Farmhouse Style Front Porch with Pops of Red

Remember my mom and step-dad's house that I shared a few months back?  They've been slowly adding their personal style to the place through careful shopping and as many DIY projects as they can to save money on furnishings.  They like to curate their home by picking up furniture projects, sewing custom draperies, and finding bargains that they can make over.  While many rooms are partially done, there are still many things that they are on the look-out for and some weekend projects still to go.

As they finish up some rooms, I'll be sure to share them here on the blog because they have great taste and are always coming up with great, budget-friendly home ideas!  Since the home is new construction, they've been adding new plantings as much as they can to help add some variety to the flower beds.  It takes a while to get that look of mature landscaping, but it will come around...

My mom's favorite color has always been red and when they were designing the exterior of the house, she had her heart set on a gray house with a red door and black shutters and that's what she got!  Working with a craftsman-style house plan, they tried to inject as much farmhouse style that they could as well.

One of my favorite things about their house is the exterior porch lights that they selected!  She scoured the Internet for some reasonably-priced fluted radial lights in red (see sources below), which really make the space and add the touch of farmhouse...

You may see this style of light in a future house of mine...

Of course, my mom accessorized the porch with lots of red, potted flowers, and vintage accessories.  From a $10 DIY checkers game table, $30 Home Goods rug, $15 yard sale chairs that were sprayed red, to Jon's (my step-dad) handmade birdhouses, I think they've done a beautiful job making a welcoming front porch without spending a lot!

A vintage iron plant stand holds vintage garden accessories and some of Jon's creations and my mom frequently sews her own pillows, including the red-flowered outdoor cushion.

What porch would be complete without pots of beautiful flowers?  My mom and I both have these iron "peanut basket" planters that we've potted up year after year.  While mine hold ferns on my screened porch, she filled hers with some bright red geraniums and trailing plants that will fill out as they grow.  Another of Jon's handmade birdhouses and potted plants galore...

Before they moved out to North Carolina, I picked up an old milk crate at the flea market that says "Gardner Dairy" for them since their last name is Gardner and my mom was a dairy farmer's wife for over twenty years before my dad passed away.  The border collie standing guard by the door is also special since they were the breed of herding dogs that we used on the farm...

As I mentioned above, they picked up a simple $10 table at the flea market, painted in black exterior paint, and added a painted checkerboard on the top for games of checkers with the grandkids...

My girls just love to go over and hang out at Grandma and Grandpa's house!  So far I think they've done a pretty good job at making their house into a comfortable and welcoming home...

I can't wait until they finish up some more projects to share...

Builder - Capital City (Raleigh, NC)

Subdivision - Portofino (Clayton, NC)

House Colors (all Sherwin Williams):

Red Door - Primary Red

Main House Body (Darker Gray) - Ellie Gray

Lighter Gray at top (between battens) - Tinsmith

Shutters - Tricorn Black

Lighting: Millennium Lighting through Lights Unlimited Inc.

Hope you enjoyed!

Kristen

Sharing at:

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