We used treasures and antiques we already owned to improve our back porch. So now it still functions as our “mudroom,” but looks organized and a lot less haphazard.
We needed a clean-up badly because the photos of the backyard landscape project showed our side/ back porch looking pretty trashy and cluttered, and that whole side of the house was nothing special, either. I’ve been planning to add some out-of-sight shelves to help hide stuff we set on the porch. Using the miter saw I “got Kirby for our anniversary,” I finally finished them up and installed them. I also added some planters to dress up the side of the house.
Our porch functions as a mudroom, especially in bad weather. It’s a good place to set down whatever garden stuff you are bringing in, (see above). We often drop messy and wet shoes off before going into the kitchen; coats get left out there, the dogs get fed out there and their leashes get laid there. I am so glad I took some time to make this space look a little more intentional!
Must Keep Rustic Look of the House
It’s important to us that the board-and-batten outside of the house remain rustic looking, so we always take that into consideration. But this side of the house was just…. blah. I made the window boxes (one with help from Connor) and set store-bought liners down into them. I have wanted to use this weathered old board forever and it works great here. The bluebird house is really old, Kirby and the kids made several when Mary was about 5, so at least 20 years old! I hope the verbena, petunias and creeping Jenny I planted will fill out some more soon!
On the other side of the porch, I added this chicken nesting box with a few little plants in it for interest. I had the iron brackets left over from the kitchen, so I know they are strong enough to hold anything. And after filling it… it is REALLY heavy!
I removed a wire shelf and all the junk we kept putting on it – it had really piled up through the years! Kirby got me this old milk can years ago. We love to hang stuff on the sides of our many sheds because it’s easier to find! We use these metal pans for wood during the winter, but they look cute hanging here. The egg gathering basket is metal and I bought it in an antique store in Claremore, Oklahoma on one of my trips back home.
Using existing treasures and collections for display
I was blessed with a large collection of old enamelware dishpans and other domestic vessels, so now I guess I’m a collector. Whenever we go “antiquing,” I am usually looking for more enamelware bowls. The blue spattered pan holding beans on the chair came from antiquing in the Smoky Mountains. I’m partial to the spattered ones!
The two matching white ones, though, “came with the house.” I like to imagine that Aunt Earl, the last woman to use my kitchen, said one day to her brothers who lived with her, “I have GOT to have more dishpans. You go buy every last one of them down at the hardware [store in town]!” And they got them! I find those white dishpans all over! So I knew I needed a couple for this display to top off our back porch clean-up project.
They are great for shelling peas and breaking beans, shucking corn, gathering herbs, or harvesting vegetables, so it has already been handy to have them close at hand!
I used some paint leftover from the kitchen renovation to brighten up this old straight-back chair. The green woodbox also “came with the house.” It was used to store stovewood for the woodstove inside where they cooked until the kitchen was modernized in 1968. My husband remembers being sent out as a kid to split little pieces of wood to load into it. It holds random stuff like an extension cord and my ancient duck boots, now.
Thanks for checking in! When you come to pick beans or blueberries, you’ll be able to see our newly-improved back porch! Kirby is glad I used treasures and antiques we already owned for this project to improve our back porch.
