A Red, White and Blue Front Porch Update Mad in Crafts

A month back I preached at you the value of improving your home’s curb appeal, so it was high time that I took my own advice. Over the course of a few days, my parents and I gave The Mad House a red, white, and blue porch update that really made a difference to the first impression our house makes.

The front porch wasn’t in terrible shape when we bought The Mad House, but the railing was pretty shaky and there were some balusters that were crooked or broken. While my in-laws were in town last summer, my father-in-law reinforced the railings with outdoor adhesive and by adding square trim at the foot of each post.

Late last fall, when the weather was still unseasonably warm, my dad and I repainted the front porch railings, ceiling and soffits. I was impressed by how nice a fresh coat of white paint made the porch look!

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I enjoy a vintage modern feel inside our house and like to add quirky, humorous touches to our décor. When it comes to outdoor design though, I am straight up Mayberry. Traditional all the way. I have always, always wanted patriotic bunting but for years was too cheap to buy any. Finally this year, I caved and bought two for our porch railing. I absolutely love them. They are staying up as long as humanly possible.

I made the porch a bit more user-friendly by adding some inviting seating. I painted that wicker chair red while we were still living at our previous house, and it just happens to coordinate perfectly with the shutters and trim here!

That is the same outdoor bench I posted about a few weeks back. There will be more on the bench’s update later in the week.

Eventually I would like to get a larger outdoor rug for the space, maybe a rugby stripe or a more modern take on a braided rug. But, the small one I had on hand will have to do for now.

I was able to make the pillows for the bench from fabric I had in my stash. The pillows are stuffed with plastic grocery bags to make them a little more outdoor friendly. I probably won’t leave them out 24-7, though, just to be safe.

Just take a moment to notice the lighthouse pillow in the foreground. That’s pretty much the fanciest thing I have ever sewn. Baby steps, friends.

The seating area is now a nice place for a cup of coffee and a few design magazines.

My Year-Round Wreath is still decorated for the 4th of July, so it ties in nicely with the rest of the porch updates. I got the cute skeleton key doormat from Target — very reasonably too.

I sewed a simple bunting from pieces of the same printed burlap ribbon that I used on the year-round wreath. I think it is a cute extra touch to the window, and the burlap should hold up well outside.

The last and best touches are our new weigela shrub and the flag. It’s been killing me to have a perfect spot for a flag and not have the right hardware to hang it, so just in time for the 4th, my dad installed a new bracket and rigged up a flag pole for us. A house front never really looks finished until there is a flag hanging up, I think.

I am ridiculously geeked about how cute our house looks now. I tend to crane my neck to look back at it whenever we leave to go anywhere. We spent less than $200 total on the porch makeover, but it really improves the curb appeal of the house, which in turn adds tremendous value to the home. And, more importantly, it makes us happy!

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Thanks, Jessica

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