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!
How sweet of you guys to do that for her! I love that space!! Everything you guys touch turns into FABULOUS!! 🙂
Have an awesome weekend!
~K
could your MIL be any cuter?? you guys did a great job!!! as always!
Beautiful work! What a blessing for your mom!
These type gifts are my favorite — and you captured/edited it all so beautifully.
Wow…..what a great space for your parents. You have to be one of the sweetest and beautiful couples I have ever seen. I was showing my 8 year old son this video clip and he said “wow Mom they look really young for doing all of that” then I told him that Layla is a year younger than Mommy (Happy Birthday by the way!) and his jaw dropped. I said Layla’s sure pretty eh and he nodded. Kevin he thought the same thing about you:) and your Mom is just the loveliest lady ever. Awesome and thoughtful!!
Layla and Kevin: I absolutely love everything that you did to the porch and the video with music is great, but my most favorite part of the makeover is the love that your family has. Thank you for sharing your day with all of us! Cindy
I’ve seen alot of HGTV reveal make-overs & not once have I ever had tears in my eyes & a smile on my face. You are both lovely, caring & the sweetest darn couple I have ever seen. What a wonderful gift to your parents. I so enjoy your blog & look forward to seeing what you guy’s are up to next.
Y’all did a fabulous job….what an adorable family! And now I’m sitting here bawling ’cause I miss my Momma and Daddy…
Thank you Janie. We’re sending you a great big e-hug, and saying a prayer for you today.
Cute! Do you guys have any cool front porch ideas/inspiration? We have a cute ol’ bungalow and a pretty blank canvas. (Minus the old carpet on the front porch. Blah!) 🙂
Hmmm…I’d probably have to see it to really get the creative gears a’ goin’, but this months Southern Living magazine has some awesome porch inspiration pics in it! 🙂
The porch is absolutely beautiful! I think I loved their reaction more than anything. What a wonderful thing to do for your parents!!!
Love the makeover. You guys really know how to incorporate do-able and affordable ideas. Thanks for sharing the video including your family- Kev’s mom is just adorable!
Thanks Elizabeth! I agree about Kev’s Mom…that Katie is such a sweetheart!
Beautiful! Did you leave anything good behind at Prattville Pickers?
Of course! You should definitely check it out…it’s an awesome place! 🙂
Such a darling & cozy porch! Love it. Such a sweet reaction from Kev’s mama. You need to quit making me tear up from the music in your videos…you get me every darn time! Ha!
xoxo,
Jami
Hey Jami!
So glad you’d liked the makeover! And that video makes me misty too! 😀
Could Kevin get any cuter? I think not! I am old enough to be his mother and I want to jump through the screen and hug him. 🙂
What a lovely and perfect gift! All the little details you came up with show how much heart & soul you put into this. Thank you for linking to the ‘Southern Breeze’ color that Kev used on the table and stool – I love it and know it would look wonderful on a few pieces in our cottage.
I wish you both a fabulous weekend!
Hugs,
Marie
Layla and Kevin, this was sooo sweet. Kevin’s Mom is a sweetheart! She will think of you guys every time she goes out there to relax…when it isn’t 105 degrees. 😉 Beautiful job…loved everything, especially that nifty coffee table.
XO
LOVE the porch!! Such a wonderful job!! And loving the coffee table, been on the look for an industrial coffee table with wheels and I am totally digging this, well done!
Love Kevin’s moms reaction. She seems so sweet and appreciative of all your hard work. Brought a tear to my eye the way he was hugging his momma. Hugs from sons are the best…. spoken from a mother of two boys 🙂
Love the pretty porch!!! I live in Prattville too, so it’s fun seeing places that I shop being listed in your blog. I have a metal bin like the one you’re borrowing from your friends…..I got it in Montgomery…saw that they still had them a few weeks ago. I got it to put wood in next to my outdoor fireplace.
And Minwax Special Walnut….I love it! I’ve been using it for years.
Marsha
Oh this was so sweet!! I couldn’t stop smiling watching Kevin’s Mom and how happy she was 🙂 This was so precious and you can tell how much you both love them and it just touched my heart. Very well done to both of you and thanks so much for sharing!!
Wonderful, as always. Yawn. 🙂 Love it!!
Oh my Gosh! Kevin your mom is the cutest! You both did a great job on the porch. I’m sure she will love spending time out there now. That is so great the you guys did that for her <3 🙂
Love it! Especially the feet up and Bible reading 🙂
This was my first visit to your site and WOW! The video brought tears…that was so cool.
We are getting ready to redo our patio into a screened in area and this has really inspired me to
use as many repurposed items as I can. They look wonderful and will help on the cost as well.
I look forward to more from you both in the future!! Thanks for the inspiration!!
~Lynn from KS
Layla, I have what looks like the same white pitcher. What do you know about yours? I bought mine at a yard sale a few weeks ago where almost everything there was really old/vintage. I have a picture of it under my facebook photos – album, “random things.” I don’t recognize the mark and my research on it have come up empty.
You guys did good! What a nice thing to do for the parents. May I adopt you guys? Hee hee.
Kevin, your mum is the most adorable thing on the whole reveal. What a cutie!
Love the chicken box table 🙂
I can’t tell you how much I enjoy your videos! The porch is absolutely stunning!
Wow! The porch looks fabulous! I love all of your makeovers and all the little details that pulled everything together. 🙂
It’s incredibly beautiful! I love the depth of your design. It’s so mulit-dimensional which makes it so inviting and beautiful! Congratulations on a job well done!!
Absolutely awesome! Fantastic job…
You two are seriously talented!!! And as usual your photos are Amazing!!!! Magazine Worthy!!!!!
Hi Layla & Kevin, I LOVED the makeover reveal video and what you guys did with the porch. Kevin’s Mom is adorable and she is very lucky to have you for a daughter in-law Layla. I am very happy that the driftwood egret has a new and loving home. Take care, Lori
Hi There,
Taking the week off to play catch up…This post is so wonderful. Your Mom looks so happy in the video
love ya
You have a way to creating such beauty and warmth, it is inspiring. Thanks for sharing your re-do with Kevs mom. It made me cry a little, since she made me think of my mom who is now gone. I loved doing little projects for her as well….and she would have loved this porch.
Perfect!!! Now back to watch the video.
The porch looks amazing, I love the colors you chose and that sunburst mirror is awesome! You two are the best! P.S. I love Kevin’s Mom’s face! 🙂
Okay, it’s official…you two are the sweetest. I loved every single ounce of the redo, but more importantly, the video. It was a little glimpse into how generous and joyously contagious the two of you are. Thanks for sharing it with us. (can’t wait for our double date to southern accents!)
😀
xoxo
shaunna
What a lovely surprise! Every detail is just beautiful!
Your mom is too cute! She deserves that adorable porch. War Eagle!
Wow you guys. Just wow.
Kevin’s mum has the best laugh ever! I was grinning like a goon through the entire video!
Lovely work and great shots of the makeover.
Fantastic job – the porch is gorgeous. And…. I LOVE Kevin’s mother! Thanks for sharing.
That is an amazing little screened in porch you guy’s bring such happiness into peoples home with your warm and loving way’s. And turning drab into FAB with just your great imaginations…Love kev’s mom what a sweet lady loved it when she said I can just pull a chicken out of the crate….Oh and layla your reaction getting cookies two for one….that was so cute.!!!!!
such a beautiful surprise. you guys are so sweet to do this for Kevin’s parents. i found myself tearing up as soon as the music started playing. good tears though, happy tears.
Amazing redo! The mirror project was totally fab! I am going to have to mentiion it on my blog. I am thinking I may have to try the project for my own home too! I might gold leaf it though to match my decor better. Great work! THanks for the inspiration.
What an awesome makeover! The porch now looks so calm, cool, and peaceful. Very nicely done! Kevin’s mom is adorable!
What song is that playing during the video? It’s fabulous. Do tell!
Best,
Kimberly
Hey Kimberly! It’s a song called “Good Life” by a band called One Republic…glad ya liked it! 😀
You guys are absolutely amazing! !
GREAT job, you guys! What a sweet thing to do for your mom. She is just precious! My sweet little mother would do the same thing and spend her quiet/devotional time there every day. You two rock!
I think my favorite part of this beautiful reveal was Kev’s Mom’s delighted reaction. You can’t ask for more than that to know “job well done”! You two are just so darn cute and clever!
Wow what a great transfermation. You guys did a wonderful job. I have a 3 season room that needs help!
Thanks for the inpiration
That was the CUTEST reaction ever.
Good job you too!!