A big welcome to new readers visiting from The White Buffalo Styling Co.! And, for my regulars, I’m participating in the Blogger Stylin’ Home Tours “Work & Play” edition today, hosted by Lindsay.
When we walked through this house for the first time, the screened porch called my name. My parents have had one for years and practically live on theirs in Kentucky for most of the year, and I’ve dreamed of doing the same. In our first house, we added a screened porch and moved three months later. So, this is the first one we’ve actually gotten to enjoy. It’s especially come in handy during the kitchen renovation chaos.
When it’s warm enough, it’s where I work, where we eat our meals, and it often becomes a neighborhood hangout in the afternoons. I (sometimes) get to read on the couch outside, and it’s my favorite place to take a nap (on the rare occasion I get to take one).
And, speaking of the couch, I get a lot of inquiries about our outdoor furniture and how it’s holding up. We bought pieces from Target’s Belvedere collection nearly four years ago, and it still looks great. That’s after three years of sitting out on an uncovered patio. We did replace the cushions with navy ones from Lowe’s when we moved last year.
The other thing I love about having a covered space is being able to use some of my indoor accessories—like the wood mirror that used to be in our living room and the industrial tables I had in our last den. I bought the IKEA tulip table off of Craigslist, and I think it’s a good mix with the other furniture so that everything doesn’t look so “outdoorsy”. The sisal rug is on its last leg so we threw it on the porch until it goes out the door for good. . .
I’m planning to eventually replace the brass sconce by the door and change out the ceiling fan. The exterior is also getting a facelift over the next few weeks. All of the wood is being painted white, including the stair railings that were recently rebuilt.
Next stop on the “work & play” tour? Julia’s beautiful home at Cuckoo for Design.
And, see more on Instagram with #bloggerstylinhometours.
What a great space and I’ve always wanted a screened in porch just like yours.
such a great space! love the colors, and we also have target’s belvedere lovseat and two chairs- LOVE them!
I love this!! Screened porches are the stuff of my dreams!!
Oh, I love it! It’s such a good size too. You’ve made it so cozy and beautiful and your kiddos are always the cutest! xo
Oh yes. Thats a wonderful space to work and play! Love the staircase banister. Really fun!
You are one lucky duck to have a screened porch. My husband would have to have a TV out there.
Such a fantastic space. I love your new railing!
Oh I love this space, Emily! I’m with you…I’ve dreamed of a screened porch FOREVER. The mosquitos here are ridiculous and I’m desperately wanting a pretty space to crawl up in during summer months. I love what you’ve done here and I know your sweet family has to enjoy it so much! Thanks for joining in the tour!!
I’m so jealous of your screened in porch! What a great space!
What a beautiful and warm space! I love your home. The new porch railing design is so cool!! And glad to know you have been happy with the outdoor furniture from Target. We have been looking at what they have and we don’t have a covered porch. I will have to consider this!!
Love the space! Can you share how you hung the mirror on the brick fireplace? I have a great mirror that I’m planning to hang in our screened in porch, and I’m nervous about how to hang it. Thanks!
I agree, one of favorite spaces in my house is my screened porch. I have to say though I’m jealous of your outdoor sofa. I would love to have a more comfortable place to take that rare afternoon nap too.
Where did you find the metal chair you have at the white table. My daughter is interested in that look for her condo.
I bought mine at the PB Outlet several years ago, but I linked to a similar style in the widget at the bottom of the post. :)
So perfectly cozy!!
We live on our screen porch too. Last year we replaced our old fan with an outdoor one from Home Depot and it is wonderful and quiet.. We are looking to move to a one story house and it is on my must have list as I cannot imagine doing without our favorite space.
How do you handle pollen?
I mean pollen that gets all over everything.
My back screened in porch feels impossible to keep clean from pollen and also the dust that kicks up from mowing in drier months.
I don’t think there’s any way around moving everything out and spraying it down at least a couple of times a season. The joy of living in the South!
If you are in the planning stage have you ever thought about another surface to prepare meals on instead of your actual island u are putting in. When we finished our kitchen i did not like using my island which is a good size at 91″ L x 61″ w with a carrara marble slab at 2 1/2″ thick. With my kids doing homework, hanging with me or company sitting at the barstools i felt like i had to be careful etc. So i found an old butcher block in a diner that was for sale. Its perfect for the space between the sink and stove wall to the marble island – being 61″L x 24″W just enough prep/mess space for me. Again just my prefrence-but before you actually place your island -something to consider.
Love your screened porch! We had the porch built onto our home when we bought 20 years ago and it is hands down the best decision we ever made…we live out there most of the nice weather…my cats love it too…they can see the bird feeders we have just outside the door and it is endless entertainment for them! The best way to get the pollen out is to rev up your leaf blower and just blast all that yellow stuff out…works like a charm and it does not take but five minutes! It all just blows out thru the screen…We live in Atlanta GA and deal with bad pollen every spring…the yellow stuff is everywhere!!
What’s your secret to managing the pollen? We have to completely cover everything on ours.
That new stair railing is GORGEOUS, Emily! And funny – I am sharing the screened porch versions we’ve had over past few years as my favorite play space in our house. It’s one of the things that sold me on our house when I first saw it too :)
Wonderful space and I love all the blue accents.
Love it, Emily. For those of us who grew up in the south, a porch will always be a place of sweet tea and even sweeter memories:) We didn’t have one in Houston (the home I’m back in now). But my Mawmaw’s porch in East Texas was epic…I’m sure your family is creating loads of memories to backdrop of cricket chirps and dusky evenings. XO
Is the ottoman fabric the outdoor fabric from Ballard? I LOVE IT. I think it is the fabric you mentioned I should use on my window seats. I love seeing it on a piece of furniture.
No, but it does look a lot like it It’s the same ottoman from our last living room:
https://emilyaclark.com/2012/05/little-leopard-in-our-living-room.html
It’s the perfect place for work and play. Love the colors and the mirror is amazing! Happy Tuesday, Emily!
Love the porch and furniture. The mirror looks great there too. Do you happen to know which navy cushions these were from Lowes that you got? Thanks.
They’re the Allen + Roth ones. They’re a tight fit on the sofa but feel so much more cushiony than the ones the furniture came with:
http://www.lowes.com/pd_757192-40488-NYDSSN-002_0__?productId=999981512&Ntt=
I have always loved a nap on a screened porch! Love the railing design too!
What a GREAT outdoor living space! Love how you can incorporate indoor pieces, outdoors like that sunburst mirror and tulip table! Looks so inviting and like such a fun place for you and your cute kiddos to hang out!
xo
Obsessed with porches. Love yours!
ME ENCANTA LA CASA!!!FOTOS HERMOSAS.
SALUDITOS
Hi Emily,
I love the mix of indoor/outdoor furniture; it really looks like another room of your house.
We have the same Belvedere line from Target (agree, it holds up very well!)
Is your lamp an “outdoor” lamp or just a regular lamp? Our porch tends to get damp when there’s heavy rain.
And have you done anything special to the top of the Ikea table to protect it from the weather?
Again, I ask because we’ve been using the Ikea Lack tables as end tables but they do buckle/warp with the rain and humidity.
Thanks so much!
Hi Colleen, It’s not an outdoor lamp, but our porch is pretty protected.
I bought my IKEA table from Craigslist and the top wasn’t in perfect condition to begin with. I haven’t noticed any warping yet, though. . . I got a deal, so we’ll just use it until we wear it out (like everything else here!) :)
What a great outdoor space! So jealous- our backyard is the size of a postage stamp. That’s a great idea to put that Ikea table out there. I have one in my office that I get a ton of use from.