Porch

I thought I would update everyone on our porch project. Joel spent the entire weekend tiling (about 13 hours) and really did an amazing job. He still has to grout, but that's the easy part! For those of you who don't know, we have a 200 sq. ft. porch/sunroom off our kitchen that has been the bane of my existence since we moved here 2 years ago. Everyday I had to look out our kitchen door and see this ugly room. We basically just started treating it as a trash room/recycling area. FINALLY, we acquired the extra funds and time to take on this project.

The porch BEFORE: This is after Joel ripped up the cat pee smelling carpet, but before he laid Durock.

AFTER: This is the progress so far. The tile is the Home Depot in-stock special. Originally we had looked at pricier options, but after some thought we realized that wasn't realistic for us right now. I'm so glad Joel decided to arrange the tile in a more intricate pattern, rather than straight lines. It was considerably more work, but I think it was worth the time spent. We are so blessed to wonderful neighbors who all stopped by during the tiling process. Our next door neighbor Elmer came by throughout the weekend to offer advice and the voice of experience. He and his wife Mary Lou even dropped by some dinner for us on Sunday night! Our wonderful friend and neighbor Jess also stopped by intermittently. It was especially helpful when he came by Sunday afternoon and offered to take care of all the cutting while Joel did the rest. That sped up the process considerably!

My plan is to paint the walls a golden yellow, and then add the porch furniture that has been sitting in our backyard shed. Eventually I would like us to add some shelving along the non-window wall for books and plants. I'll post another pic when we're completely through.