My Front Porch Makeover

I've always wanted to have a lovely front porch to sit on during warm Spring-Summer days but it's been a bit of a dream since we bought the house. Decorating the front porch has never been a priority. Since Little Miss became a toddler, I decided it was time to make it happen so we could sit out here together. This has been my project for the last few weeks & I've really enjoyed it.

This is what the porch looked like before:

very dull & boring. A blank canvas waiting to be transformed.

You can even see a glimpse of my outdoor thongs which I keep here for when I step outside.
Not a very inviting porch & not a great first impression of the house.


This is what the front porch looks like now:

Understated, practical & neutral.

I did a bit of searching for the bench, as I was determined to get a white one. It wasn't easy to find, as most are either plain timber or wrought iron. Thank goodness for my favourite store at the moment - Masters. Both the white bench & the outdoor rug were bought at Masters.

Details for the rest of the items:

wicker table/ottoman is from Early Settler (great for holding a cup of coffee or a magazine),
terracotta citronella candles are from Bunnings (to ward off the mozzies),
star candle holder is from Flower Power (for added ambience),
plastic tray with handles I had around the house (for holding flowers, magazines, candles, & to carry drinks & things in & out of the house),

fresh roses are from my garden,

outdoor cushions were a bargain buy from Flower Power,

white plastic stool is from Ikea (doubles as another chair or small table),
fern is from Flower Power,
white flower pot I had around the house.

Of course, there's so much more that I could add to make it "pop" a bit more (colours, textures, plants, etc), but I decided to keep it classic & simple for now because I will be adding splashes of festive splendour for Christmas next month (hopefully that'll be a future blog post).

A welcoming porch gives a positive first impression to people when they arrive at your home (decorating your front porch when trying to sell your house is a big plus!). Little Miss & I sit out here on warm afternoons waiting for hubby to arrive from work. It's such a nice, cosy space for us & I love sitting out here. It's currently our favourite "room".

Have you done any mini projects at your house lately? Maybe you're getting a few things ready for Christmas. Feel free to share - I'd love to hear about it.

Baby Shower

Baby showers are sweet. Everyone is so happy for the mum-to-be & there's so much anticipation in the air. I was invited to one recently & had a lot of fun.
There were plenty of gifts for the bub in the tum,

 fun(ny) games,

(pin the dummy on the baby)

(guess the number of jellybeans in the jar)

scrumptuous food

(delicious white chocolate mud cake made by Samantha at "Cake Smitten")

&.....a fingerprint tree.

Here's another way to use the fingerprint tree (in my previous post it was used at an engagement party):

get all the guests at the baby shower to pick either blue ink or pink ink, depending on whether they think the baby will be a boy or a girl, & add their fingerprint to the fingerprint tree. Then they can put their name next to the fingerprint. It's a beautiful alternative to a guest book & a fun idea so that the mum-to-be can look at all the baby predictions on the tree. Also nice to pass on to the baby as a keepsake for them to have later on.

There was a 50/50 split on the predictions at this baby shower.

Upon leaving, we each received this gorgeous Thank You

with an ultrasound photo of the baby on the back.

A nice way to spend a Sunday afternoon.
Have you been to a baby shower recently? How much fun did you have?