The porch update!

This is the porch before the update... The storm a few weeks ago helped us along on the porch updating. The screens were old and had some holes and the whole thing needed a good paint job. So when the wind blew out the windows and the umbrella took out a couple of the screens that was it. I set about finding screen online, knowing that we wanted screen that we could see through better and that we had 11 windows to cover. I found the no-see screen and the roll was $200.00+ dollars.. Way over my budget. So I looked at the fiberglass screen rolls and still over $100.00 DOLLARS... I had NO idea that screen could be so much... So off to EBAY to see what the cost and savings could be~
Great deal the width and length that we can use for $28.00 and that was with shipping... Alright~! it's ordered and arrived just after Memorial day... I was thinking of just getting the screen up and I can paint later.. No such luck, as my husband reminded me the paint would get all over the screen.. Sooooo.. I checked at Home Depot to see what paint cost and was surprise that one gallon of exterior paint of $30.00+ depending on the brand. Luckily, I've purchased from the "Oops" area of the paint section before... This time would be no different... I found 5 gallons of exterior Behr paint for $15.00..... PERFECT~ now to get them to add a bit more blue to it.. It was sort of a gray/blue color and I would like a lighter blue or at least blue.. The girl working reminds me that it's risky, but what the heck it's the porch... She adds color and shakes the paint for me... It's "great", I tell her...
Brian had taken all the rest of the screens down and taken the trim off the outside of the windows. I set about scraping and brushing off some of the flaking paint and we were off.. The weather didn't cooperate the best, it turned off cold for two days and I didn't feel like bundling up to just go out there and paint so I just didn't do it..

The BarBQue that Derek bought for us, and the new screens (we also used the .25 cent staples that we got at a garage sale) with barn red trim (purchased two gallons at a garage sale for $2.00) on the outside and the Robins Egg Blue paint..

The table that we made a few years ago (Casey did alot of the tile on this table and it was in the local paper) and two of the chairs that go with it, (the rest of the chairs are outside still). The Robin's egg blue paint and more windows with new screen. We have alot of antique insulators and we love them in the windows.

This is a table that we grabbed from the side of the road on City wide clean up a couple of years ago. It was green for the past two years and yesterday it got an update with red.. Later I'm painting the floor in the porch this same red. The "Stuff" here is all the old things that I like and will find a home in the porch somewhere. Gardening supplies are under the table too.

This is the "crew" well, minus the painter, "ME"... Donald, Derek and Brian were wonderful help..

The new updated "old" fan.. This isn't the one that was in the porch but we had another on that was in a bit better condition, no bent fan blades and smooth sounding fan..So Derek took the old one down and then I painted the fan with bronze spray paint (of course from a garage sale) and the Barn RED paint that we used on the trim outside and the table. (oh yes, that barn red was from a garage sale too) so the final cost in $28.00 for screen and $15.00 for the Robin's egg paint, $2.00 for Barn Red paint, and .25 cents for the staples= $45.25 total~ Lots of labor and some scrap wood from the shed it's all complete...

Next step is to sand and paint the floor..

Also this week I've been watching the birds alot.. (one less kid all week has given me a bit of time to sit and look around)

This Robin mom is taking care of 3 babies on top of our front living room window. I think it's about time for flight lessons...We have 3 bird feeders and we love watching the birds.