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Simple Back Porch Makeover

Back Porch Makeover

Back porch makeover by painting woodwork with white stain and painting brick exterior walls with paint and primer.

Yay! The back porch is finally done! Phew. This project had me close to tears because it was so much painting. It took three coats of Cabot white stain on the woodwork, two coats of Valspar paint/primer on the brick, and two cans of Valspar Exotic Sea Spray Paint on the shutters to get the look I wanted. But in the end it was all worth it!

painted back porch with white stain and painted brick in gray paint and primer

In my rush to get the porch done, I forgot to take a good “before” picture for you. However here is a before and after of the main porch area. The brick was previously painted red and the entire porch and lattice were unfinished wood.

back porch

And here is what it looks like now! It is so much cleaner and fresher looking!

back porch

How to Prepare Your Porch for a Makeover : Clean All Surfaces

The first thing I needed to do before I could stain, prime, and paint was to clean all surfaces! We used a deck cleaner on all of the wood. On the window and door moldings we used Mr. Clean Outdoor Pro and and Outdoor Magic Erasers.

Dawn Grille Cleaner Tools

I wasn’t a fan of the “old man aftershave” smell of the outdoor spray, but it worked like a charm! I AM a huge fan of the Outdoor Magic Erasers. I’m going to use the outdoor erasers for all of my needs from now on. The outdoor erasers seem to be much stronger than the indoor ones and don’t flake off as much. Below you can see how nicely my door cleaned up. It’s hard to see but in the before there is actually reddish deck stain on the right side of the door jam. The magic eraser took the stain right off!

What Products Should I Use to Paint My Porch

Here are some of the other products I bought to complete this project. This was my first time using Valspar’s paint and primer in one. I was actually impressed. I’ve used 2 in 1 paint products before and have always been disappointed, but the Valspar outdoor paint covered the red brick nicely. I used a long nap roller for the first coat and then went over the hard-to-get-into grooves with a brush for the second coat. I used the paint mit on all of the spindles and on the porch floor. I still had to touch up with a brush, but I liked the mitt.

Valspar Gloss Spray Paint | Stain Mitt for Porch Spindles | Valspar Duramax | Cabot Decking Stain

Repainting Old Shutters

I purchased the shutters a few years ago at a yard sale. They were coated with over 100 years of paint and were a mess. I did my best to remove the old paint using Jasco Paint & Epoxy Remover, but it was proving to be a TON of work and just not worth it. In the end, I just spray painted over the chippy paint and called it a day.

old shutters

I think they turned out beautifully, chippy paint and all!

back porch

Back Porch Makeover Reveal

The porch furniture, garden stool, and subway art are from Pier 1. The paint color is color matched “Knitting Needles” by Sherwin Williams. This fall we’re having the entire exterior of our home repainted and Knitting Needles is a strong contender. Update: Come see the exterior of my home repainted in Knitting Needles: Row Home Exterior Paint

back porch

back porch

The sunflowers are from my garden! When Zephan was in Pre-K he brought home a sunflower seedling for Mother’s Day. It grew into one sunflower. I saved the seeds and replanted them this year and they went crazy! I wish we had a yard larger than a postage stamp so that I could have planted even more. 

back porch

back porch

The rocking chair was a $10 Craigslist score. I need to figure out if I want to paint it, stain it, or leave it as is. For now, I’m enjoying it as is! Update: How to Make a Chair Planter

So there you have it! Now when I sip a drink from my patio table I can look back and see this delightful sight!

back porch

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Comments

  2. Beautiful makeover! The transformation is breathtaking. Congratulations on a job thoroughly well done!!!

  10. I love it!!! It’s so much fresher and brighter now! The light blue accents are perfect against the white! I’ve heard over and over those magic erasers are worth the money, but I have yet to try them… Definitely on my list now!!!

  25. I would love to win! I have a deck that is only 3 years old, but looks 10 years old! It definitely needs help! Thanks!

  34. It looks so pretty! I am tired just thinking about all of that painting. My favorite part is the aqua shutters against the gray brick! Thanks so much for the giveaway! 🙂

  36. Hey Beth, that porch looks terrific – a totally cool and relaxing place to sip coffee or just relax. But, boy, that is A LOT of work – you must be both wiped out and totally pleased! Congrats again – it looks great – now go out there and enjoy!
    David

  37. Great make Over! Looks like a TON of work. I did a porch this summer too. Still have a couple details (are we ever finished?) but daughter and grangirl arrive today so taking a break. Love yours. Suzi pblapere@att.net

  38. Hi Beth: What a beautiful new porch! Amazing what a change it was to go from red to white bricks–love it! And all the decorative accents–the pillows, the garden pot decoration with the bird on top, and the side table–are really pretty.

  42. I love the back porch reveal – especially all the blue! I wonder if I could convince my husband to do this to our house… 🙂

  45. Excellent work. Makes me want to go clean my back door… almost. 🙂

    Facebook Name: Leslie Galloway (www.facebook.com/GallowayLeslie)

  48. Oh man, that sounds like a lot of work, but you’re right – it was worth it! The space looks inviting and has me longing for a back porch. Thanks for the work you do on your blog. It’s so helpful!

  51. Your porch looks amazing!! So inviting and relaxing. Did not know about the Mr. Clean products. Thanks for sharing your beautiful porch.

  52. I love the new look. I am looking for some shutters to make a new look on my porch.

  54. Love the porch! Especially love the yellow sunflowers against the gorgeous blue shutters!

  59. The back porch looks great! I love Magic Eraser’s and had no idea there was an outdoor version! I am definitely trying those out soon.

  62. Beautiful. Wow, a lot of painting went into that but totally worth it. Nice Beachy vibe to your porch!

  63. Beth,
    Your porch area turned out great! Thanks so much for the tip about the Outdoor Magic Erasers, I use the indoor ones all the time but they don’t last very long. Will go to Lowe’s this week to pick up some of the Outdoor ones.

  64. Your completed back porch looks awesome! I think the shutters really do make the space. I wouldn’t worry about the ‘chippy-ness’ – It just adds character!

  65. One more time- your back porch is beautiful!!! 🙂 I love the colors and I can only imagine how much work you put into it. I’m kinda’ glad I can only imagine…. 😉 Too bad our neighborhood HOA forces us to be mindless clones with our exteriors.

  67. Gotta bookmark this post, though I dread the thought of using it! Hopefully it’ll cool down in South Carolina soon so I can put it to use.

  68. I love the older feel of the shutters! It gives the porch a pop! Also would love to win the giveaway!

  71. I love the porch redo. Your neighbors must be totally envious! The colors are so relaxing and inviting. Great job!

  72. LOVE IT!!! I love Mr Clean Magic erasers and didn’t even know they made outdoor ones!!!
    They regular ones are great for cleaning vinyl baby dolls!

  75. I love the blue on the shutters, you did a great job
    Thank you for hosting this giveaway

    Louis
    pumuckler {at} gmail {dot} com

  78. Beth,
    I just went through a whole “I love Majic Sponges” with my sister in law this weekend. She had never tried them (she doesn’t have kids is the only excuse I can think of) so I ran to Lowes and bought her some. She was amazed and she and her friend who was also there were converted after one door rubdown. Great stuff.
    Love the colors on the porch. Nice job. I need to get the old shutters out of the garage and paint them a fun color. Thanks for sharing .

  85. Love the porch! The blue shutters are so pretty and those sunflowers just make me happy! =)

  88. Your makeover is great! I’m getting ready to re-do our master bedroom soon and a $100 gift card from Lowe’s is just what I need!!

  92. I LOVE it, Beth! So pretty! I re-painted our deck and fence this summer so I can relate to the blood, sweat and tears! I’m picturing that rocking chair in a bright, happy yellow…but maybe its the sunflowers that are speaking to me! ( If you’re thinking of going bright with it, I used Behr Empire Yellow on my adironak chairs, and I love it!) Now, go put your feet up out there and relax! ~Kerri, A Pop of Pretty xo

  93. Love the color choice. I would love to use something that bright on my screen porch!

  102. A great giveaway…I’d LOVE to try the magic erasers!!
    ♥’s
    Sherry

  103. Your hard work was so worth it! Love the shutters and the gray paint on the brick!

  106. So many things that I would love and you have a fabulous porch that makes me wish I had one of them.

  110. Your porch looks great! I love the pops of turquoise and I DIE for that rocking chair!!

  111. I am a new blogger and love you r designs. I have been following you and have been inspired by your creativity and all around good ideas! Thanks for your constant inspiration!

  114. We have a few projects to start or finish at our home. One is our back porch. It really just needs furniture. Our other projects involve wainscoting, paint and updating some furniture…

  116. LOVE this porch makeover, Beth! And your chippy shutters are just perfect. Hope you’ve patted yourself on the back and poured yourself a glass of wine. 🙂
    I’ve been itching to try the Mr Clean outdoor products, so thanks for hosting!
    xo Heidi

  119. We just finished our front porch so now we can enjoy being outside..it needs a few pieces to make it more cozy though 🙂

    demureprincess7(at)gmail(dot)com

  124. WOW, that looks like A LOT of work. But it looks soooo GREAT…afterwords. GREAT job!!!! 🙂

  130. It looks so beautiful and cheery! Love the color for the shutters! I’m putting these erasers on my list for the next lowe’s trip. our dog has dirtied up the interior and exterior doors at our house. Maybe those will help.

  135. The back porch looks great and these products sound amazing. Fingers crossed I win. 🙂

  136. Wow Beth! It looks beautiful! I love the white & blue together…it looks so fresh and fun. The shutters are the perfect touch for cottage feeling too! I would be out there every day sipping iced tea and reading home decor mags! Angie xo

  138. your porch looks awesome, i love the colors you chose! And my eye keeps going to the garden stool in every photo, I’m in love with it 🙂

  139. We’re getting ready to start a remodel project and a gift card would be a huge help! I also need to try the Outdoor magic erasers! I love using them to clean everything!!!

  141. What a great before and after. Enjoy!! I would love to do something like this to my back porch and that gift card would get the supplies!

  144. It looks really good, Beth! I really like the gray and blue together.

    When I bought my house, it had new gray vinyl siding but had an awful orange brick on the front. I hated it. I took a leftover piece of siding to Lowes and had them color match it for me and painted my brick. All my neighbors thought I was crazy and would stop to tell me so when driving by. When I was finished, every one of them stopped to tell me how good it looked and they were sorry they had their doubts. LOL It’s so fun to be a spontaneous DIYer! 🙂

  145. We’re just getting started on a huge project so this gift card would be a huge help!!

  148. Oh my gosh! I know this was a pain in the booty, but WOW, it turned out SO GREAT Beth! 🙂
    You’re one talented girl. I love it! Whoo hoo!
    xoxo
    Shelley

  150. It looks great! You deserve to sit and sip ice tea…that was alot of work you did! I never knew about the outdoor Mr Clean product. I’ll have to try them.

    • They really do work well and I’m now a convert to the outdoor erasers. I think they should just make their indoor erasers with the same durability.

  151. I love those chippy looking shutters & the color is awesome. Thanks for the giveaway.
    twelve30(at)gmail(dot)com

  157. Your deck came out great, Beth! I am so intrigued with that paint mitt as I embark on painting my deck this week. I’ll have to look one! Thanks for the tips!

  158. Your back porch looks great painted white and love the blue shutters. That is a very cool blue color. Yes, I can imagine covering red brick color was not fun . I’m sure you are glad it’s done though 🙂

  160. Oh my goodness Beth, I just love it! Such a beautiful space to relax in. The colors you used are just perfect!

  161. Your porch looks fantastic! I hope someday to have an outdoor space like yours that I like spending time in 🙂

  162. LOVE the color of the shutters and the garden stool. Fyi- you can plant 2 rows of sunflowers and tie the tops together to make a shaded play are for your little, if your yard allows. LOL Also, I have never heard of a paint mitt! How does that work, and was it easier than a brush? Great remodel job!!

    • Good tip Anna! The paint mit worked well but I still had to go back and touch up with a brush. I think it’s a matter of tool preference really but I would use one again.

  163. The new paint color on the house makes the biggest difference! Love the choice of turquoise as an accent. The deck really looks lovely!

  166. It turned out so pretty! I’ve never seen a painting mitt before, that looks interesting. I’m laughing trying to picture where you were standing to get some of those pics! LOL … the top of the fence? The neighbors must be thinking “There goes that crazy blonde lady again!” 🙂

    • Dumb. So dumb. I was standing on the very top of a 6ft ladder to get some of the shots.

  170. This is so gorgeous and inviting! I LOVE the gray and blue. I’m really digging that mitt, too. It looks pretty handy! 😉

  173. Beth, your back porch looks fantastic. We just moved into a house that requires a TON of outdoor painting and scraping. This post gives me hope 🙂

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