A Back Porch Makeover | House Tour Part Two

We have lived in our little 1960's rental for almost a year now. And still, the only room that I consider "finished" is Cadence's nursery. Recently we've been grilling out more often with friends over and decided that it was time for our back porch to get a makeover. I wish I had a "before" photo to show you because it was...well... pathetic. We could not figure out an arrangement that worked, there was no color, no plants. It was the opposite of cozy and not at all modern bohemian which is my interior design style of choice. 

We decided to have some friends over for a mellow 4th of July cookout. And on July 3rd at 9pm I decided that it was the perfect time to begin my back porch makeover. (Insert the crazy woman accusations here.) I had seen that photo above of the turquoise picnic bench on Pinterest and fell in love. I knew I wanted to paint our table as well. And, to my extreme joy, the pillows that I already had for our outdoor chairs have little bits of turquoise in their paisley design so it was the perfect accent color!

I went to the local hardware store and picked up turquoise paint, spray paint, primer, a turquoise accent pillow, citronella candles in ceramic glazed jars, and lots of plants. Everything else on the porch I already had on hand. I spray painted a black Ikea lack side table in chartreuse and topped it with a large stone tile I found in the garage and painted the wooden picnic table and benches till midnight outside in the dark fighting off the spiders that had made it's underside their home (UGH). And in the morning I put the whole thing together. And by put together I mean that I took everything out, swept and cleaned, then brought everything back in and rearranged it until I felt like it was perfect. Then I potted all the plants, found extra little decor pieces and accessorized. And then I stared at it for about 30 minutes because I loved it so much. 

Without further adieu, our newly made-over, DIY, slightly bohemian, summertime in florida back porch...

I sat out on the porch today during Bubs' (cough, short-lived, cough) nap and caught up on emails. That gorgeous orange drink is called a Salty Dog. It is my favorite summertime Florida cocktail and if you come back next week I'll be sharing how to make them! 

Sources:

picnic table + benches - craigslist

wicker chairs + paisley cushions - Home Depot, circa 2010

sisal rug - Ikea

hanging chair - Pier 1

sheepskin throw - Ikea

turquoise throw pillow - Lowe's

wooden plant stand - Ikea

hacked Lack end table - originally from Ikea

black stools - the Apple store (they were giving these away)

turquoise bird coaster - Anthropologie

woven bowl centerpiece - vintage

citronella glazed ceramic candles - Lowe's

black and turquoise coasters - gift

stone colored bench cushions - Lowe's circa 2010

See Part One of my house tour, Cadence's Nursery here. 
original inspiration images from Pinterest, sources unknown.