Off the back of my kitchen is a room. Here in New England it is called a three season porch. Some call it a sun room, I call it a mess. While living in this house it has been a play space for my kids, complete with a swing, ride on toys and an indoor slide. While the basement renovation was going on it was the storage room. It was filled floor to ceiling with furniture, Christmas decorations, rugs, toys, etc. Towards the end of the renovation it became so full I would just open the door, toss something in the pile and close the door. It took a while to clean it all out but I’m happy to say that all it now contains is a bistro table and chairs, a bookcase and a box of matchbox cars! 

The porch connects to our back yard as well so it has the potential to be a great space for us. During the warmer months I leave the kitchen door open and it becomes an extension of the house. It is not insulated and although it has wall to wall windows, they are the jalousie type of windows that vent open individually. They keep out the moisture but not the cold. This porch would only work for us during the months of April to October at best. 

In the past we bought space heaters to see if they would work in the winter. It was January and we were having a lot of people over. We had no finished basement at that time and I was hoping the kids would hang out there a little. It all was running smoothly until I used the microwave to reheat something. Little did I know they were all connected and the power on the main floor went out. I can laugh about it now but with a house full of people I was not laughing. 

So I’ve been googling and pining and looking everywhere to try to get some ideas of what I want. For me that is a two step process. I had to figure out what type of use did I want this room to serve, and then what did I want it to look like. Now that I have a designated kid space in the basement I’m taking the porch back. Here’s what I’m thinking…

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So Project Porch has begun. 

I sold the plastic play set my children have outgrown as well as the IKEA swing on craigslist. I then purchased a wicker sofa on craiglist as well. I’ll use a bistro table that I had on my patio for a small dining area. I’m keeping my eyes open for a wicker chair, some accent tables and maybe a coffee table. My goal is to outfit this room with only yard sale and craiglist finds. It will be a hangout spot to sit and read, have a coffee in the morning, watch the kids play in the yard, and catch up on the day in the evening. My kitchen window actually looks out onto the porch so having a pretty view from that area will be a plus not only in the warmer months, but in the winter as well.