everywhere green.

After

In just six short weeks the porch has undergone a complete transformation, and this week has been interesting. Sure, we could have followed our original plan and revealed the gorgeous new front porch today. However, I have learned a lot from watching HGTV. I pay attention to home renovation shows, and I know that the two things people want the most are an open floor plan and to live in Waco, Texas. There was no way I could move BHH to Waco, but I could happily oblige my readers with an open floor plan.

The porch felt immediately lighter and brighter, and I was delighted by the new express route to the basement.

I was so excited by this turn of events that I called my friend Dale to come over to see the progress.

He held up a measuring tape in a useless manner while I pointed at stuff. We both decided that the open floor plan was the perfect design direction. Agreeing that opening it up even more would be the best course of action, Dale broke out the oscillating tool while I hovered nearby for no reason.

We stood back to admire our work, and that’s when I heard a distinct whooshing sound. It took me a second to pinpoint what I was hearing. It was the sound of today’s deadline whizzing past because this entire project had turned into a dumpster fire. Three weeks of snow and more rot than I ever imagined were its undoing.

It’s All About the Details

Not easily discouraged, I turned my attention to decorating. After all, I know a thing or two about creating a gorgeous One Room Challenge space.  Flexibility is the name of the game during the ORC.

Almost any project disaster can be salvaged with the proper decor, and my secret weapon is flowers or plants. I tried adding crisp, white impatiens in a classic plastic compartment container, but the scale was entirely off.

So, I settled on two ferns, and they were pure perfection.

I was pleased that the color of the ferns made the green Frog Tape on the right side of the porch pop.

After taking this shot, it was clear that the gaping hole was still too visible, and the space looked cold and ungrounded. It was missing the human element.  I grabbed my hammer and positioned myself between the ferns.

Photo 1: Looking at the neighbor’s house (realizing that the mailman was walking up the road, and I looked ridiculous):

Photo 2: Contemplating how awesome my project turned out:

Photo 3: Thinking, I am so putting this one on Instagram. My hair looks amazing.

Right after that last shot, it started pouring rain, and I had to grab the camera and sprint to the covered porch on the other side of the house to keep from getting soaked. It felt like a fitting end to this past six weeks.

What’s Next?

Even though it is hard to take this perfect project and make it even better, I have decided to go ahead and fix all the rot I found, install the rest of the floorboards, and finish decorating too. I recognize that you have the luxury of choice, and there are so many talented featured designers and guest participants who joined this round of the One Room Challenge. You’ll be reading final project posts for weeks.

Even so, I hope you will circle back around to BHH to view the real reveal of the street side front porch. I will be working at a faster pace and writing blog posts as if the challenge is continuing past today. The new floor is going to be gorgeous, and we still need to see if there is a transom window hiding behind that wood above the front door. Remember that cliffhanger? 

I invite you to subscribe to our blog below so you’ll never miss an update. Scroll up to the top right-hand side of the page to add us to your favorite reader or get updates via e-mail. If you are an Instagram or Facebook user, be sure to follow us there as well for real-time updates. I utilize IG stories on a regular basis, and it is a great way to keep in touch between blog posts.

As always, a million thanks to everyone who has had my back this past six weeks. Your friendship has made this sinking ship feel less like the Titanic and more like a Princess cruise.

I’m a hugger. If I could, I would hug you all and this big old house too.

Start at the beginning:
week 1 | week 2 | week 3 | week 4 | week 5 | week 6

PS: Here are the links to our past ORC projects (AKA proof that I finish things!):
Breakfast Nook | Library | Dining Room | Kitchen Pantry

Update 7/19/18

The porch is finished! I will post a few before-and-afters below, and you can read the full reveal post here: Street Side Front Porch | The BIG Reveal
Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Before:

After:

Before:

After: