Playing With Color On The Porch

It is so nice having the back porch cleaned up! We have eaten dinner out there every night this week. The weather has been beautiful and it is so peaceful eating out there. The only problem is keeping Lillie in her seat. Every time any animal or bird makes an appearance she wants to go play with it! When we first moved here two and a half years ago I had so much fun decorating the porch. That first year I decorated it year round but these past two years I have pretty much completely ignored it from November through April and by the time I go out there in April it has needed a MAJOR cleaning. The last two springs I was able to get away with just washing all of the bedding and pillows and and sweeping and stuff. This year, though, most of the pillows were starting to get really really grungy looking! I ended up recovering the two large chairs over by the armoire (which aren't shown in this post but I will show you once I finish that side of the porch) and a bunch of the pillows on the daybed. I also removed the little skirts on the chairs at the table as the fabric on them was starting to look quite dull and faded. As usual, I didn't want to spend much money so I tried to use things I already had. I had a couple yards left of the blue toile fabric that I had used in our last house and decided it would be nice to add a pop of color out there and it would be a great starting off point!

 I still have to finish the other half of the porch, 

but for now here is the half that has the table and daybed:

 I actually HATE the teal plates but I went all over Williamsburg looking for a pale water blue set or a patterned black and white set but had NO luck so just got these four in a pack from Target for $9.99 hoping they would be okay. When I got them home I decided they were WAY too bright for me (which I already knew) but I can't find the receipt anywhere so I guess I am stuck with them. As soon as I can find something more muted, though, they will definitely be replaced.

 

Pretty much everything else I already had except for the lacy white dessert plates. 

 

I couldn't find any extra napkin rings so I just tied an ivory ribbon around the napkins and then glued an egg onto the top of the ribbon. 

 

 

Underneath the napkins are these fun little plates:

I got these little white plates at Pier 1 and LOVE them! I put a little vinyl silhouette of Jane Austen in the center of each one to add a little interest. I had planned on putting a silhouette of a bird on them but have been in such a Jane Austen mood lately decided to go with her silhouette for now. I will probably switch her out for a bird silhouette later this summer, though. 

When I made the silhouette pillows last week the ink looked WAY more muted in the bottle. Once they were printed and dried though they looked sooooo bright. I tried to make myself like them and left them out for a week but in then end I think they are just a little too much for me.

Today I switched them out for black silhouette pillows and like them so much better! 

 (Now I just need to find something to replace those teal plates),

I can't wait for my little munchkin to hurry up and get here! As long as she doesn't arrive this weekend I plan on finishing up the other side of the porch and will show you those pictures and I also have an Easter wreath I want to make and if I get to that will post it along with some downloadable Easter printouts like the "He has risen" one that was in our Easter decorating post. Of course, I would much prefer she does decide to arrive this weekend =), but with my luck I am sure she is going to make me wait as long as possible!

I hope you all have a fabulous Friday!