12 WAYS I TRANSFORMED OUR FRONT PORCH ON A BUDGET

When we first moved into our 1956 rancher, the front porch was a little outdated. You could tell that the previous owner painted the porch years ago but all of the paint had chipped away.

There were cracks in the cement and areas where there used to be metal fencing.

Basically, it was a hot mess along with the landscape… but that’s a story for another time.

I started my front porch makeover Spring of 2019, where I painted the front door but I ended up HATING the color. This is why you test out colors prior to painting, everyone!

Fast forward to Spring of 2020, I decided it was time to really do my mini front porch makeover for real! 

Before I share what I used, let me share a before picture with you all…

See? Told you - it was frumpy.

Cosmetic Upgrades:

First, we upgraded our mailbox. As you can see in the picture above, our old one was rusting and was WAY outdated. Why did we go with white? To be honest, we almost went with a brown one but at the last minute decided on white to give the porch a little extra brightness. This was, overall, a smart decision!

Up next was painting the front door. This was a second-time-around project so I did plenty of research before starting. So what the heck did I use…

• Here are the products that made things easy:

  • Foam Roller. Foam rollers are my favorite when painting doors and cabinets. Other rollers might give off a bumpy appearance but the foam rollers create a smooth finish.

  • Paint Brush. I use this paint brush for everything! It is short — helping with steady hands AND has an angle tip making it easier to paint crevices.

  • Kilz Adhesion Primer. Kilz primer is already awesome but get the adhesion primer and your paint will stick even better! Adhesion primer is made for painting hard to stick surfaces. Totally worth the price!

Behr Exterior Semi-Gloss Paint. I used this type of paint from Home Depot in Baby Aqua. Unlike last time, I tested out a bunch of colors and this was, obviously, the winner!

Once the front door was painted, my next project was the front porch cement. I did a huge amount of research before starting this project to make sure it would last for a long time. 

• Here’s what I used:

  • Cement Filler. Before I started cleaning/painting I filled in any cracks I saw. I found this awesome cement filler off Amazon that made it super easy and dried so fast! Use the same approach you would when spackling drywall for a flat finish.

  • Outdoor Porch Cleaner. To start, you’ll want to sweep your porch, duh! Then use this cleaner with a disposable floor scrubber. I actually used an old one that I was planning on getting rid of. 

  • Paint Brush. Yep, I used the same brush as above. Make sure you use a previously used one that is on its last life though. You will want to throw this away after use, trust me!

  • Paint Roller. Go with two cheap ones as you’ll be throwing them both out after you prime and paint the porch. The downside of painting cement is you’ll still pick up various things like specs of dirt or bugs that decide to get in the way. It’s just how it goes!

  • Bonding Primer. Before painting I painted the entire front porch with a bonding primer. It comes out clear but helps the paint adhere better to the concrete. Glad I chose to do this step prior to painting because it made my job look more professional.

Behr Porch Paint. I chose to go with Behr again as it had the best reviews and was the cheapest find. Just $30 at Home Depot. I got the paint in a Traditional Tan which ended up coming out as more white to me but I was super happy with it! I didn’t think I was going to like the bright colored porch but with the white mailbox and the dark furniture it turned out beautiful!

Home Decor Updates:

Once the cosmetic changes were completed, I decided to redecorate a bit. The previous year I had bought these teal chair cushions from Target so I wanted to base my decorations on those.

• See what I used to give that finished look:

  • Adirondack Chairs. These were the most reasonably priced for our budget. I went with brown because the siding on our house is beige and I felt like black chairs just wouldn’t look right with the french country look I was going for.

  • Chair Cushions in aqua. Loved these in the store and still love the color to date!

  • Outdoor Rug. I wanted a fun pattern rug in the same color as the cushions. For me, if the cushions are solid colored then the rug should have a pattern and vice versa.

  • Flower Pots. I got similar ones to these a couple years ago from Home Depot. Ours are white with beige on the bottom to match our siding but these white ones are just as adorable!

  • Eucalyptus Faux Wreath. Something about the eucalyptus plants against the aqua and white accents… I love this look! Eucalyptus is so versatile so it can be used for most seasons, which makes things easier for me!

  • Eucalyptus Faux Plant. We found two of these from Ikea. I’m not a plant person and kill everything that I touch so faux plants it is! Loved the fact that these plants matched the wreath I ordered.

  • Aldi Finds. The lantern, white citronella candle, hanging planter and beige doormat were all last minute Spring time Aldi finds. You never know what you’ll find there and once I saw these I jumped on them!

All together, we stayed under our makeover budget of $500 with a total of $200 for cosmetic upgrades.