Beach Inspired Porch | Vintage, Paint and more...

Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Beach Inspired Porch

Written by: Cathy Carroll for Vintage, Paint and more...

I am a bit slow about putting up this post on our summer porch - but, it has been raining and was really quite difficult to get any kind of pictures taken.  We had a couple of bad storms that actually caused a small water leak in our roof that is having to be repaired today - hopefully, before the predicted storms take place.  But, enough with that - let's get on to the subject at hand.  Our summer porch....

Vintage, Paint and more... Lots of hand crafted beach inspired decor for a porch



This year I decided against doing our usual red, white and blue decor  and went with a coastal beach sort of feel.  I love the colors of the ocean and beach - so, we have blue, white and sand for our summer porch.  Basically, we have blue, white and sand for our whole house - but, that makes everything interchangeable and I can move it around from room to room as I get a whim.  And if you talk to Papa he will tell you that I get a whim every other day.  What can I say?  I like change....

Vintage, Paint and more... wood beach life sign, shell wreath, stenciled boat oar, nautical banner, chalkboard from mirror

Anyway, on with the porch.  Everything I used in  this space I already had or made.  So, basically it was a no cost change for us.  I love it's coastal, beach feel and how it reflects the area we live in.

Vintage, Paint and more... wood sign, stenciled beach life sign, shell art, chalkboard from mirror

I started with this Beach Life sign I made from shims left over from the shell art I made for the mantel.  I have a tutorial on making shim signs that is quite simple.  This one I stenciled the words and some little foot prints then dry brushed some white over the entire thing to give it a faded, worn look.  Then I hot glued a star fish on it.  Some twine is used to hang it from our chalkboard that lives on the porch wall all year.   Papa loves this sign - and that's saying something because he rarely comments much on any decor here.

Vintage, Paint and more.. painted boat oar, stenciled boat oar, boat oar used in decor

Next I stood an old boat oar I bought at a garage sale last year for $5.  I thought that was a great deal because I had been looking for one quite some time and couldn't find one.  I painted it with some leftover blue paint I had and then taped off the areas for the white and black stripes.  Then I stenciled a "3" on the end of it.  

Vintage, Paint and more... painted boat oar, stenciled boat oar, nautical banner, boat oar decor

I also wrapped a portion of the handle with the jute twine I have been enamored with lately.


What beach porch is complete without a little nautical banner of some sort blowing in the sea breezes? Ours is made  from my favorite drop cloth fabric and a piece of leftover blue chevron stripe fabric.  After stenciling little sailboats and stars on the drop cloth fabric I hand sewed the flags onto a piece of the jute twine.  Then it was strung around the wall of the porch to add that little extra bit of nautical flair.

Vintage, Paint and more... shells in decor, decorating with shells, MacKenzie Child's inspired painted bench, chalkpainted bench

The bench in front got the palm that had been wintering in the house and a few large shells that I have had for several years.  The abalone shell was my mother's and I can remember it sitting on a table in our house when I was in grade school (hmmm, that would be a lot of year's ago). The inside of it is iridescent and sparkles in the sunlight.  It's one of my favorite things I have.

Vintage, Paint and more... grapevine wreath, shell wreath, raffia wreath

For our summer wreath I reused a grapevine wreath that I had and wrapped it with some raffia.  I left some of the ends sticking out to get that beach grass feeling and then added a few shells.

Vintage, Paint and more... shell decor, beach decor, painted and stenciled wood signs, nautical banner, chalkpaint mirror, whimsical painted bench

The porch is really quite fun and brings a little of the beach to our house.  I love it but, then I love all things beach and ocean and shells and .....

Do you change your porch decor with the seasons?  Do you go with red, white and blue for the summer or do you use other colors and themes?  Tell us about it in the comments below as I love to hear from each and everyone of you.  I answer all your comments by email.

So, until next time get out there and create something you love,


I will be linking up to the parties listed on the "I Party At" page this week.  Please go and visit them -I am  you will find so much inspiration there.  I always do.
















 

22 comments:

  1. I love this! So pretty and perfectly summery. I just wish summer would get the memo at my house so I can actually GO to the beach! :)

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  2. Your porch looks amazing! I love the BEACH pallet sign you made (the footprints are too cute), and that oar is adorable. - Bre @ Average But Inspired

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  3. Ahh this is a breath of fresh air - makes me long to live by the ocean :)

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  4. the Beach Life sign . . .the oars . . . the banner . . . all WONDERFUL!

    And yes, I change my porch with the seasons and my husbands says I get whims too frequently!

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  5. Love the black and white with blue touches.....great color scheme!

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  6. I love your beach sign Cathy! The black & white details are so fun. I'm a sucker for a decorated paddle ad yours is well done. I love everything about your summer beach porch. Well done!
    Marie@The Interior Frugalista

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  7. So cute! I love the little foot prints on the sign and the paddle is great!

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  8. Cathy, hubby would say I get a whim to change quite often too! I figured it needs dusting, why not mix it up. lol! Love the beach sign and what you did with the oar is perfect! Thanks for sharing with SYC.
    hugs,
    Jann

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  9. Really love your front porch, after July 4th, think I'll be borrowing some of your ideas. Love all the great stuff you put on porch, looks fantastic. What's wrong with changing things around now and then? Keeps things interesting and fresh. I might do that now and then also.
    When my hubs was over road trucker he'd ask me before he came home what I'd changed around in case he came home late at night. Good thing. lol Happy summer days Love what you did on your porch.

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  10. Love the color combinations you've used! After a major home reno - this is as close to the beach as we'll get this year. Thanks for the inspiration!

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  11. Love this look. Thanks for linking up at My Favorite Things Saturday!!

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  12. Cathy, this is absolutely gorgeous! You have truly inspired me... although I wish my front porch was as cute as yours right now! :)

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  13. Your porch is adorable! My first visit to your blog. Come by and visit me too.

    Big Texas Hugs,
    Susan and Bentley

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  14. Stopping by from Creative Inspire link party. I love the little footprints on the beach sign, great addition!

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  15. Awesome! This is totally me! I love the beach and anything beachy. I'm totally stealing some of these ideas for my own home! Thanks for linking up to Snickerdoodle Sunday! Can't wait to see what you have for us next week! - Kristina

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  16. Hi, Cathy! I'm visiting from Christine's "Table It!" blog party. You, my dear, have a tremendous talent! You've got a way with a paintbrush that I will never have (hard as I may try!) and your imagination looms large. The boat oar is a fabulous piece of front porch decor! Like your husband, I really love that sign, too. To think you created that with your own hands....fantastic! It's a real winner!!! To just even think to make a sign out of leftover shims...that's real creativity in my book!!!

    I love the look all the way around. For the first year ever I've done both front and back of our white Colonial (black shutters, red door) in red, white & blue nautical style. I'm loving it! For those of us stuck in the Midwest where the closest thing to a beach is a snow globe, we like to take our cue from the lucky coastal dwellers. While the colors I used this year are quite traditional, the look is not one you would find a lot of here in Missouri! :-)

    Wonderful! Enjoy your holiday weekend!

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  17. Hi Cathy! I'm hopped over from Stacey's Creative Inspirations party. Your porch is just stunning!
    Blessings, Cecilia

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  18. so pretty I love it. Thanks for linking up at Tell Me About It Tuesday. We hope you hop over and share with us again next week.

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  19. Great job - I feel transported to the beach! I do appreciate you sharing with Home and Garden Thursday,
    Kathy

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  20. This is beautiful!
    Thank you for sharing your post this week at Brag About It Link Party on VMG206. I'm featuring you at Next Weeks Brag About It Link Party, Monday at midnight!
    ~ Megin of VMG206

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  21. Just gorgeous Cathy - I love everything black and white so this is right up my alley!!!
    I need to make something like this for the back ( our front is still awful lol ) for the pool area!
    XOX

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  22. I really like your article. It’s evident that you have a lot knowledge on this topic. Your points are well made and relocatable.

    Clipping Path

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