Kelly's Vintage Porch

A vintage porch conjures up images of wicker and soft cushions, all surrounded by colorful flowers. For many, a porch is only a dream but this couple in the United Kingdom found a way to make their dream come true - they built one near their flower garden!

Kelly's vintage lifestyle is actually pretty romantic! And you'll enjoy seeing her porch pictures and learn about her wildflower patch and jar lanterns.

Kelly's Porch Story

England is not my original home and one of things I miss terribly about home The good ole' USA) is a porch. There are so many reasons why porches are a wonderful "invention" and one of them is that no matter what the weather,you can sit outside, preferably with a drink or book or just simply to watch nature evolve.

Knowing how much I miss a porch, Paul set to work building this lovely little seating area. He is a good man, isn't he!

I took some pretty photos of it today, adding in some of our handmade bunting (this one is an extra large size, big enough for marquee!), hand made cushions, and some of our jar lanterns (attached to the trellis at the side; great for soft evening light and they keep the bugs way with citronella candles!)

The vintage porch was actually my husband Paul's design. We had wanted a covered porch for some time. We get lots of drizzly days here so thought it would be ideal to enable us to sit outside despite the weather. Paul thought there would be just enough room for the "porch" in front of our wildflower patch.

The colour scheme is my idea. We have several other "structures" in the garden including a shed which Paul converted and embellished to make into a wonderful playhouse for our young daughter.

He also built a beautiful hen house with run for our 4 chickens. Both these structures were painted with Cupronol's Garden Shades in Willow and Pale Jasmine so we stuck with those colours to keep the calm, relaxed feel and flow of colours. All the structures have vintage, New England style to them which is my way of adding a bit of my "home" to the garden.

The garden seating area is about 30 feet from the back door of the house. We have several very large lilac trees that form a sort of border between the area outside the backdoor and the rest of the garden.

Behind them is where we planted the wildflower patch. There was a sizable gap between the lilacs and the wildflower patch where not much would grow due to the shade of the lilacs ( and the constant scratching of the chickens!) so it was the perfect spot for the porch.

Porch construction details

The entire vintage porch is wooden with the exception of brackets. The porch sits about 10 inches off the ground. We knew that a bit of added height would be needed because a lot of the wildflowers grow quite tall and could block the view of the rest of the garden.

Paul built a basic floor frame according to his measurements and used large metal brackets to secure posts at each corner. The posts were set into the ground with quick drying cement. We bought only one small (but extremely heavy!) bag of the cement. It was very easy to use.

He dug the holes and checked to make sure all were about the same depth, poured in the cement mix , poured in the water and that was it. It took only a few minutes for the cement to set and during that time it was important to use a level to make sure the posts were straight. It is important to use a level throughout the building process.

The treated decking planks were then added onto the vintage porch floor frame. They are very thick and strong so perfect to withstand a lot of use. The roof is mainly supported by the posts in each corner but Paul also made a simple frame for support in the center of the roof.

He used fencing lap boards for the roof so that it would have a slightly rustic look and also allow the rain to roll off quite easily. Each section was overlapped and nailed into place securely.

Love those jar lanterns

I had saved some jars for recycling and I thought about adding a little candle in each one to light the way. Then I wondered if I could add a handle to them and hang them.

I also decided to decorate them with a simple Christmas theme. I hung them from the hand railing and lined the sidewalk with them.

I also hung some from the trellis around our door. They were so pretty and such a hit with everyone that I decided to make more. I also hang the jar lanterns from "Shepherd's crooks" in the garden.

My jar lanterns are perfect for filling with water and adding flowers too. I suppose they are so versatile that customers always find a unique way of using them, maybe as table center displays, hung from trees with flowers or candles, or lining paths...

It was simply a great way to make something useful out of something that was going to be thrown away. The ultimate in recycling!


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