Farmhouse Porch Renovation

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Hey there!

I’m so excited to share the farmhouse porch renovation with you! Technically this is just phase one of the porch’s renovation. I knew I wanted to give the porch some love, but there is also some structural stuff that needs to be done to it. What I’m learning though this farmhouse renovation is that there is a lot that I’m able to do myself, and then Ed and I can circle back to certain things later that I either don’t feel comfortable doing on my own or that are simply a two person job.

We wrapped up this part of the porch project yesterday, on my birthday, right before the rain, but I couldn’t wait for a sunny day to share! I hope you enjoy seeing it’s transformation! It definitely made for the perfect place to sit and sip wine late into the evening 🙂

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Refinishing the Porch Floor

Above is what the porch looked like before I had done anything. If you missed how I laid the reclaimed brick paver walkway in front of it you can check that out HERE! It was the perfect place to start because it really motivated me to do a bit more than I had originally planned.

When I had rented the drum sander to refinish the upstairs floors I did a little test area on the porch floors to see what they would look like if I were to sand them before I took it back. It was beautiful so this is something I’ve been hoping to get to for awhile! The floor is tongue and groove fir and is actually in excellent shape. Eventually we’ll be pulling up a few of the broken boards and turning them around after replacing some structural support framework underneath.

Sanding the Porch Floor

I went over the whole thing with my Ryobi belt sander and some 80 grit sand paper. Then I hit it again with some 120 grit to smooth it all out. It was worth the elbow grease and came out beautifully! After the floor was sanded I sealed it with Thompson’s Water Sealer. I love the richness of the wood tone and this product seems to be doing a great job protecting it so far!

Scraping the Porch

This is the first part of the exterior I’ve started restoring. We decided awhile back that we wanted to keep the original wood siding and architectural details, which means tedious scraping and painting. I didn’t know what this process would be like but I have to say I’m hooked! It was one of the most rewarding things I’ve done to the house so far.

I used an paint scraper shopvac attachment that I’ll link it HERE for ya! My dear friend who’s also restoring an old farmhouse recommended it and I definitely know why! It was worth every penny and I’m honestly excited about giving the whole house a fresh coat of paint now after using it! You can see how well it worked below! I scraped off any paint that was loose on the porch surround outside, inside, and underneath. Then I did the posts and the porch ceiling. This attachment made it much less messy than it would have been! I also made sure to wear a specific respirator mask for lead paint and safety glasses the whole time.

Finding Treasure on the Porch

The day after I finished scraping all the paint Ed and I were standing in front of the porch talking about it and all the sudden I noticed the numbers 1888 painted below layers of paint I had removed. I screamed when I saw it! I guess I had missed it before being so close to it and wearing glasses! It felt like such a sweet little treasure and I knew I had to keep it and showcase it in some way.

Painting the Porch

Paint never ceases to amaze me! Giving this porch a fresh coat of paint is exactly what it needed! I chose the color White by Behr paint. It will serve as the color for the entire exterior of the farmhouse. I gave the porch and the door molding a good 2 coats. Then I also painted the board in front of the porch base as well as the concrete step in front of it. I ended up switching out the front board for a larger one that filled the gap between it and the step. I also replaced the boards on the side of the porch with new ones that I also painted.

Lastly I painted the ceiling of the porch. It was the part of this renovation I was the most excited about! I’ll be writing a separate article specifically about that soon! But eeek it MADE the porch!!

You can read all about the HAINT BLUE CEILING HERE!

Wrapping Up Phase One of the Porch Reno

Last year I got a couple of rocking chairs for the porch. We’ve enjoyed them, but I didn’t feel like they were the best use of the space. We also get some pretty intense wind out here on the prairie sometimes and they would blow off occasionally lol! So when I started planning this little reno I decided to kick it up a notch and add something that I knew we’d get the most enjoyment out of…porch swings!

I’ll link the porch swings for ya HERE! And again I’ll be writing a whole article on them and how we modified them to use ropes instead of chains soon! I’m just so happy with how they turned out I couldn’t wait to share!

More Porch Details

I ended up adding a small frame around the date after sealing it with a clear polyurethane. I love that it’s preserved as a simple focal point. Although this is the side porch on our home, which traditionally would have been less ornate and formal I did want to add a pretty light. This hanging lantern felt like the cherry on top!

I also added back the antique sheep dinner bell I bought for the porch awhile back.

 

Farmhouse Porch Renovation

The more I get into the restoration side of things the more passionate I feel about it! Things that used to seem tedious now excite me because I know they’ll make the most impact later. The more I do the more I want to do!

Oh and one thing I still plan on doing to the porch in the next couple of days is add a board across the concrete step that will match the wood tone of the porch floor and break up the white a bit. It will also tie into our white and wood staircase inside, which I love 🙂 I’ll add pics of it here once it’s done, but I couldn’t wait any longer to share all the progress with y’all! It feels like the happiest little porch around and we’re already enjoying it so much!

I linked things I used for this project below! Let me know if you have any questions!

Thank you so much for stopping by the blog today!