Perfect Porches

It's really, really HOT here in Cleveland right now and has been for weeks now.  I mostly love the heat because we plunge into a deep freeze every winter. I say mostly because it can really sap your energy and just make you want to lie down and take a nice long nap on the porch.

Since I don't really have a porch (more like a mini landing pad that barely has room for the two urns filled with flowers I use to "decorate" it), I like to imagine some day being able to build a little version of one in the back of the house.  Of course, I'm filled with brilliant ;-) ideas for my imaginary porch, but here are some real porches that make you want to grab a book, pour a glass of wine and relax...or you could just take a nap.

 This last porch is really more of an outdoor room, a glorified screened porch that I could pretty much live in all year...if it wasn't freezing here during the winter.

 If you have a porch, dress it up and enjoy it.  You're truly blessed to be able to enjoy one of the greatest pleasures of the Summer.

Coastal Chic

Makes me wish I living on the beach (of course, who doesn't wish they lived by the beach?):

Sometimes you have to settle for dreaming :)

The Pine Monster Gets A Distressing Makeover

I mentioned a while ago that I really wanted to do something about the monster that lives in the corner of my living room...

It's useful for hiding the TV (no sleek sexy flat screen for me) that is quite fat and extraordinarily heavy.  Still, even if I did have a lovely new TV, I would want to hide it.  TVs aren't pretty to me and I don't like looking at them unless they're turned on.  But I digress.

Last week I took on the 80s pine monster and now she looks like this...

Two coats of paint, some sanding to achieve a distressed look and toner, along with one final "wash" with a mix that was three parts water and one part latex paint and I'm back in love with my armoire.  I no longer see her as the big ugly monster hogging the corner of the living room :-).

I even like the top of the piece that I had grown to hate for it's fancy scroll work that just screamed 80s at me.

 As you can see, I did put new hardware on the doors, but I don't love it.  It looked great immediately after the painting, but once I started using the toner and darkening the piece more, the white knobs were just too...well, white.  I'll keep them until I find something else for a price I'm willing to pay (if cost were no object, I'd head over to Anthropologie and pick up some but, that's not in the budget).

 

Now, if you'll excuse me, I have to go find something else to paint :-).