Breaking In The Back Porch

 

In between working on the inside of the house, I've been trying to get some things done on the porches.  It is difficult as there are almost 1000 square feet of porches and I honestly haven't had a lot of motivation to work on the porches when we are so close and so desperate to finish the inside of the house.

 

 Recently I had Eldon help me move the old and very weathered picnic table up onto the back porch.  It had been sitting for the last two years in the "yard" in front of our travel trailer where it was very exposed to the elements.  I've been holding out hope that Eldon would be able to build me a really awesome farmhouse table for the porch, but I came to the realization that its not a possibility for this summer.  So.... after lots of sanding, staining a dark walnut, and about eight coats of shellac my picnic table came to life and I love it! 

 

 

Then I bought some fun outdoor fabric and made some nice long cushions for the benches.

 

 

I attached some ribbon on both ends so I could tie it in place.  I love the finished look.

 

 

I went to our storage building and pulled my old wash tubs out and brought them home to the porch!  (I love these - my husband was adament that they were not moving 2000 miles with us when we moved out here to our farm... but miraculously they made it!)  This hydrangea was a gift to us this week and I planted it here temporarily until I can figure out exactly where to plant it.  Obviously, we haven't even thought about our landscaping yet!

 

 

About a year ago I bought this old chair and table from  Amy at All Things Home.  I sanded all the rust off, painted the chair white, the table turquoise, made some pillows...

 

And here it is.  I love, love, love it.  I'm on the look out for another chair so that I can create a better seating area with the table in between.  The turquoise color was a bit of a stretch, even for someone like me that loves color.  But it is such a fun, happy color that I just love it.  (You may remember me talking about painting the ceiling of the back porch a faint blue color?  Well, it is this exact blue but a much lighter tone so this little table actually helps bring that blue out.)

 

 

We had company for supper the other night and we were eating outside obviously.  When I went to set the table, I remembered this vintage tablecloth that my mother gave me when we were visiting them in New Mexico this past year.  I had admired it and my mother folded it up and put it in my suitcase.  It had belonged to my grandmother.  When I put it on the table the other evening I couldn't believe how perfectly it went with my colors - even though the pattern and style is completely different, it really worked!  (Oh, and our supper with our company was absolutely lovely!)

 

I set my table with the dishes that I wrote about over a year ago.  You can read about them here.  They were a wedding gift to us over 30 years ago and have been perfect for camper living.  I will never part with them, but I will be happy to get my pretty dishes out of storage soon and retire these to picnic use only! 

 

 

I love how all the colors just came together and made for a very fun table setting.

 

 

So even though my porches  are a long ways from being fully furnished, I at least feel some of them coming together.  (I do have a side porch that is our sleeping porch and although it isn't screened it is lovely for sleeping, napping, and laying there to read to the grand-babies!  I have an old iron bed that I've made bedding for and am slowly putting that together too.  More on it soon!)

 

 

Here's a quick peek at our completed butcher block counter tops.  I am so completely over the moon happy with them.   And the island that I shed tears over because I was afraid it was too big?  It is incredible and so completely perfect.  Sink and faucet go in tomorrow!

 

 

And one final picture for you.  This is Walter.  Born three weeks ago with the assistance of the Veterinarian!  (The Vet's name was Walter - wonder what he would think if he knew we named the calf after him?!)  He is our last calf of the season and what a darling (huge) baby! 

 

 Eldon and I are headed this weekend to a nearby lake where we'll be staying in a lovely cabin with all of our kids!  We need a break off the hilltop and we can hardly wait!  Hope your weekend is the best.