Fall Porch Makeover

We finally completed a summer-turned-fall project: giving our porches makeovers.  This farmhouse has three covered porches, and we've only really worked on two of them, but I am so excited to finally have most of this project done.

Our front porch actually needed some work when we bought it nine years ago.  A few of the floor boards were starting to rot, and it needed new paint.  Through the years, this just got worse, and we also battled mildew on the white wooden ceiling repeatedly.  Last summer, we finally hired a carpenter to replace some of the floor boards and all of the columns, but before we knew it, it was fall and we had not gotten around to repainting.

After bleaching and treating the mildewed ceiling, my husband repainted it and the columns white, and then he and our teenage son set to work painting several coats of Benjamin Moore custom-mixed paint on the floor.  Our biggest challenge was keeping our four cats off the wet paint.

Part of this job entailed removing pesky hornets' nests that were constructed at overhangs all around our roofs.  There were also birds' nests in the eaves and vines that had attached themselves up under the siding.  There are so many living things that like to live and grow here with us.  Sometime I'll have to tell you about the geese in our pool, the snake in our attic, and the bat in my swimsuit.

Once the hard work was done, I got to come in and do the fun part: decorate.  I had a difficult time  deciding which colors of mums to buy.  I love the purple ones, but I wasn't sure they would match everything else on the front porch.  I may go back and purchase more.  Most of our pumpkins will end up being carved into jack-o-lanterns, but not until closer to Halloween or they will be filled with fruit flies and mold.

I ordered this hand-painted monogrammed sign from Southside Signs & Such and have it hanging next to our front door.  They will custom design and paint just about anything you have in mind.

My husband agreed to bring down a haybale from the barn loft as long as the goats and sheep will get it once fall is over.  We hoard hay because there have been some long winters where hay was hard to find by late February or March.  The past two winters we still had snow on the ground until April.  I picked up the welcome mat from Target, and all the pumpkins, mums, and Indian corn from Weis supermarket.  I would have preferred picking our own pumpkins at a local pumpkin patch, but it rained here most of the week. The wreath is very old and will probably be replaced next year.  

I put the wooden folding chairs away, but the rocker and swing stay out on the porch year-round.  It's always good to have a place outside to sip some coffee in the morning and some wine or hard cider in the early evening.

Now I need some help with the color of the front door.  Both the screen door and main door are currently a dark forest green.  That went well with the old porch color of a dull slate gray, but this new paint color is much more blue.  My in-laws and I have debated over canary yellow, dark red, or a slightly gray khaki, if you can picture that.  I can't make up my mind.  

What color would you recommend?