Before and After: Big Box Meets Local for a $550 Porch Makeover in Portland, Maine

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It’s my second year living full-time in Maine, and though my partner and I moved here in part for more outdoor space—and though our apartment has a generous wooden porch surrounded, in summer, by a canopy of green—somehow I let the first year go by without doing anything to it. By the time this spring rolled around, the porch was in rough shape: Winter had taken its toll, the few pots I’d left outside had cracked and broken in the cold (rookie mistake), and one corner had become storage for anything we didn’t want inside (disused chairs, bags of potting soil). A shame when you consider that the porch accounts for about one eighth of our entire apartment.

This month, I decided to make good on my plans to be outside as much as possible, but to do it, the porch needed some attention. With a furnishings budget of $550, hand-me-down and shopped-from-around-the-house finds, and a few details from favorite local gems, the porch is now where I have my coffee in the morning, work in the afternoons, and read with a glass of wine before the sun goes down. Plus, most everything’s easily packed up and moved when cold weather rolls around again.

Before

Above: And the corner closest to the kitchen door had become an out-of-sight catch-all for potting soil, handed-down fold-up chairs, and various unsightlies.

Potting in progress. I like Coast of Maine Organic Potting Soil; \$\17.99 from Ace Hardware. In a pinch, I use a teapot to water—the spout helps get water down to the roots. — Above: Potting in progress. I like Coast of Maine Organic Potting Soil; $17.99 from Ace Hardware. In a pinch, I use a teapot to water—the spout helps get water down to the roots.

After

The porch now, in June. An outdoor rug helps create the feeling of a room; I wanted something subtle, in the same palette as the weathered blue-grey porch floor, and found the Nicole Miller Country Calla Herringbone Outdoor Rug. I bought it on sale for \$64.99; it&#8\2\17;s currently \$\1\14 via Lowe&#8\2\17;s. — Above: The porch now, in June. An outdoor rug helps create the feeling of a room; I wanted something subtle, in the same palette as the weathered blue-grey porch floor, and found the Nicole Miller Country Calla Herringbone Outdoor Rug. I bought it on sale for $64.99; it’s currently $114 via Lowe’s.

Above: One of my favorite things about the porch is this very evocative painted door.

The other new addition was the lounge furniture. I wanted a comfortable, thick-cushioned spot that was also lightweight, modular, and portable—a tricky combination to find on a budget. I ended up going with a Black Aluminum Outdoor Corner Seat and Black Aluminum Outdoor Ottoman, both sourced via Overstock. They’re sturdy but light—crucial for carrying down the two flights of stairs to the basement in cold weather. Total: $460. The cushions are from H&M Home.