Operation Home

Answer: Our front porch.

This weekend, I spent the bulk of my time working on refinishing the foyer cabinets. So, our house currently looks like this…

Note: I tried to get Lucas to smile, but he decided to pull a Joey instead (what with the silly-face). Not kidding. My attempts at smileage are as follows…

Heehee! Boys.

Anyways, with all this chaos inside, I decided that a quick update outside was just the ticket to bring the front porch into spring. Which was desperately needed, since, well…

Yeah. We’re those neighbors.

Those neighbors who have fake poinsettias displayed on the porch until March. It could be worse, though. There could be an inflatable Santa in our rocker. But, fortunately, there is not. Mainly because I’d never buy one. Nothing against inflatable Santas. They just creep me out slightly. Something about watching Toy Story too many times.

Anyhoo, it was time to change it up. And I had one goal:

Spend Zero Dollahs.
(Aka, Use Whatchya Got.)

And what I got was these…

Two faux Christmas trees. I bought them on clearance for $3 a piece from Kroger a few months ago. I know. It sounds absurd. DeChristmasing the porch with Christmas trees. I feel ridiculous typing this. Yet, I did it anyways….

I’m hoping they look more like topiaries since I simply dropped them all the way into my planters. I *may* be kidding myself, though. I realize this. But, it’s okay. They’re better than the poinsettias, in my opinion.

As for the frame wreath, it’s now been adapted for Fall (read the full tutorial for how I made it here), jazzed up for Christmas, and now dressed up for Spring…

I simply removed the previous burlap, secured a few fake orchid stalks using some floral wire that I had in my craft box. Then, I tied some more burlap ribbon around the base. Easy. And freeeeeeeeeeeee!!!

I have to say, I love our frame wreath. I’m cheap (as most of you know), and when it comes to our front porch, I’m pretty lazy as well. It’s funny. I’ll work my tush off for interior decor or for our back patio, but somehow our front porch seems to get neglected. The frame wreath has proven versatile and easy to alter according to the season without a big to-do, which is exactly what I need.

So, there you have my free, quickie (non-Christmasy?) porch makeover. Wish me luck with the cabinets. It may take me all week to scrape the excess paint from the plexiglass without causing scratches. I need all the moral support I can get. I hope everyone has a great Monday! 🙂

May our foyer makeover commence!!

I’m not wasting any time after completing our bathroom makeover to get started on this gem. It’s the area that sets the tone for our home as it’s the first spot that people see. Yet I’ve never felt that it matched the feeling of the rest of the house. In this planning post, I mentioned that I was searching for a round jute rug for our foyer in, aaaaaaand…

Mission accomplished.

Pretty much right after I hit “publish” on that post I started yet another online rug search. Which is when I stumbled upon this 5′ round jute rug at World Market on sale for 71.99.

Most of the round jute rugs I had encountered up till this point were over 100 buckaroos, so I took this as a sign. Plus, we were heading to my parents’ house that evening and just happened to be passing by a World Market, so we swung by.

And wouldn’t ya know, there was ONE 5′ round jute rug left in the store. And it was the very first item I saw when I walked in. It was like fate. So, I gracefully (or, not so gracefully) hoisted him up and waddled over to the register to make him mine…

The texture and color of the rug is perfect. I do question whether I need a 6′ rug instead of the 5′, but I haven’t decided yet. I can’t help but think that the 5′ is a little small. I’m going to wait until the cabinets are painted white to completely decide, since that may be a game-changer in how the space feels.

On this wall, I was also thinking of hanging the mirror horizontally and adding a bench beneath it, which would further affect the rug size needed…

In this shot, you can see that I took away the baskets from beneath the units as well. It’s definitely helped them feel not as heavy, so they’re gone for good…

Please excuse the generally messy pictures what with the cord showing, the open hall closet, etc. I was hurriedly taking photos between doing a bunch of other stuff and this is what I ended up with. Such is life, though. And our lives definitely have their messier moments (most of the time). 🙂

So, what do ya’ll think? Too small? Just right?? Here’s a wider shot to give you a better idea…