Table of Contents

• Focal Points
• Floors
• Lighting
• Furniture
• Textiles
• Plants

Focal Point

Let’s start by talking about focal points. The porch on the front of my house is enclosed on three sides, so the innermost wall needs a focal point. I used to have a hand-lettered sign here, but it was not scaled to this space. Now, I am covering the whole wall with faux boxwood panels to make it look like a living wall. Now, a simple sign in front of that has a strong presence. In addition, the texture this accent wall brings to the porch is definitely a focal point!

The back porch is open on three sides, so the best thing to do here is make the ceiling your focal point. I am removing the boring exterior light fixture in favor of an outdoor chandelier with candelabra light bulbs. Since the original 1930s beadboard ceiling was in decent shape, I just patched it up and gave it a fresh coat of paint. The beadboard on the other porch was in bad shape, so for this ceiling I cut strips of thin plywood, sealed them on all sides to prevent warping, and used a brad nailer to attach them spaced with a nickel gap between planks. This ceiling gets so many compliments and was really affordable to do. I thought it wouldn’t last long, but 5 years later it still looks so great!

Porch Decorating: Floors

Next in my porch decorating, I want to address floors. If your porch, like mine, has wood floors, you have probably dealt with some rot. My porches were originally interior spaces, and when the previous owners removed the storm windows and half walls in favor of railings, these wood floors became exposed to the elements! The right thing to do is rip out all the rotting wood and replace it with outdoor-grade flooring, like composite decking. That is what I did for our back porch. However, the front porch got a bit trickier. Because the front porch is mostly enclosed and we use it more like an indoor space during the summer, I did not want gaps between floor boards that would be required with any kind of decking.

At first, I tried to patch and paint the floor. I removed a huge section of rot and even rebuilt some of the porch floor framing to try to salvage a solid floor. With paint, it did not look too bad, but it did not last long. Soon, the paint was chipping!

In one last effort to keep the current floor on this porch, I recently covered it in carpet tiles. I am loving the coziness underfoot when enjoying our front porch this year, but several people have told me the carpet will expedite the wood rotting underneath. Lastly, if you have a concrete porch floor, consider that paint might not hold up as well there either. Instead, try a concrete refinishing product as I did on this step, leading to our back porch. You can add colorant to tint the concrete to any color, and after application, your concrete looks absolutely new! 

Porch Lighting

Moving on to lighting ideas for your porch. On my back porch, I have a fancy outdoor chandelier, but my favorite is and always will be string lights. They add so much ambiance and soft lighting to my outdoor spaces. You can even buy solar-powered string lights! In addition, you could consider running rope lighting, if you have siding like mine, you can tuck it in a J channel and hide it away. I must say, I prefer to enjoy time on the porch by candlelight whenever it is possible.

Furniture

Porch furniture typically revolves around sitting and relaxing. Rocking chairs are some of my favorites, so I recently added them to my front porch!

I am so lucky to have big porches, so there is space on the back porch for a full dining set. This table is extra skinny, custom-built to be only 2 feet wide so it can accommodate the chairs being pushed back and people maneuvering around it on and 8 foot wide porch.

In a past front porch design, I had a large chest of drawers on it. This is an interior piece of furniture, so the back corner, where it is mostly protected from the elements, is the only place it could be. But if you have a porch that feels like it comes to a “dead end,” consider putting storage there. All of these furniture ideas are things you can do moderately easily, but if you want some WOW factor, consider building a bed swing. Everyone in my house absolutely loves spending time on the bed swing, if you have space for it, do it, it is SO worth it!

Working with Textiles

Textiles on your porch can make or break how inviting and cozy it feels. If your porch lacks cloth, rugs, or throw pillows, you risk it looking empty and basic. In my original front porch design, I layered colorful throw pillows on the bed swing to make it feel more inviting. Putting textiles outside does require maintenance. We bring the cushions, pillows, and other fabric materials inside when there is inclement weather and over the winter. There are so many great choices for outdoor textiles that are UV and water-resistant. The carpet tiles that I recently installed are meant for outdoor applications has both of these attributes. Adding textiles softens your whole space and elevates any porch decor you put with it.

Porch Plants

With any porch, you should decorate with plants. This is a space that is meant to be a transition between the indoor and the outdoor; plants just make sense! However, you might find that when a porch roof shades the space 100% of the day, it is hard to get any living plants to grow well in containers. In this case, I would recommend hanging planters that you can hang from eye screws in your porch’s header. I custom-made the ones on my porch out of scrap wood, so the pots are easily removable. Another idea is to just go faux. I am impressed by how realistic some faux plants are! Do not forget to do the landscaping around your porches as well, mine could use some work, but I am getting there!

These porch decorating ideas have transformed these two spaces into features of my home that we enjoy so much! I hope this inspires you and fills you with ideas for decorating your porch.

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Table of Contents

• Focal Point
• Porch Floors
• Lighting Ideas
• Porch Furniture
• Plants

Decorating for a Focal Point

First, let’s talk about the focal point! My porch in the front of the house is enclosed on three sides, so the innermost wall needed a focal point. I used to have a hand-lettered sign there, but it wasn’t to scale with the space. Now, I am covering the whole wall with faux boxwood panels to give the look of a living wall. I am adding a simple sign in front of that. This area of my porch has definitely become a focal point.

The back porch is open on three sides. The best thing to do in this case is to create a ceiling that is your focal point. I removed the boring exterior light fixture in favor of an outdoor chandelier with candelabra light bulbs. The original ceiling on this porch is in decent shape, so I am patching it up and giving it a fresh coat of paint. The longer I live with it, though, the more I think about repainting in a more exciting color! The bead board on the front porch is in bad shape. For this ceiling, I cut strips of thin plywood, sealed them on all sides to prevent warping, and used a brad nailer to attach them. I am spacing with a nickel gap between planks. This ceiling gets so many compliments and was really affordable to do.

Porch Floors

Next, I want to address the floors. If your porch has a wood floor like mine, you’ve probably dealt with some rot. My porches were originally interior spaces. When the previous owners removed the storm windows and half walls in favor of railings, these wood floors became exposed to the elements! The right thing to do is rip out the rotting wood and replace it with flooring made for outdoors. That’s what we had done on our back porch.

However, the front porch is a bit trickier! Since the front porch is mostly enclosed and we use it more like an indoor space during the summer, I didn’t want gaps between floor boards. At first, I tried to patch and paint the floor. I removed a huge section of rot and rebuilt some of the porch floor framing. With paint, it didn’t look too bad, but it didn’t last long. Soon, the paint was chipping! In one last effort to keep the current floor on this porch, I am covering it in carpet tiles. I’m seriously loving the coziness and softness the carpeting brings.

Lastly, if you have a concrete porch floor, consider that paint might not hold up the best there either. Instead, try a concrete refinishing product. I did this on my the concrete step up to my back porch and it was a game changer. This will help your concrete look brand new!

Large Porch Lighting Ideas

Moving on to lighting ideas for your porch. I have already talked about my outdoor chandelier on my back porch, but that is not my favorite lighting option! My favorite is and always will be string lights. They add ambiance and soft lighting that I love. You can even buy solar-powered string lights now! Another option to consider is running rope lights. If you have siding like mine, you can tuck it in a J channel and hide it away. I do try to spend as much time on the porch with candlelight as I can during the summer months

Porch Decorations: Furniture

Porch furniture typically revolves around sitting and relaxing. I love a great set of rockers, so I am adding a pair to my front porch. I am blessed to have big porches. This has allowed me to have seating on both. I have a dining set on my back porch. I custom-built the table that is on the back porch to fit the dimensions. If you have a porch that feels like it comes to a “dead end,” consider putting storage there. If you want to add a wow factor to your porch, consider building a bed swing. This is an oversized porch swing that is meant to fit a twin-size mattress! I built mine using predominantly leftover lumber from previous projects. Everyone in my house loves spending time on the bed swing!

Decorate Your Porch Using Textiles

Textiles on your porch can make or break how inviting and cozy it feels. If your porch isn’t decorated with any cloth, rug, or throw pillows, it can look empty and basic. In my original front porch design, I layered colorful throw pillows on the bed swing to make it inviting. I laid down a rug to cozy up the area where my kids would sit on the floor to play. Putting textiles outside does require maintenance. We bring the cushions, pillows, and such inside when there’s severe weather and over the winter. There are so many great choices for outdoor textile options that are UV resistant, water resistant, and more. For example, the carpet tile I recently installed is meant for outdoor applications. Adding in textiles softens your whole space and elevates the porch decor!

Plant Decorations

With any porch, you should decorate with plants. This is a space that’s meant to be a transition between indoor and outdoor, and plants just make sense! You might find, however, that when a porch roof shades the space 100% of the day, it’s hard to get any live plants to grow. Here I would recommend hanging planters that you can hang from eye screws in your porch’s header. I custom-made mine out of scrap wood, so the pots are easily removable. Another idea is to use faux plants. I am impressed by how realistic some faux plants are! My big red geraniums are so convincing. Don’t forget to do the landscaping around your porches as well (mine could use some work but, I’m getting there).

These porch decorating ideas have transformed these two spaces into features of my home that we enjoy so much! My front porch even got swanky screens, which you can learn about here. I hope this was inspiring for you and filled you with ideas to decorate your porch.

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This post may contain affiliate links or sponsored content. For full disclosures and practices, please visit my policy page.

Table of Contents

• Getting Rid of the Railing
• Refinishing Existing Lumber
• Sanding Down the Deck
• Getting Rid of Rotted Wood
• Replacing Rotted Wood
• Creating a Step for the Front of the Deck
• Making Repairs and Sanding
• Staining and Sealing
• Finishing the Deck

Getting Rid of the Railing

I am starting this project by removing the railing from the deck. I do not like how it obstructs the view of the lake, so I think this deck would be better with just a long step across the front instead. Some of the railings had carriage bolts through them, so I had to remove the decking to access the back of the bolt. This did not work as I hoped, so I am cutting off the top of the railing and chiseling off the remaining. Luckily I only had to do this process on 4 of the posts, the rest of the railing is so rotted that it just falls apart.

How to Refinish Decking: Refinishing the Existing Lumber

When it comes to refinishing the lumber already installed on this deck, I am going to sand it first to see what I am working with. When I tried to sink screws into the existing boards to prevent them from hitting my sander, they kept breaking. This made me realize that a majority of the screws in this decking were extremely rusted. If I am able to back them out all of the way, I am replacing the existing screws with exterior treated decking screws.

Sanding Down the Deck

I went to my hardware rental store and the guy there convinced me to get a heavy duty floor sander. It has a pad that sits on it and then you put your sanding sheet down. I am running this across the old decking to get the existing finish off. This heavy-duty sander works well for what I need it for, it handles the differences in heights between the boards better than any other sander would.

Getting Rid of the Rotted Wood

I have realized that a good portion of the decking is too rotted to salvage. I am pulling these pieces up and replacing them with 2×6 green treated lumber. The worst rot is in the places where this deck sees the most foot traffic, I do not think this is a coincidence. Because so many of the screws have broken off in this area, I am sheering them off with my angle grinder once the boards are up. For the boards I am salvaging, I have to deal with a little bit of rot at the ends. I am cutting off the rotted portion and adding a decorative edge piece.

A majority of my framing pieces are in good shape, but a few pieces have some rot. Most of this rot is where the posts for the railings were. I am replacing the rotted framing pieces with new 2×10 green treated lumber. Once all of the framing is solid, I am going to put joist tape along the tops of everything to protect from rot.

How to Refinish Decking: Replacing the Rotted Wood

Now, it is time to replace all of the rotted lumber. I am replacing it with 2×6 green treated lumber. I am cutting these individually so I can use the lumber as efficiently as possible. Whenever I cut one, I am using the remainder for the next row. Along the edge I am placing trim pieces, these compensate for the rotted edge that I had to cut off. These square off the deck so well!

Creating a Step for the Front of the Deck

I am repurposing wood that I have to create framing for what will be a big step across the front of the porch. To build this step, I am building boxes that have joists 16 inches on center. This is going to create a step that is a little over 23 feet long. I am removing sod and dirt across the front of my porch where the step is going to go. This must be level, so I am placing rocks down. When I place my step framing, I am using a leveler to check. This step took a lot of adjusting! When it is level, I am predrilling the frame of the step through the frame of the deck. I am using 4-inch long leg screwes to connect these frames together. To go over the existing cement path that is off of the deck, I jigsawed out a portion of the wood so it will go right over the path. Next, I am covering my framing.

How to Refinish Decking: Making Repairs and Sanding

Once everything is in place, I am fixing any blemishes in the wood. I am going in with two-part Bondo, this will repair any rotted areas that I did not feel like needed replacing. It is also going to fix any blemishes across boards or knots in the wood. Once all of my Bondo is dry, I am going to sand it all smooth. After I am done sanding, I am blowing off the surface of the decking with a leaf blower to prepare to apply my finish.

Staining and Sealing

Before I can stain my deck, I need to test it with a moisture meter. It is important that this reads below 15%, you do not want to seal moisture into your wood. My moisture meter did read below 15%, so it is time to stain and seal! I am using Behr’s waterproofing stain and sealer in one. This is a solid stain that has a 10-year warranty on decks. The trick to this is applying two light coats, this is made possible by my airless sprayer. The first thing I am doing before staining is removing the edge piece and coating the endgrain of the wood with finish. This is going to seal it in and prevent it from rotting. Next, I am spraying the tops of the deck. Using my sprayer dramatically increased how quickly I could apply my stain, but it is still best practice to back brush so you can work the product into the wood.

Finishing the Deck

As a finishing touch, I am going to paint this aluminum angle flashing. This is going to go along the foundation of the house where the deck meets it. Once this is dry, I am just gluing it down. I also have to patch the holes where the old railing post came down into the concrete. To do this I am using a mortar concrete mixture that is fast setting and works in applications up to 6 inches deep.

Now the deck is finally done! I love how beautiful it looks. You get such a beautiful view sitting and relaxing on this deck!

I hope you loved following along as I learned how to refinish decking! If you want to check out more of my outdoor projects, my blog post Build a Retaining Wall in One Day is a great place to start!

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This post may contain affiliate links or sponsored content. For full disclosures and practices, please visit my policy page.

Table of Contents

• Cutting the Wood for the Bed Swing
• Assembling the Box for the Bed Swing
• Building the Arms of the Bed Swing
• Building the Bed Swing Backrest
• Facing Concerns
• Finishing Work
• Hanging the Bedswing

Cutting the Wood for the Bed Swing

I am starting this project with 2x4s that I am cutting down to 81 inches long. Using my table saw, I am measuring a blade depth of 5/8 to make grooves in the 2x4s for my furring strips to sit in. I keep making cuts next to each other until it is 3/4 inches wide. This is going to be the basis for my bed swing. This will be the box that holds all the weight, so I want the furring strips to be supported.

Once my 2x4s have grooves cut into them, I cut out pieces of my furring strips to go across and support the mattress. These are 1x3s, and they are pine. I measured them to a little over 39.5 inches. I did this so there would be a little over 1/2 an inch of extra board to go on top of the 5/8 inch deep grooves in the 2x4s. The measurement between the 2x4s should be 38.5 inches to accommodate a twin mattress. I am spacing the 1×3 furring strips evenly across the whole thing, I cut 11 of these. Next, I am cutting 2x4s to 38.5 inches; these pieces will complete the box. Using my Kreg jig, I am drilling two pocket holes on each end. The reason I did this is because I want all of my screws to be hidden.

How to Build a Bed Swing: Assembling the Box

To assemble the box of this bed swing, I am lining up the 38.5-inch 2x4s that I just drilled pocket holes into with the 81-inch long 2x4s. I am putting the screws into my pocket holes and screwing the pieces of wood together. My 38.5-inch 2x4s do not go all the way to the end of the 81-inch long 2x4s, this is intentional. There needs to be some overhang so that I can drill holes and hang my ropes for the bed swing. To hold the furring strips in place, I am shooting brad nails through them.

Building the Arms of the Bed Swing

I am going for a very modern look with this bed swing; I want these arms to look nice and smooth. To do this, I am using 3/4-inch plywood. I am cutting the plywood to the length of the 2x4s plus the 38.5-inch wide furring strip opening. Then, I cut 2×2 strips to perfectly frame the plywood. I am connecting these by first using wood glue, then screwing them together. These must be strong because I want people to be able to lean their bodyweight on them. The arms are also what is going to be holding up the backrest of my bed swing. To securely attach the arms to my box frame, I am drilling pocket holes and putting screws into them!

How to Build a Bed Swing: Building the Backrest

To start building the backrest for my bed swing, I am setting up a straightedge and ripped 3/4-inch plywood to go along the length of the back. For the kind of strength I am looking for, I am gluing and screwing a second piece of 3/4-inch plywood to the first one! Now my backing is an inch and a half thick. Next, I am going to use a template I made to make the corner perfectly curved. I am also doing this on the arms so that there will be soft edges.

Facing Concerns

I am worried that this bed swing will not hold the amount of weight I want it to. I want it to be able to hold 1000 pounds, yes, ONE THOUSAND! Because of this concern, I am going to reinforce the 2×4 box. To do this, I am cutting out 45-degree angle pieces that I can put in the corners. This is really adding a lot of stability. While I have my bed swing on its side, I think it is time to drill holes for the ropes. I am using a spade bit in 1/2-inch and drilling that down on the overhang on the 81-inch long 2×4.

Finishing Work

Now that I am done building, it is time for finishing work. I am going in with A LOT of wood putty. The reason for this being I really want the finish to be extremely smooth. I used almost an entire tub of wood putty. Once the putty is dry, it is time to sand. Six hours of sanding, to be exact! I am starting with a 40-grit sandpaper, then moving to 80-grit, and ending at 120-grit.

After I finished sanding, I primed the bed swing using an exterior primer. Once the primer is drying, I am going in with black paint. For the first coat of paint, I painted the entire bed swing. For the second coat of paint, I only did the areas that would be seen. When all of the paint is dry, I use another homemade template to draw an angle to mount on the back piece. I used my line to attach a stair stringer. The backrest then got screwed into the stair stringer.

Hanging the Bed Swing

The rope I chose is a 15-foot nylon double braided rope. I am measuring this to 7.5 feet. When you cut nylon, you have to burn the end so it does not keep fraying. To attach this rope, I had to drill into my ceiling to put hooks into place. I made sure to drill so the hooks would hit a joist. Before I did this, I reinforced my ceiling joists just to make sure they could hold the weight. I am placing my bed swing a little bit more than 2 feet off the front of my porch so that there is walking room in front of it. The way I am hanging the hooks is turned out so that someone can’t swing too hard that it comes off the hood. All that is left now is to hang it up!

I love the way this bed swing turned out! We love to hang out on it as a whole family! It is the perfect addition to our newly screened-in front porch! I hope you loved learning how to build a bed swing. If you did, and you want to see more of my outdoor projects, check out the DIY firepit patio I just built!

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This post may contain affiliate links or sponsored content. For full disclosures and practices, please visit my policy page.

Table of Contents

• Preparing the Porch
• Installing the Screen
• Porch Reveal!

Preparing the Porch for Screens

A couple months ago we had the installer, Screen Mobile, come measure our porch to get the correct screen dimensions. After measuring, we had to wait 6-8 weeks for manufacturing, which gave me time to prepare the porch. I added lumber to the uneven posts of the porch so everything could be flush for the install. Then I filled cracks and unevenness in the posts with wood filler before sanding and repainting. I wanted the porch to look brand new before installing our screens! If you want more details on how I accomplished prepping the porch, be sure to check out the video.

Installing the Screen

Once the retractable screens were done being manufactured by the company Stoett, our installer Screen Mobile came to install the motorized screens! Bill and his son Butch completed the install in one day – they’ve been doing installs for 16 years. The install involves mounting the sleek aluminum housing at the top where the screen rolls into and the motor is housed. Butch also cut and installed aluminum railings on the sides of posts where the screen sits to guide it correctly moving up and down. After clean-up it was time to learn how to use the screens and enjoy my newly enclosed porch!

The Screened in Porch Reveal

The screens work SO well! Our porch does get buggy being near a lake, and now we have had zero bug issues sitting outside on our porch. It’s great to be able to sit on the bed swing I built without worrying about spiders or mosquitoes. My daughter has already even slept out here once! Scroll down to read some of my favorite features of my new screens.

• Retractable screens allow me to stop them at any height with the remote. This is the coolest aspect of Somfy’s motorized system. I can move one up to create a path on and off the porch and leave the other down. I can also roll them up and protect them from bad weather or during the winter when they aren’t being used.
• The tightly knit Stoett screen keeps out the tiniest of bugs while still being easily see-through. It even blocks some of the sun’s harshness so our porch stays cooler with the screens down.
• Even though I have three young children I have no worries about this screen busting or ripping. It seems very durable and the kids love it as much as we do! They definitely are careful around our new screens because they want to spend all day playing on the porch.

I am so happy with our screened in porch system from Somfy, and I’m looking forward to even more time spent out on our front porch. If I’ve inspired you to look into getting your own retractable screens, be sure to get a free estimate from a Somfy dealer. If you want to check out more of my outdoor projects, my blog post How to Build a Retaining Wall in One Day is a great place to start!

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Table of Contents

• The Before
• Wood Plank Ceiling
• Clubhouse Makeover
• Wood Flooring Makeover
• Fixing Some Issues
• Building a Bed Swing
• Final Reveal

A Reminder of the Before

My front porch makeover reveal is ready and you will not believe the before and afters! First, let’s remind you what the porch looked like when we bought the house…

You know last summer we completed a large scale exterior renovation that included new siding, soffits, facia, and gutters. We also moved the patio door to be right off of this porch from the dining room area. New cement was poured as well and at that point, the porch was looking like this:

A lot better, but still not as welcoming or charming as I would’ve liked.

Wood Plank Porch Ceiling

The first thing I did was plank the ceiling with thin plywood. This gave some warmth and interest to the space as well as covered a lot of holes, rot, and issues with the beadboard that was there.

Watch the how-to video here:

After the ceiling was installed, it already looked so much better!

Clubhouse Makeover

This porch had a creepy closet off the side of it that was in awful, smelly shape. I spent two weeks of this front porch makeover redoing this little room. I constructed walls with plywood, built shelves, replaced the door, painted every single surface, and made this an area my kids could play in as their “clubhouse.”

I also redid a kids furniture table and chair set to go in the clubhouse as an adorable feature.

So cute, isn’t it!?

Porch Wood Flooring Makeover

The floor on the front porch had a patched area that wasn’t in good shape and previous termite damage in the clubhouse. As I dug into this project, it ended up being more damage than I realized! When I took up the patched area, a large area of the floor joists were rotted through. I ended up constructing a new joists system and cutting in a larger patch. The new patch I painted with a geometric design to look like a DIY rug.

See how terrible the rot was under the porch in this video:

The rest of the floor I simply painted fresh!

Fixing the Front Elevation Foundation

The porch makeover would have looked sad if I left the front elevation as it was. I took the time to patch the cracks and prime/paint over the cement foundation. I also covered the wood plate with a plywood veneer and capped it with aluminum flashing to protect the plywood from moisture damage. Here’s hoping this solution lasts me a while, but I know it’s unusual. I guess we’ll see how it weathers over the Minnesota winter!

Build Porch Bed Swing

Now everything on the porch itself was fixed up, it was time for me to build the star of the design! I dreamt up a bed swing and talked my building design over with a few people. After weeks of piggybacking, tweaks, and thinking, I finally began creating what is probably my most impressive and complicated build to date!

I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out!! If you love it, too please pin this image!

Front Porch Makeover

I did other little DIY’s for the space like the “Sit and Relax” sign hanging on the back and more of my hanging wood planters for some greenery above the porch railing.

We sit out on the bed swing all the time – it’s like an outdoor living room! I’m so happy I took the time to transform this front porch, it really ramped up our curb appeal.

I hope you loved coming to the blog today and I surprised you with everything I completed for our front porch makeover. If you want to stay up to date with me on a daily basis, Instagram is probably the best place to follow me. If you want to see all my videos, come subscribe to my Youtube. Did you love this post?? If you did and you want to check out more of my outdoor projects, my blog post How to Build a Retaining Wall in One Day is a great place to start!

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