Ahhh, relaxation!

One thing I absolutely wanted to finish this summer was getting my porch finished (#63).  The screened porch was one of my favorite features when I bought this house, but it needed to be repainted and some of the screens needed to be replaced.  I had all the intentions of having this done last summer, but, as my mother always says, life is what happens when you're making other plans!  When my mother and her husband first visited me last year after I bought this house, they brought a porch swing which my step-father had bought and painted for me and a glider chair which my mother had refinished and recovered the cushions for (aren't they so nice!).  We originally hung the swing on the hooks where the previous owners had their swing, and a month later on the day the movers moved all my furniture in, I was sitting on the swing and one end fell down.  Apparently they didn't have it in a stud, and the fact that I was swinging in circles loosened the screw just enough.  And that was the end of the swing for last year, because I didn't see any point in trying to rehang it before the ceiling was redone.  So here's what all got done... ugly paper ceiling tiles removed and replaced with beadboard, new beadboard ceiling painted, screen door replaced, all trim and brick wall repainted, light replaced with ceiling fan, and swing rehung.

View from the outside  Amazing how the fresh coat of white paint really makes the trim pop agains the brick!



It's a good size... about 8 x 16



One of these days I'll repaint the front door, too, but I think it's going to have to be stripped and painted from scratch.  Plus, I'll have to pick a color, and that could take forever!  (note the comfy striped chair that my mother refinished)



This gives a nice shot of the ceiling fan and my pretty, pretty blue beadboard ceiling!  I like the industrial look of the light on the fan; initially, I didn't like the color of the blades (still can't figure out why they're such a light color compared to the dark metal finish), but it bothers me much less now that it's actually up.  I agonized for literally weeks last summer trying to find just the right shade of blue for the ceiling (Behr's Niagra Falls), and I have to say that I think it turned out  just perfectly!



This is my view toward the street from my favorite place to sit -- the striped chair.  I like being able to watch people going by walking their dogs and riding bicycles.



This is my K-Mart Martha Stewart table and chair set that I've had since Denver... much as she annoys me, I have to say that the quality of her stuff is always good.  I usually like to prop my feet up on one of the chairs when I'm lounging.  Beyond that is my neighbor's tulip tree, which I love for the shade it provides, but hate for all the twigs, blossoms, and leaves that it drops.



My neigbor's house on this side sits on a double lot, so we have their whole yard between us.  It really makes it feel open and green, which is nice for sitting outside.



This is the swing that my step-father painted for me, along with my Target clearance cushions and a cute little metal Ikea table in the foreground.

 I love sitting out on this porch, especially in the evenings.  One of the things I really wanted when I was looking for a house was a neighborhood where people got out and about, and that is definitely the case here, so I enjoy seeing everyone going by and waving to my neighbors.  Now that I have the ceiling fan, it's pleasant out here, even when it's hot outside.  It is so relaxing to come out here with a book and listen to all the birds (and we seem to have lots of very loud ones!) and enjoy all the greenery.  And my favorite time of day is dusk, when the fireflies are out and it has started to cool down some.  This ended up costing much, much more than I had originally budgeted, but it has already been well worth it.