This week was a whirlwind. We had so much to do and so little time. I feel like I sound like a broken record, but again, weather was not our friend. If I’m going to do this challenge again, I won’t choose an outdoor room. I think I was a little too ambitious for my first go-round. But, BUT! We finished! Our small home porch makeover is done!

Let’s take a stroll down memory lane, shall we? This is what our house looked like before we started the challenge: 

(You can read more about Week 1 here.)

And this is what it looks like after!!!

This week we spread gravel and mulch and whoah baby, I feel like an old lady. My back is a-achin’. George built the porch railings, added a post, and new steps and I painted and stained everything. We filled in the walkway with dirt and sod we dug up from an unseen corner of the yard. LOL. Our local gardening stores are no longer selling sod this time of year.

We took a trip to Ikea for planters. I bought the rug from Amazon, as well as the outdoor pillows and the log hoop. I also made the wreath from Trader Joe’s eucalyptus and branches from our pear tree.

I had been unhappy with the porch light. (It’s this one from CB2.) It was beautiful and I already bought it, but it seemed like the scale was off. I came up with the idea to paint a star around the light fixture to make it appear larger. But I was nervous about the idea because I knew I wanted the lines to be very crisp. So, George came up with the idea to make the star out of leftover wood. He created it at the very last minute and it may be my favorite part of the porch.

Writing this out, it doesn’t seem like that much work, but OMG it was so much work. This week really challenged us physically and emotionally. We got on each other’s nerves and we were short with each other more than I care to admit.

It’s done and now I feel like we need a vacation. Although right now, we can’t afford a vacation because all our money went into this makeover. LOL. Guess I’ll be drinking my Mai Tai on the porch.

Would y’all be interested in hearing about how much our makeover cost? I’ve yet to total it up. In all honesty, I’m a little scared. It definitely cost more than I expected. I’m sure it’ll add so much value to our home though.

Now I’m off to sleep for 20 years– Rip Van Winkle style.

Be sure to check out the other guest participating in the One Room Challenge here. And the designers here.