Magnolia Mamas : porch

Showing posts with label porch. Show all posts

Wednesday, May 29, 2019

5 Tips For Sprucing Up Your Patio

Summertime, and the living is easy! It's the greatest time of year if you ask us. We love having our kids home from school, we love having friends over to grill out, and we love the lazy, laid-back schedules that come along with it.

The covered patio off our basement was kind of an after thought when it came to decorating. We've had some furniture down there for a while, but it never felt like a very comfortable space and I hadn't really put any thought into that area. I really wanted to spruce up that space for summer so that it would feel more inviting and would encourage us to use it more. I am obsessed with how it turned out and have loved every second we've spent out there so far. I wanted to share all about what I did to make it feel just like another room in our home instead of just an outdoor spot to grill in the hopes that it would inspire someone else to do the same with their outdoor space.

5 Tips For Sprucing Up Your Patio For Summer

1. Treat it like an extension of your home.
When you start to think of this area like another room in your home you will immediately want to treat it like that. Cleaning this "room" will become part of your normal cleaning routine. No one wants to go sit out on dirty chairs or deal with dead bugs. If you keep the space clean and tidy on a regular basis, you're definitely more likely to use it on a regular basis!

2. Have comfortable seating and lots of pillows.
Having somewhere comfortable to sit is key! We opted for an outdoor sectional, but didn't go crazy with it. It's not top of the line, by any means, but it is great for what we needed and somewhere soft to land.

The outdoor dining table is a hand-me-down from my in-laws, but in PERFECT condition and the cushion colors just happened to match!

Adding pillows is my VERY favorite way to spruce up any space, both indoors and out! I don't care if fabrics are treated for outdoors, I still use them outside and just wash as needed. To me, the pillows 100% make this space feel just like home. I love the buffalo plaid pillow covers from Amazon and the Vineyard Vines x Target collaboration one I snagged in my local Target last week! The others are ones I had stashed around my house in other areas that I just repurposed for the patio.

3. Add a rug.
This is probably one that my husband didn't agree with, but I knew it would make the patio feel more cozy and home like. I wanted an indoor-outdoor rug that was durable and could be hosed off after pollen season, but that was colorful and comfortable to put my feet on. I ended up going with THIS one in the 8x10 and could not be happier.

The price was right, I didn't have to pay extra shipping and it completely changed the look of the space. When my little guy saw it out there for the first time he said, "Wow! That carpet makes it look way gooder out there." And he was right! This was the thing that completely changed the look of the patio.

4. Plants, greenery and flowers!
I love little pops of green both indoors and out! I use all sorts of artificial boxwood sprigs in fun containers inside my house and also like to use them outdoors, too!

I don't have a green thumb, but I do love potted plants or flowers because they are usually easier to keep alive (as long as I remember to water them!).

5. Don't forget the finishing touches.
Think about all of those items that make our indoors spaces feel "finished." I'm talking about the candles, small decor items, wall art and just personal little items that make a home feel like a home. You add them to rooms indoors, so don't forget to use those outside on our porch or patio, too!

I just mostly used things I already had on hand, but also added a few new things. I made the American flag sign at Board and Brush and I'm obsessed with it!

I also grabbed a few of these candles from the Vineyard Vines x Target collaboration! Candles are great for keeping bugs away at night, too!

I really love the way this space turned out and know that we will enjoy using it all summer long!

Do you have an outdoors space you use? Any other ideas to share for sprucing it up?

Tuesday, October 3, 2017

Front Porch Halloween Decor

I just love October and everything that comes with it! From all things pumpkin to colorful leaves, it's the start of one of my favorite times of year. From now through the end of the year it's one holiday after another and that means my front porch gets lots of makeovers this time of year.

I always decorate indoors for holidays, but I love to decorate the front porch also because I feel like not a lot of people come in my house, but a lot of people come by my house or at least to the front door! Plus, it just feels more welcoming to our guests and even just our own family as we drive down the driveway.

Yesterday while the kids were at school I pulled out all of my Halloween decorations and when they walked down the driveway after hopping off the school bus they were so excited to see all of the fun decorations. We'll visit a pumpkin patch sometime this month and have real pumpkins for our front porch. However, because we live in the south and because it's still pretty warm I like to wait until closer to Halloween so they don't end up rotting before the end of the month. Until then we'll just enjoy these goodies!

Each year I like to get a few new things to add to my decorating stash and this year I found myself checking out Oriental Trading for all they had to offer. They have so many Halloween decor options. Everything from traditional scary decor to outdoor blow ups and party decorations, but there were a ton of really cute things that fit with my decorating style also! These adorable Halloween pillows came in a two pack. I had originally planned to use them in our basement, but when they arrived I knew they would look great with the accent pillows I already had so they found their new home on the porch.

A few other new items are these lanterns which also came as a pack of two and I am so obsessed with them. They work great on my porch for Halloween, but I have plans for them indoors after this holiday. I love that I can easily change out the candles with different colors to change it up from space to space and the varying heights are a no-brainer when pairing things together. Plus, that little gold dipped pumpkin made me all kinds of happy.

One thing I always like to do is use decorative ribbon in varying places to sort of tie things together. It adds a little extra touch to certain items and helps everything to coordinate throughout a space...in this case, my porch!

I still need to switch out my flower pots on the front porch for some fall blooms, but after that I'll be done. I can't wait to welcome trick-or-treaters on Halloween!

Thank you to Oriental Trading for providing me with the new decor items. All opinions are my own.

Thursday, March 23, 2017

How To Preserve a Bird's Nest

Disclaimer: If you do see a bird's nest in your yard or near your home, I would suggest waiting as long as possible to be sure that you won't disturb nature. In all of my research for this project I learned that the Migratory Bird Treaty Act actually makes it illegal to disturb a nest of any native bird without a permit and that it is illegal to move or remove active nests, even if they are in an inconvenient location. However, after you are sure it is safe to remove a nest without causing harm, if you want to preserve the nest, I've done all the research of how to do that properly!

Yesterday I shared some of my Spring and Easter decor, including my new additions this year. I'm so pleased with the way the birdcage turned out and I turned to my favorite design friend, Pinterest, with tips on how to style it.

I ultimately decided I wanted to try to put a real bird's nest in it. Over a year ago a bird built a nest on our front porch and I just loved walking out my front door each day and peeking at the nest with her sitting on it waiting for her eggs to hatch. All of the sudden one day she was gone and I was hoping to find signs that the eggs had hatched, but she just kind of vanished and there were never any signs of babies. I'm not sure if my noisy kids were too much for her or if it was just such a high-traffic area that she decided to abandon ship and build a nest somewhere else. Or, for all I know, maybe her babies left the nest after they hatched and I just didn't notice. I guess we'll never know. What I do know is that the nest sat there for over a year and while I was always curious, I didn't want to disturb it in case she or any other birds ever came back to this spot.

I did a little reading about nests and birds and learned that sometimes other birds will come and use a nest that has already been built. Because of this I left it on our porch for a really long time, but after over a year I decided it was safe to move it because no birds were coming. I was actually really scared to touch and move it. I don't really do nature and I guess I was kind of afraid of what I would see in the nest. Much to my surprise, when I went to take it down the thing was stuck up there. Like literally stuck to the top of the column with mud. Those birds are so dang smart. In all of my research I learned it takes about 180 trips per day for anywhere from 2-6 days to gather materials and build the nest. When I finally got it down I examined it and was in awe of the construction of the nest.

I read that you should put it in a large plastic bag and then put it in the freezer for several days or up to week to kill any bugs or other tiny living things that might be living in the nest. I also read that these things usually leave shortly after a bird leaves and since my nest had been sitting here for so long I thought it might be OK, but it couldn't hurt to freeze it for a while.

Next I sprayed it with a clear coat spray paint to sort of seal it and let it dry in the sun for a few hours.

Then my nest was ready to put into the birdcage. However, the color of the nest was pretty similar to the color of the bird cage so I used a faux boxwood stem on the bottom of the birdcage to really make the nest noticeable.

I'm so happy with the way this project turned out and I just love the special touch of spring that this adds to our porch! I also love that this nest was home to a bird (and maybe her babies) for a few weeks and that now it is a part of my home.

Monday, September 26, 2016

Project Deck: The Crazy Construction

Many many many months ago, I introduced you to Project Deck. This by far will go down as our all time most laborious construction project we've done on our house thus far. And there have been a lot of projects over the years.

A deck. Who would have thought??

Before I get into that, let's take a little moment to enjoy the motivation behind the project...

Ahhhh....

Now a recap. Old deck (buh-bye!)...

And the drawings brought to life by my husband and our original contractor...

Notice I said original contractor. This is where the crazy started to come in. Our original contractor took everything to permitting and then poof - disappeared!

Months of prep and planning were down the drain. We were genuinely worried about him for awhile, and then by the magic powers of Facebook realized he was alive, well and decided we would just move on as well. Looking back on it we realized he had been making excuses and putting off the project for almost two months. The warning signs were there, but we liked him as a person and overlooked it. Oh well, moving on.

After a few more inquiries and revisiting some of our previous bids, we were finally able to get Project Deck underway right around Memorial Day.

The Cutes were already out of school for the summer, and they were beyond excited to see anything and everything construction related. It was the best babysitter/petsitter I could have ever asked for. Literally, for hours they would be in this position watching.

The original deck took no time at all to come down!

Then the new deck construction seemed to be going just as quick.

With project supervisors like these we figured the deck would be done in no time. :)

In just a few short days, the deck began to resemble to the drawings and our dream deck was quickly coming to life.

We had to leave for our summer vacation to Hilton Head Island around this point in construction, but some neighbors were nice enough to check in occasionally and send us pics.

We came home and then things slowly started to go a little askew from here.

The project moved forward but at a snails pace for a few weeks.

I'm not joking, we literally saw a few people arrive, grab tools, hammer a few things and then leave for the day.

And for those few hours I would be so on edge. No ladder. No harness. Just a hoist, and a grab, and a prayer. Cirque de Soleil should totally hire these guys.

The frustration came when our original timeline wasn't even going to be close. It was summer, and we wanted to be able to at least use the backyard, but with construction going on it took the whole back area out of commission. We were patient though, and after a few tough conversations we finally started to see movement again.

Each morning a crew would arrive right at 7a.m. now, and summer in the south isn't for the week. With temps usually in the high nineties and even 100's already it looked like it was a tough job - I felt so bad. The ~~Cutes~~ Project Supervisors and I would bring them water and treats whenever we could.

And their acrobatics were still on point through the whole thing.

Then it began to rain. And rain. And rain.

Throw in a building inspection gone wrong - times two - and we stalled out again.

The rain finally stopped, and the building inspection issue cleared up, but for the most part the deck looked like this for a long time.

Then on our part life took on a different meaning, and Project Deck took a major back burner in our priorities. We cut checks and just trusted that things were moving forward as scheduled. We weren't home for almost a month, and we expected to come home to a finished deck.

Wishful thinking on our part. As our attention was elsewhere so was our contractors.

A few more conversations, and the project began to move forward again. For those who haven't fallen asleep yet at the painstakingly slow progress - we are now looking at 9 weeks worth of building.

9. Whole. Weeks.

For a deck.

School started, and our attention was still elsewhere, but we also wanted our house to at least be in a normal state.

Fortunately our contractor finally heard our pleas, and sped the process way up.

Towards the end of August we were in the home stretch, and for the most part Project Deck was looking like it might finally be done by Labor Day weekend.

Surprisingly, we had yet another inspection issue and I think our contractor might have shed a tiny tear at not getting that C.O. for us.

However, at this point we had a couch on order and a working t.v. with tailgate chairs to hold us over (no shame in our game). We were rolling with Project Deck being a done deal.

Even after all the crazy we love how it turned out. It is exactly what we envisioned when we thought of redoing our outdoor living space, and we are so excited to enjoy it this fall.

I've done a little decorating here and there and we keep making little furniture tweaks, but at least we are now on to my favorite part - the decorating!

I've been able to share a sneak peek or two on Instagram, and stay tuned tomorrow for a fun little porch tour we have planned with a special "delight"-ful ~~blogger~~ friend to see a little more.

I will plan on doing a full tour with a full list of details soon! Until then, feel free to share your favorite places for hunting down outdoor decor - I've been on quite the mission, but apparently it's already Christmas in the wonderful world of retail and I've majorly missed out. Eek!

PROJECT DECK CHECK LIST

~~- Take down the old deck. (Buh - bye!)~~

~~- Finalize final deck layout and design. Begin building!~~

~~-Have an outdoor fire place. S'more making a must!~~

~~- Purchase lighting/fans for the space.~~

- Purchase furniture and decor. (In progress)

~~- Create a usable outdoor living space beneath the deck on the patio.~~

- Landscape the surrounding areas. (In progress)

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