Spring has finally sprung in Charlotte and now that we're done with our most recent indoor project, it's time to shift our focus outside. Up first, the porch. We've made a lot of progress on the porch in the time that we have been here ... let's take a look back over the years.

In the beginning...

Of course, it looked a bit better than this when we purchased the house...but not much! The awning was on it's last leg and the lack of access to the back yard moved this project to the front of the line.

We extended the porch and added a pergola ... then added a plexiglass roof, which leaked ... then added a metal roof. So, yeah, we learned that one that hard way but we ended up with a porch that's perfect for us. And probably one of the most used spaces in the house, especially for entertaining!

Once the structure was in place, it was time to get decorating. My fav part, obv.

Initially we utilized our whicker furniture from our screened-in porch in Chicago, which was super cute, but definitely not functional in the open elements.

When my parents down sized, we were lucky enough to receive their wrought iron furniture (couch, loveseat, 5 bouncy chairs and a couple of accent tables). We immediately replaced the whicker and spruced up the space a little. But, of course, nothing lasts for long around here...something's always changing.

We decided to build a patio at the foot of the porch. And it was the perfect spot for all that wrought iron. A match made in heaven.

But, it left us with a naked porch. A blank slate. A decorators dream. Of course, this was over a year ago but you know details, details. Some spaces take a lot of thought and research and time.