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!
You guys make me smile. I love what you did for your mom/MIL! how sweet are you. Thanks for showing us ways to make others happy!
Oh gosh…a gorgeous job!!!!!! You two are such special people and Kev’s parents are adorable!!! Brought tears to my eyes…the love is awesome.
Could you please tell me the name of the song that was playing? Such a perfect fit!
Absolutely wonderful job!!
I love the yard sticks on top of the chicken crate but THAT CONSOLE TABLE!!!!!!!! The finial on the bottom shelf is fantastic. What great details! The space is great.
WOW! Great before and after. The sunburst mirror and the coffee table are great! I bet they’ll enjoy this space a lot more now.
Gorgeous! Love what you did to the porch. So inspiring. Love the song, too…it is a good life, isn’t it? It’s what you make of it, and attitude is everything! Love watching you guys do your thing!
What a great job y’all did!! Love the re-purposing of so many things including even smaller details such as pillow covers. Want to come and do my house 😉
ohmygoodness, you guys are awesome! That porch is so great and now I have some *awesome* inspiration to finish mine!!! 🙂 I’m thinking there is a sunburst mirror in my future….
What a fabulous re-do! I love how you’ve repurposed & crafted so much of this project!! What a gift this is to Kevin’s parents. Outdoor spaces & patios can add so much quality to our lives. So lovely & well done!
Love it, Layla & Kevin! And, I especially appreciate the beautiful photos and fun video that record and reflect all of your work and creativity. Thanks for sharing it. 🙂
PS-It’s a little detail, but I was glad to learn that there’s special velcro for brick surfaces! We recently moved to a brick house, and it has been quite an ordeal to figure out how to hang stuff on the outdoor walls without drilling too many holes!
LOVE IT. I could say that over and over. It is just so fresh and cute and cozy. Are you sure you can’t come to Illinois and sort through all the good stuff I have and make it all look pretty…..pretty please??? Seriously though, it is gorgeous. How fun to do something so amazing for the people ya love!
love, love, love the skull-and-crossbones table makeover. and the chicken crate coffee table = awesome.
So precious. I love her reaction! The porch looks great, but I love watching you guys interact. There is so much love. Just precious. I am so thankful I found your site.
Oh. My. Goodness! It turned out so well! You guys are so sweet to do that for them…..nothing short of amazing. I really like the skull “danger” table turned chic side table/plant stand. I’ll be anxious for a tutorial about that. 😉
Hugs,
Gail
I love seeing the family… sweet!!! The porch looked wonderful, very cool table. Great job!
This is fantastic! I look on your website almost every day. You are one of the best!
Margree
Oh Kevin and Layla! The room is fantastic, but the surprise factor for Kevin’s mom is just wonderful! What a gift for you all to share. You guys are all just too adorable.
xo*tricia
Beautiful, AS ALWAYS!
I LOVE this porch!! You always have the greatest accessories–I think that’s one area where I’m hurting. Thanks for the inspiration!
I love it! I’ve been wanting to build a screened porch at our house and now I have the inspiration!!!!
LOVE LOVE LOVE! Hard to say what my favorite part is, but I do love that chicken crate table and that awesome green magazine holder thingie!
And, um, could you guys be ANY cuter?! New follower and really love the site.
I was looking forward to this reveal and I LOVE it! I kept getting new favorite things as I scrolled down, but I love, love the metal skull side table makeover. The green metal table and the magazine holder are both faves too. I love it all. Nice work kiddos. :o)
Kevin & Layla, how can we ever thank you! The porch is beautiful, your post is just wonderful. I love the video. As one lady said, I do feel like I have been HGTV’D without the Big Red Truck. Everything the two of you do is so professional. Dad and I are so proud of you. We love you both so much. Layla, you are such an added blessing to our family. Kevin struck GOLD when he found you!! Our whole family loves you dearly. Thanks again for the makeover. It was a wonderful 42nd Wedding Anniversary present.
Love,
Mom & Dad
am i the only one getting misty-eyed over here?! even the video had me choked up a bit. your <3 for each other and your mama and hers for you guys is soo apparent in the beautiful video-loved the music with it and how it tied in with the video. great job on the porch! i especially love the old chix coop…and your mama's comment "i can just pull my chicken right out!" seriously had me laughing aloud!
🙂
This is so wonderful!!!! You guys are so cute and Kevin’s parents are precious!!! What a wonderful makeover! Love the chicken crate. It is all so my style! Can you come do my lake house….pretty please????
Oh I loved that video…thanks for sharing the reveal!!
Omg it turned out awesome! What a sweet family Kevin has….his Mom is too cute!
Oh my goodness! That is amazing. I would love to sit out there with a glass of iced tea! How beautiful.
Beautiful! Loved all the great projects!
I’ve been wondering how to use an old chicken cage — wonderful ideas!
It’s simply lovely! I need someone to come do mine next. But I have a deck – not a sunroom, and I want to make it “pretty” but I just can’t for the life of me come up with any good ideas.
I love the redo!!! Yall have got to live near me!! I go to Prattville Pickers and J&Gs all the time. I live in Calera and my husband and I have an auction house we run every Sat. night in Maplesville. We have alot of people that come from around there!!! We go to the auction in Wetumka all the time too!!!
Beautiful! What colors did you use on the little foot stool and the shutters? This looks so relaxing.
That was so sweet of you. Kevin’s mom is so cute! I love the video and the music you chose. Absolutely love the porch!
You too are just amazing – this video could not be more charming. When are you going to get your own show already!?!
Wow! I have that very same chicken crate and have been waiting and waiting for someone to inspire me with a project to make it useful again! I cleaned the hide off that thing and it looks pretty good, but I’m wondering what you did to yours to get that warm color. I can’t wait to start collecting yardsticks to make mine cute like yours! Great job you two!
Well, Kev’s Mom is just the cutest thing! Such joy in her voice. And the space is so beautiful, creative, soothing. What more could one ask for?
Wow!! Great job you guys, I bet his mom was really pleased. You guys are so creative, I can’t believe what you do with some of the things you find and what you turn them into. I go to flea markets and somehow only see what it is not what it can become.
Love this — it’s a gorgeous space for Kevin’s fabulous mom 🙂 Wishing I had a porch like this now!
SO LOVELY…and that the re-do has given her a quiet respite to read her Bible and be with the Lord. Just precious. Now, is that cinder block I spy behind the settee with the plants perched on top?? Clever use of (probably already layin’ around somewhere)materials, if so. You two are always up to something fresh! Love it!
Wow! You guys are so talented and have such a sweet family! Thanks for sharing!
A perfect reading nest! I can’t decide which I like more… y’all or your designs! Kevin’s kindness to his mom is just adorable and warms this mama’s heart. I’ve heard you can tell how a man will treat his wife by how he treats his mom…so he’s a keeper, huh?
🙂
Absolutely wonderful! I love what you’ve created for your folks.
There are so many wonderful designs that I see, but yours make me go “that’s me”. I could live in this room!
Thank you for sharing the Behr color “Summer Breeze” with us. I’m looking for a blue to use on some furniture and this looks like it’s going to be the new color of choice.
@oldblockhouse
After the pictures of your birthday and this post, I’m pretty sure most of America wants to be part of Layla and Kevin’s family! It wouldn’t hurt that we would get to stay at The Lettered Cottage either! Oh, and the cookies too!
You always inspire me! Kev’s parents are so blessed to have you two in their lives. What a wonderful surprise for them. Thank you for keeping me upbeat in my boring, oatmeal colored cube world.
What a fun filled video of the reveal. I love the porch and it too would be a place that I would want to sit and have my morning coffee. Thanks for sharing!
It looks fantastic! I loved watching you two look at each other in the video. You guys just look so happy together and in love. Kevin’s mom is so sweet and cute! My little boy (2yo) watched the video with me, and he kept saying, “I go play with that grandma!” 🙂
This grandmama would be delighted to have your 2 year old come play with me!
LOVED the whole video. You two are so cute filming and having fun in the hot weather. What a great thing you did. :o)
Love the chicken crate coffee table idea
Lori
So gorgeous and inspirational! Love the porch..so many wonderful ideas:) Enjoy!
You guys did such an amazing job on the porch makeover! And that video brought tears to my eyes! You can see joy in your eyes and it’s so sweet to see such love for life. Kev’s parents are just too cute! Thanks for sharing.
WOW! A-M-A-Z-I-N-G! I’m inspired!
Absolutely beautiful and your video was too cute :)!