A couple weeks ago, I showed you a sneak peek of this guy…
…and told you about our plan to make over the back porch at Kev’s parents house…which looked like this:
Well, I’m happy to report that we finished everything up last Friday, and here’s a little video of the reveal and their reactions…
It was about 105 degrees the day we pulled everything together, but man was that a fun reveal!
Here’s a breakdown of everything we did…
With the help of some Rustoleum spray paint in Satin White, we took their chippy chairs from drab…
…to fab!
We used outdoor fabric from Hobby Lobby on the cushions and pillows. While one of Kev’s Mom’s friends made the slipcovers for the seat cushions, I used the striped and floral fabrics to make the pillow covers.
The smaller pillow on the settee was actually from a pillow project I did with my friend Ashley. I just removed the existing, more brightly colored fabric that was previously on the right side of it, and attached a piece of the outdoor floral-patterned fabric instead. The bigger pillow (in back) was a Pottery Barn pillow cover that I got on eBay about a year ago. I loved the neutral back side with the buttons…
…but the front side was previously navy blue and beige, and I never ended up using it anywhere. I just removed the navy fabric and sewed on some of the green stripe fabric instead.
Kev made the sunburst mirror after seeing this project on our last How To’s Day link party.
Because we already had the Liquid Nails, we only bought two packs of shims, and the mirror was 50% off at Hobby Lobby- the whole project only cost $10. Talk about bang for your buck, huh? (Thanks Kate!)
The (indoor/outdoor) Dragor rug (something we gave them last year) and netted curtains came from Ikea. We hung the curtains with tension rods from Walmart, and the curtains were just $4.99 per pair. (The ones we used actually used to hang in our guest bedroom.) The white pitcher is something I’ve had for a while, the yellow flowers came from Publix, and the $3 yellow planter (full of Scrabble tiles) came from J&G Flea and Antique Mall.
(More about the Scrabble tiles in a future post!)
The ($4.95) caned flyswatter also came from J&G…
(We stuck the hook it’s hanging on to the brick with heavy duty velcro specifically engineered to stick to brick. The hook came from Hobby Lobby.)
…and the shutters were part of an HGTV.com project we put together a while back.
We picked ’em up at J&G last year sometime and used two stacks of cinderblocks (spaced 40″ apart) to hold them in place against the wall behind the settee. We placed a couple of pine boards across them to set the plants on. (We didn’t end up using ferns after all!) And like I said in the video, the wood bird came from WhiteFlowerFarmhouse.com (thanks Lori and Megan!), the little blue and white pot came from J&G, and the seagrass plant pot and faux plant came from Ikea.
(I’m big on layering plant pots!)
We picked up one of the little side tables from Prattville Pickers for $8, and gave it a makeover using more white spray paint and some Miniwax Special Walnut-stained, wood “fill-it” strips from Home Depot…
(More about this project in a future post!)
The chicken crate we turned into a coffee table also came from Prattville Pickers, and cost just $28. (If you search for “chicken crate” on eBay, they’re usually listed for between $50 and $100 dollars.) To create a smoother surface on top, we attached some old rulers and yardsticks we found on Etsy and at another local flea market.
(More about this project in a future post!)
We added some big 5″ vintage casters (from AnythingGoesHere on Etsy) to the bottom of it so it would be easy for Kev’s Mom to move it when she wants to vacuum underneath it.
The (solid wood/very heavy) $20 console table (we also found at Prattville Pickers) got coated with a Behr paint color Kev picked out called “Southern Breeze“.
We painted the $6 foot stool we picked up (at J&G) with the same color…
Other inexpensive flea market finds we scooped up included a wood based, $7 lamp (which we plan to secure to the table with a long bolt at some point in case it gets windy), a $5 fabric lampshade, and a $2 basket for whatever they decide to use it for…
…and the little green metal table ($8)…
…which all came from a local flea market called Memories.
And last but not least, we’ve been borrowing this green metal bin from our neighbor for a while (the ones with the awesome kitchen!)…
…and it worked perfect as a magazine holder, so we may need to see if we can buy it from ’em!
Oh! And in case you’re wondering about the “cookie holder”, I got the iron cake stand from the prop stylist that worked on our Nest Magazine shoot, and the rattan cloche ($6) came from TJ Maxx a couple months ago. The hemstitched linen coasters came from Prattville Pickers. (The set of six was $3)
(For more cool cloche’s, check out our sponsor FarmhouseWares.com!)
It was a neat space to work on and we can’t thank Kev’s parents enough for allowing us to have fun with it behind closed blinds all week!
PS- Rumor has it Kev’s Mom has been sitting out there with her Bible and her feet propped up on the chicken crate early every morning since the big reveal! Yay!
This is absolutely darling!!! The porch looks fabulous but what really comes across in this video is LOVE. I have 2 sons and to see Kevin hug in his Mom and to hear y’all say I love you just brought me to tears. Beautiful. I love that you shared your gifts in such a way with Kevin’s parents. All of you are just incredibly cute (especially Kevin’s Mom!)
The porch is fabulous – as usual for you and Kevin. What I need to know is – is that song one of Kevin’s Band’s songs? I have never heard it but I love it!
So very, very special! Love the video! Thanks for the inspiration:)
That’s so sweet & it all looks awesome!
This was so much fun to watch their reaction. Beautiful job and so many great ideas! Love the sunburst mirror over the shutters, the colors and well…everything.
This is just and adorable room. Kevin’s mom seems like a wonderful lady and I’m so happy you could do something for her she obviously loved so much 🙂
My favorite part…”(the cushions) going really well, don’t they?” Imagine that!
Wow!! That reveal is gorgeous!! I love every single thing you did!! It’s so fresh and cozy looking!
This defines FAMILY! The video brought tears to my eyes. . .thank you for revealing God’s love through the talents He gave to you. What an amazing gift.
I LOVE how you and Kev honored his parents with this makeover!! Y’all are wonderful. Thanks for letting us listen in. I agree with GS – it defines family and shows the blogging world God’s love lived out thru you two. You will make the best parents ever – when your time comes! It was a joy to watch.
Gosh…beautiful job for Kevin’s mom….I know her from FBC Montgomery and she is one special lady! Love your blog and have been checking it out for a couple of years. Thanks for sharing this video.
Hi Layla and Kevin, I’m a big fan of your fabulous blog and this is the first time that I write you a comment… today I couldn’t resist because the video made me tears of joy.
Thanks for sharing and congratulations for the beautiful and amazing makeover. I admire you both a lot.
Best wishes from Estepona (a village in the south of Spain) ;o)
What a lovely gift to Kevin’s parents! Great job….I’m sure they’ll enjoy it for many more summers to come. Also, loved that song…made me a little weepy if truth be told…can you please pass on the name of the song and artist. with thanks,
Karelyn
A fan from Canada
I have sat and watched this video this morning and just cried my eyes out! What sweet, caring, and adorable people you two are, your husband’s parents are so lucky to have you. Looks like both sets of parents did a very FINE job of raising you two!!! God Bless you both!
Beautiful- in every way shape & form!
super late to see this – just amazing!!!
love love love the video also. you guys are super talented.
thankyou for sharing this.
cheryl xox.
Hi guys, just watched your porch reveal & boy was that sweet! Love all the things you guys did and the chicken coop was the best 🙂 You guys are cute together! Great video! Poked around your site and loved all the HGTV articles & enjoyed looking at your pics ~ love your style…just moved into my childhood family home and starting from scratch…I have gotten great ideas from site and look forward to following you guys!
Layla and Kevin, I found your blog through Tereasa’s. I think that you two are wonderful! So happy and full of life. I try to sneak a few moments here and there at work to make my day brighter and inspire me to think what my husband and I can be doing on the weekends in our new home.
Keep up the good work and I hope more wonderful things come your way as it is much deserved.
Thanks!
Mandy
I didn’t know about your blog until I saw an article about you in the Montgomery Advertiser recently, so I just stumbled on this post a few months late! 🙂 I went to school with Kevin & Kerry, and I worked with Mrs. Katie for about four years, so I’m happy to catch up with everyone and see the amazing and fun things you’re doing. I really enjoyed watching this reveal, and I’m so excited that Mrs. Katie has a cute Southern porch! Y’all did a wonderful job!
Finally, I found a chicken crate at an auction! Since reading this post, I’ve been on the lookout for one. Country I may be, but I’d have had no idea what the crate was if not for the coffee table project.
Now to find some casters and I’ll be set!
that was the sweetest reveal! loved their reactions! what a special gift! 🙂
Just read the post where you made over the porch. As a read the blog I found myself a bit surprised as I myself live in Prattville and have for nearly 40 years. Great Job on the make over…wish I had found that table for $20.00.
Absolutely beautiful! The porch is gorgeous and inviting, even more I was blessed by your heart and the blessing this was to your parents. Thank you for sharing.
I LOVED everything about this! It’s obvious that a LOT of love went into everything you’d both done here-BEAUTIFULLY done!
Everyones already said it but I had to just add in my two cents. This was just a beautiful job I’m sure inspired by some beautiful people. Many ideas to steal and thank you for putting in prices so we can compare when we go junkin. Sometimes you think somethings a good price then you see what others paid. It’s a help.
Congrats and Blessings to you all.
First of all, y’all should do more video reveals!!! How much fun!! Second of all, this made me smile… the teary that’s-so-sweet kinda smile and I totally needed that today. Thank you for blessing me with your smiles, giggles, and gorgeous decor today!!
xo Heidi
I’d still love you to have the two of you visit and give me some ideas on my Log Cabin home. I enjoy seeing your labors of love, in fact I think I’m addicted lol.
the two of you are so very cute and I love the way you interact with each other…you can feel the love….the room came out awesome!!!