"Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life and attend to your own business and work with your hands........" 1 Thessalonians 4:11

Monday, July 16, 2012

Front porches...........it seems everyone loves a front porch........

don't you agree?

The very first image I saw (and will always lovingly remember) when we were looking at buying our home in the country..........
was this............
a picture on the Internet, showing only the old front door and the large porch entry........
with the most wonderful definition of "country living" to steal my heart away.
The porch still has the original light fixtures, which I love.


Our home is now a little over 100 years old. The bricks on the porch are from an old ice house that was in a neighboring town and that had been demolished decades ago.

An old church pew that we purchased from a flea market sits at the very end of the porch, while a rocking chair and porch swing  are on the inside wall. The old ladder back chair by the front door once belonged to my grandparents.


I would love to add cushions and pillows to the furniture.........
I spend a good part of my stitching day, out on the front porch. The lighting is great to stitch in and the quietness and the view are both inspiring...........................
however, spiders, centipedes, and the other scary creatures I have shown you in recent posts seem to make their home in cushions and fabric.
 So, dear readers..........those of you who have beautiful porch furniture...............
how do you keep such creatures out of your porch decor?
I would love to have any helpful hints.

I do use mothballs, such as in this old RC cola case. I love old coke cases and although I do have a few popular "Coke" cases, I chose the RC case for the front porch, because it is different and because in the very middle.........

is an old RC bottle that I found in the field next to our property. I think it is from back in the 40's and now it has a perfect home.............here in the case on the front porch.

Thanks to my busy chickens, I have a lot of fresh eggs and now..........a lot of customers who find their way to my home to purchase them. Because I live so far out..........it is sometimes easy to get lost...........but they know they have found the right place when the see the "eggs" sign on the front porch.

Yes, here is Sophie...........wanting me to hurry up so that we can go on a long walk. Look at that face..........
I love old water kettles and milk containers and I love placing them on the front porch steps.

When decorating a porch................one must always have a kitty cat or two.........
this is Salem's and the other farm cats favorite place to be on a hot afternoon.

This is the view as I step out of the house to begin my day..................
what an inspirational way to start the day..........don't you think?
Now I know that there are a lot of porch lovers out there..............
so tell me..........
how do you decorate your porch?
what is your favorite view?
and what is your favorite thing to do on the front porch?.......or the back porch?
I would love to hear!
****On another note****

When the weather once again turns hot and dry, I would like to try to make Cherry Divinity........have any of you made this wonderful candy before?
If you wold like the recipe, visit my cooking blog..........


22 comments:

Beatrice P. Boyd said...

Kathleen, thanks for the tour and description of your front porch. We have one on our 100+ year old VA home and it was a major draw when we decided to buy the house. We have a porch swing and 3 rocking chairs, also a small dining table and chairs. We have enjoyed breakfast and dinner there before the weather turned too hot and buggy. We don't have those nasty bugs you described so there's no worry about leaving cushions on the rockers. The decking was wood, but needed constant care and reprinting, so we replaced it with Trex synthetic wood decking and it's now maintenance free. We really like fresh eggs and miss the ones we would buy in NJ.

lil red hen said...

I'm envious of your beautiful porch! Mine stays dusty from the fast traffic on our dirt road so I can't have anything nice on it. And there isn't anything pretty to look at around me either at this present time. :(

Elaine/Muddling Through said...

Oh, Kathleen, I am fighting back envy because that is a sin, but your porch is gorgeous! It is perfect in every way. It makes me think of the lazy summer days spent in my grandparents' front porch swing way out in the country on a red gravel road watching the world go by (on the few and far between times something actually did go by!).

LindaSue said...

Your porch is so welcoming and quite the wonderful place to sit a spell and visit.

Unknown said...

Oh my, I love the view from your front porch, I would want to sit out there and read all the time! Lovely!

Debbie said...

You have a beautiful old fashioned front portch and I love it. I can't remember seeing a prettier one in W.Texas. Our porch is a work in progress right now and it ain't happening! :D That Sophie! Her eyes say it all!
Debbie

Terry and Linda said...

I LOVE front porches, although I really don't have a sitting front porch...Yours is lovely. Nothing better than a soft summer evening on the front porch!


Linda
http://coloradofarmlife.wordpress.com
http://deltacountyhistoricalsociety.wordpress.com

Hill Top Post said...

Porches are just wonderful places to relax and just be. Yours is a beauty...see why you like to work here.

The Woodbury's said...

What a beautiful place! I can just imagine you sitting on the porch, stitching away. Now when you do your posts, I'll be able to picture things even better than before. Thanks for sharing with us!

Connie said...

I love front porches and especially love yours, Kathleen. It is so welcoming and inviting. I just have a little stoop out front. I'd love to have one with a swing on it.

Annie Beez said...

Your front porch is wonderful!!

A Colorful World said...

Oh, Kathleen I LOVE your beautiful house! It is very Arts & Crafts which is one of my favorite periods. I would adore having such a wonderful house! How very blessed you must feel living there!

Sunny said...

A very welcoming site, Kathleen. I miss my Kentucky front porch. Here in Pennsylvania I have a front "stupe" which is a covered step. but I have thought about having it taken off and adding a front porch. Have you ever heard the song "Back to the Front Porch" by the Crabb Family Singers? You can google it on You-tube. I know you would like the song. One of my very favorites!

TxFarmhouse said...

Your porch has always looked so inviting to me. Yep, the cat on the railing is the finishing touch.

Paula said...

Your front porch looks so beautiful and inviting, Kathleen! I would love to share a glass of sweet tea out there with you. We can only enjoy our front porch in the evenings because the morning sun makes it hard to sit out there. (Especially in the summer~ it gets so hot.)
I leave a cushion in my rocker, Hubby doesn't want one.... but I do a check to make sure nothing is hiding underneath!

Michaele said...

Awesome porch! I love the brick. We have a big porch too, but not nearly as inviting.

Bev C said...

Hello Kathleen,

Oh your home looks so inviting. I wouldn't worry to much about the critters. Not long ago I swept all the cobwebs down and the next day I noticed the little birds had nothing to eat. So I always leave some up for them.

Happy days.
Bev.xoxo

Nancy M. said...

I love, love, love your front porch! It's so homey and welcoming! Wish I had one, but I don't. They remind me of visiting family when I was younger.

Your creepy crawly creatures there scare me a little. I wouldn't want them hiding in my cushions either!

Sue said...

I have a concrete step. I try to decorate up against the house, but it is not the same. Would love to have a porch. LOVE the color of your siding. It is so pretty!

Conni said...

I don't have a front porch - and wish I did! Yours looks so inviting! And what a lovely view...

I copied your cherry divinity recipe to my ever-expanding "Kathleen's Recipes File." Looks delicious!

KathyB. said...

Oh I love divinity. My mother used to make it.

Porch upholstery does not do so well here either because of mildew & algae.The dampness is not so good for it. I wash my fabric porch adornments a LOT.Then hang them in a sunny place on the porch to dry. I think if I lived where you do, that is what I would do if I wanted fabric on my porch. Otherwise, I would bring the pillows and blankets out with me and also take them IN with me to avoid the creepy crawly problem.

Your porch is lovely, I can see why you choose to do so much stitching on it.

I especially love the way your porch reflects what is important to you, making it your perfect porch.I think I would love to sip iced tea with you on this porch and learn a few stitching techniques too.

Mini said...

Haven't been here in ages & it is wonderful to catch up on what's happening. Loved your porch..the swing and your grandparents' chair. Your home is beautiful! I live in an apartment and dream of living in a cozy colonial bungalow someday.