Add character to your front porch

* I received product and or payment for today’s post, although the words and ideas are all my own.

When I first walked up to the house I now call home the first thing I said was "the front porch looks horrible, and that ugly astroturf has to go!" It had no character, and since it was a townhouse, I was not sure what options I really had. Sorry about the picture, it is one of the only ones I have from when I first bought it.  I loved my house, and I am so proud that I bought it all by myself but I knew it needed work to make it my own.

One of the first things I did was rip up the ugly green fake grass. It took me two days, a pressure washer, several different kinds of scrapers, and acid tone. It took a lot of blood, sweat and tears, but it was worth every bit of suffering to get rid of the green crap. I painted the concrete with a mixture of different paints, just to cover all the nastiness the glue residue left behind. I mean really, who thinks this stuff actually looks good? 

I didn't do much to the floor, but I think it looks tons better then it did. I tried to use different colors and layered it on to make it look more natural. I may go back and paint it again or do something fun to it in the future, but for now its a clean slate, and not a horrible green eyesore.

My porch looked so much better then it used to. I painted an old ironing board and then used a stencil to write Welcome on it. I distressed it a little bit and added a white wash on it. I love using old things in new ways, giving them new life and new purpose. There was something missing, and I couldn't put my finger on it. I liked what I had done so far but it wasn't exactly right. The door color was nice, but it was not my style at all. I looked at one of my favorite brands of paint, called Modern Masters. They had a line of door paint I was dying to try. I looked at their color chart and they had some amazing colors but none were right for me and my style.

I put it on the back burner, but I kept it in the back of my mind that I wanted to update my door color to something more my style. There were scratches and marks all over it, so I knew it had to be done sooner or later. I opened my inbox one day to see an email announcing that Modern Masters was introducing a new color called Tranquil. As soon as I saw it I knew it had to be mine, it was exactly what I was looking for.

When I got the paint it the mail I was super excited. The color was even prettier in person then what I saw it online. Can you have love at first sight with paint? If so, call me sprung. I cleaned my door, taped it off, and got to work. It dried really quickly, and after a few coats, it was done. I was able to shut my door the same day.

The color is perfect. It expresses my personality beautifully. It's bright and happy, but not overwhelming. Every time I walk up to my house now, I smile and have this tingling feeling in my belly. It makes me happy to see it, and it really feels more like home. I never thought just changing the color of my door would make such an impact.

I still have some more work to do, and some finishing touches, but I am incredibly happy, and all it took is a few hours one morning and a can of my favorite brand of paint. If you want a quick update that has a huge impact, head on over to their website. You can also download their mobile app, and use it to preview all their awesome colors so you can see what will work for you. I would love to know, what color is your front door? Is it an expression of your personality? 

Here is a sneak peek at my porch in progress. Stay tuned for the rest of the update!