The Front Porch

A few years ago, I made it a goal to have a front porch worthy of the cover of Country Living magazine.  Though the magazine's photographer doesn't seem headed to my neighborhood any time soon, I think that my porch is a pleasantly welcoming entrance to Sassafras House and that's exactly what I had in mind, so the project is feeling like a success.  Each month, I change up some details of the porch because that sort of thing makes me happy.  This year, I have decided that I will post photos of the month's porch.  Today, you see the porch in a (mostly) bare form.  These pictures were made on January 2nd, in the bitter cold (it was 25 degrees with a breeze) and just in advance of a major snowstorm.  I wanted to leave the holiday lights up for the snow because twinkling lights and falling snow are an awesome combination.  Also, my labor force for light removal has a mouth and a Twitter account and might very well expose my labor practices if I ordered him out in such conditions.  But the lights are seasonal for Christmas and aren't always present.  The porch measures about 15x8 at its widest.  Below is the view to the right from the front steps.

The flag pole to the left is used most months of the year, sporting a different seasonal flag.

One side of the porch has a cast iron pedestal table that I inherited from a neighbor who was moving to Florida and didn't want to carry away her heavy front porch table.   The top of the table is lino (I have no idea who did that), but the bottom is lovely.  I cover it with round tablecloths that I find on sale racks and at Etsy shops.  I have quite a collection and, depending on the season, I add additional items to the table.

Near the table is a weatherproof box that I use for storing outdoor shoes and assorted porch detritus.  I used to use an open basket but for Christmas my parents gave me this tidy box and it’s a welcome addition to the porch.  This view also give you a sense of the expanse of the space.

Just by the front door is a built in cabinet for milk deliveries.  We don’t get milk at the front door anymore, so I use it for garden detritus.

The other side of the porch has a weathered rocker and a little table.  When the weather is nice, I sit out here to enjoy the outdoors.  For the winter, this corner of the porch also has my front yard flower boxes.  I have planted them with pink tulip bulbs and later this year they will be a first happy sign of spring.

We enter our home through an old-fashioned paned glass door that charmed me from the moment I first saw this house.   It's painted a smoky blue (Benjamin Moore's Alfresco) to match the shutters and trim on the house.  I hang a seasonal wreath on the door, but here is the blank canvas with the mailbox by its side.

The bare bones of the space now established, later this week I will post pictures of the porch decked out for January.  Then, each month, I'll post pictures of the month's porch updates.  Before we know it, outdoor sitting weather will have arrived.