Remodeling tips: update porch furniture
A simple drive around a typical neighborhood in Anywhere, USA, gives credence to a singularly sad suspicion: the once-lofty, now-lowly porch is fast becoming the most under-appreciated space in -- or attached to -- the home.
Long gone are the magnificent, wide, broad wrap-around porches that hugged our grandparents' homes. There, you'd find the accoutrements of a simpler lifestyle in a less-hurried day: the inevitable porch swings or gliders, Adirondack chairs, the old rope hammock, some cushioned settees, and climbing roses or honeysuckle breathing fragrance into warm summer nights.
Porches also used to hold the necessaries of the day: the wood or aluminum ice box, where in pre-dawn stillness, the milkman left a daily ration of milk, cream, butter and orange juice ... an umbrella stand and boot-keep, for refugees from sudden summer downpours, from which porches gave strangers shelter.
A dog bed. A pedestal ashtray. An old crate that doubled as a table, where family members would clean fresh-picked berries, snap the beans, peel the potatoes and indulge in a late-night glass of iced tea and a game of checkers.
So what's your porch wearing this summer season? Nothing? The same-old-same-old deck chairs and market umbrella? An odd collection of children's toys, bicycles, car parts and winter storage?
Give your porch -- and your spirits -- a lift this summer. Whether it's a tiny front stoop, a screened-in Florida room or a patch of fenced-in cement just outside the back door, your porch can be a thing of beauty that expresses your unique summer style-sense!
So what's your style?
Are you at home with contemporary or classic? Rustic or Rio? Sleek teak or shabby chic? Dying to try your hand at art deco? Doll up your porch with yourself in mind!
What favorite activities do you see yourself enjoying on your newly redecorated porch? Plan your decorating scheme around those choices.
With so many choices in styles, materials, accessories and prices, you can do as much or as little as you'd like!
Today's porch furniture selection is wide as well, and you needn't be limited to what's available in the local home improvement or patio stores. Use your own imagination to make your porch style fit your lifestyle.
For instance, why not move your old wood potting bench to the porch this year, and let it do double-duty as a wet bar and sideboard for impromptu buffet lunches?
Or go double-wide with a rope-and-canvas hammock that guarantees you and your significant other can both kick back, slide in and relax in awesome comfort ... at the same time!
Tired of stashing the kids' scattered summer toys in the garage when company comes calling? Those wooden bed-end benches with inside storage aren't just for baby's room anymore! Keep one handy on your porch this summer. Paint it white and add a few summer-bright cushions on top -- try fruity colors like cherry red, lime green, blueberry and lemon yellow -- and your storage bench will look remarkably like a planned part of a clever, casual seating arrangement.
No youngsters around? Stash your board games, craft materials, bocci ball or croquet set inside!
Why not wicker?
For a classic seaside look that's equally at home on a 19th-century wrap-around or a 21st-century condo balcony, try wicker, a casual but elegant favorite that just shouts "summer!"
Natural wicker is always in fashion, but don't shy away from classic white or ebony black wicker if it suits your fancy.
Eating outdoors? Glass-topped wicker tables are so easy to clean! Add four wicker side chairs, a bleached-muslin cabana umbrella, and accessorize with thick, comfortable cushions covered in wide, sea-blue-and-white stripes ... you'll practically be able to smell the surf!
Wonderful Wood
Teak, twig, cedar, oak, birch, cherry or eucalyptus ... wood is making a definite comeback on fashionable front porches! Its fresh-as-nature scents and its coolness, even on the warmest days, ensure the allure of wood is as durable as the furniture itself.
Strong, fragrant red cedar is a special favorite for porch swings, settees and side-chairs that are bound for a lot of use. And you'll appreciate cedar's pest-repellant qualities as summer deepens and the bugs are out en masse!
Chairs, chaises and benches crafted from cedar's warm colors -- burnished reds and tawny browns -- look great with understated cushions covered in earth-wares: solid navy, forest green, burgundy, fresh khaki, bark brown.
For rustic porches, twig is big! While cedar lends itself to squared-off corners, twig porch designs lean toward the curved and whimsical. What porch wouldn't be proud of a twig love seat with a double-heart-shaped seat back?
Go romantic with twig accessories! Try a mirror-topped twig side table to reflect the glow of an antique courting lamp. Cushion your twig side-chairs in a contrasting soft pink frill, and keep a twig magazine rack nearby -- and a Coleman lantern -- for reading and relaxing under the stars!
Mighty metals
Don't overlook the metals family for a retro porch design! Don't toss those old metal porch chairs -- paint them with a popular rust-resisting finish, and as brightly as you can! Purple, green, sapphire, ruby-red, yellow-orange ... one of each will jazz up even the dullest, darkest corner!
Aluminum porch chairs and chaise lounges, strapped in plastic, are perfect for the busy family with lots of summer activity but not a lot of cash to spend on porch furniture.
These sturdy, inexpensive perennials welcome kids, whether they're fresh from the sprinkler, the fishing creek or the ball diamond. They're light to tote, and clean easily with just a hose and soap, so they travel well, to the beach, the Fourth's Fireworks, or just about anywhere an extra seat is welcomed!
But whatever your style or budget may be, there's no excuse this year to let your porch pine away for company! A little fix-up-clean-up-paint-up may be all the redecorating your porch needs. Start now to plan your "new" porch, and you'll be relaxing in outdoor casual comfort before you know it!
Long gone are the magnificent, wide, broad wrap-around porches that hugged our grandparents' homes. There, you'd find the accoutrements of a simpler lifestyle in a less-hurried day: the inevitable porch swings or gliders, Adirondack chairs, the old rope hammock, some cushioned settees, and climbing roses or honeysuckle breathing fragrance into warm summer nights.
Porches also used to hold the necessaries of the day: the wood or aluminum ice box, where in pre-dawn stillness, the milkman left a daily ration of milk, cream, butter and orange juice ... an umbrella stand and boot-keep, for refugees from sudden summer downpours, from which porches gave strangers shelter.
A dog bed. A pedestal ashtray. An old crate that doubled as a table, where family members would clean fresh-picked berries, snap the beans, peel the potatoes and indulge in a late-night glass of iced tea and a game of checkers.
So what's your porch wearing this summer season? Nothing? The same-old-same-old deck chairs and market umbrella? An odd collection of children's toys, bicycles, car parts and winter storage?
Give your porch -- and your spirits -- a lift this summer. Whether it's a tiny front stoop, a screened-in Florida room or a patch of fenced-in cement just outside the back door, your porch can be a thing of beauty that expresses your unique summer style-sense!
So what's your style?
Are you at home with contemporary or classic? Rustic or Rio? Sleek teak or shabby chic? Dying to try your hand at art deco? Doll up your porch with yourself in mind!
What favorite activities do you see yourself enjoying on your newly redecorated porch? Plan your decorating scheme around those choices.
With so many choices in styles, materials, accessories and prices, you can do as much or as little as you'd like!
Today's porch furniture selection is wide as well, and you needn't be limited to what's available in the local home improvement or patio stores. Use your own imagination to make your porch style fit your lifestyle.
For instance, why not move your old wood potting bench to the porch this year, and let it do double-duty as a wet bar and sideboard for impromptu buffet lunches?
Or go double-wide with a rope-and-canvas hammock that guarantees you and your significant other can both kick back, slide in and relax in awesome comfort ... at the same time!
Tired of stashing the kids' scattered summer toys in the garage when company comes calling? Those wooden bed-end benches with inside storage aren't just for baby's room anymore! Keep one handy on your porch this summer. Paint it white and add a few summer-bright cushions on top -- try fruity colors like cherry red, lime green, blueberry and lemon yellow -- and your storage bench will look remarkably like a planned part of a clever, casual seating arrangement.
No youngsters around? Stash your board games, craft materials, bocci ball or croquet set inside!
Why not wicker?
For a classic seaside look that's equally at home on a 19th-century wrap-around or a 21st-century condo balcony, try wicker, a casual but elegant favorite that just shouts "summer!"
Natural wicker is always in fashion, but don't shy away from classic white or ebony black wicker if it suits your fancy.
Eating outdoors? Glass-topped wicker tables are so easy to clean! Add four wicker side chairs, a bleached-muslin cabana umbrella, and accessorize with thick, comfortable cushions covered in wide, sea-blue-and-white stripes ... you'll practically be able to smell the surf!
Wonderful Wood
Teak, twig, cedar, oak, birch, cherry or eucalyptus ... wood is making a definite comeback on fashionable front porches! Its fresh-as-nature scents and its coolness, even on the warmest days, ensure the allure of wood is as durable as the furniture itself.
Strong, fragrant red cedar is a special favorite for porch swings, settees and side-chairs that are bound for a lot of use. And you'll appreciate cedar's pest-repellant qualities as summer deepens and the bugs are out en masse!
Chairs, chaises and benches crafted from cedar's warm colors -- burnished reds and tawny browns -- look great with understated cushions covered in earth-wares: solid navy, forest green, burgundy, fresh khaki, bark brown.
For rustic porches, twig is big! While cedar lends itself to squared-off corners, twig porch designs lean toward the curved and whimsical. What porch wouldn't be proud of a twig love seat with a double-heart-shaped seat back?
Go romantic with twig accessories! Try a mirror-topped twig side table to reflect the glow of an antique courting lamp. Cushion your twig side-chairs in a contrasting soft pink frill, and keep a twig magazine rack nearby -- and a Coleman lantern -- for reading and relaxing under the stars!
Mighty metals
Don't overlook the metals family for a retro porch design! Don't toss those old metal porch chairs -- paint them with a popular rust-resisting finish, and as brightly as you can! Purple, green, sapphire, ruby-red, yellow-orange ... one of each will jazz up even the dullest, darkest corner!
Aluminum porch chairs and chaise lounges, strapped in plastic, are perfect for the busy family with lots of summer activity but not a lot of cash to spend on porch furniture.
These sturdy, inexpensive perennials welcome kids, whether they're fresh from the sprinkler, the fishing creek or the ball diamond. They're light to tote, and clean easily with just a hose and soap, so they travel well, to the beach, the Fourth's Fireworks, or just about anywhere an extra seat is welcomed!
But whatever your style or budget may be, there's no excuse this year to let your porch pine away for company! A little fix-up-clean-up-paint-up may be all the redecorating your porch needs. Start now to plan your "new" porch, and you'll be relaxing in outdoor casual comfort before you know it!
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