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Inexpensive Screened-In Porch Makeover Reveal

Our screened-in porch got a total makeover on a tiny budget with DIY outdoor furniture, second hand finds, and lots of paint.

I’ve been busy giving our screened-in porch a makeover on a tiny budget and I’m so excited to share it with you guys!

This is my favorite room in our house and I think it’s a really great example of how to create a space you really love for cheap. I may not be the best stylist or designer out there, but I am really good at making the most of what I’ve got, staying on a budget, and putting together a room that I love without spending a lot of money.

I don’t have many photos of what this screened-in porch looked like when we first moved in, but I think you can get the idea from the one photo I do have. 

ugly screened-in porch with green astroturf carpet and peach paint

Green astroturf, peach paint, and window boxes full of noticeably fake flowers. Not great.

I ripped the Astroturf out and painted over that peach paint not too long after we first moved in. 

screened-in porch with painted checkerboard floor and wicker furniture

With a painted checkerboard floor, the porch looked so much better. But after nearly ten years, the paint was starting to show its age and it was definitely time for an update. 

I put together a video tour walking you through the room and I’ve also got everything broken down below with plenty of photos. And at the end of this post, there’s a full list of tutorials for all of the DIY projects in this space as well as links to the few items I purchased for the room.

This post contains affiliate links which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link I will earn a small commission but it won’t cost you a penny more.  Click here to see my full disclosure policy.

Video Tour of Screened-In Porch

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Fresh Paint

This makeover started with fresh paint pretty much everywhere.

The walls all got a fresh coat of white paint, I used a gorgeous stencil to paint the floor, and I also painted the aluminum windows and sliding doors.

I seriously painted everything!

light, bright screened-in porch with gray and white stenciled floor and white walls

Just giving everything a new coat of white paint made a huge difference.

I painted everything white because it’s clean, it’s bright, and it really draws your eye out to that gorgeous view. I realize white isn’t always the easiest to keep clean, so time will tell if I regret that decision, but for now I’m really happy with it. 

I also built and painted the simple shaker style shutters. The shutters that were here before were fine, but I really love the clean lines of these. 

white wicker couch with painted cushions on white screened in porch with gray shutters

Lighting

I removed the old 1970s intercom speakers and replaced the ugly light fixture.

I actually found the cute little galvanized light fixture at a yard sale for super cheap, but you can also get the same light pretty inexpensively at Home Depot.

porch wall with a big intercom speaker and ugly light and porch wall with an updated light fixture and basket wall

I also added these beautiful string lights. The porch only had the one small light fixture for this entire room before.

These string lights are perfect for lighting up the space at night, they don’t require any fancy electrical work, and they’re pretty affordable too. I chose these particular lights because the white cord blends in beautifully with the white ceiling.

screened-in porch with white string lights

Painted Porch Furniture

The wicker couch was given to us for free by a friend about ten years ago. It was hunter green with pink floral cushions – not exactly my style. 

green wicker couch with pink floral cushions

But I am all about reusing what you have, finding things inexpensively, and turning them into something beautiful and after painting the wicker white, it looks a million times better.

wicker outdoor sofa with the wicker painted white and the cushions painted blue

I also painted the floral cushions blue. I don’t know if you’ve ever looked at outdoor furniture cushions but they’re very expensive.

So I decided to give paint a try. The cushions aren’t perfect; you can still some of the floral pattern. I’d still like to replace this couch someday but for now it looks a hundred times better. 

dingy green and white rocking chair before painting

The same friend also gave us this wicker trunk and one of these rocking chairs. I found the second chair at a yard sale for a steal and again I just gave them a fresh coat of white paint.

pair of white wicker rocking chairs on screened-in porch with blue and white table between them

The cute little table was a kids table and chair set that was in terrible condition. They were another yard sale steal at just three bucks. A few repairs and some fresh paint completely transformed them.

The blue cabinet down on the end was something that I actually found on the side of the road. It was in rough, rough shape and very dirty. But something about it caught my eye and I knew it could be something beautiful.

old cabinet found on side of road

I gave it a makeover with blue milk paint and refinished the top. I love how it turned out and I think it’s perfect out here.

old blue cabinet painted with blue milk paint on the screened in porch

DIY Porch Furniture

There are also several furniture pieces out here that I built myself.

diy wooden x leg table and diy wooden bench on porch

The wood dining table was one of the first pieces of major furniture that I built myself and I love how it turned out. The tabletop is made from some old, wide boards that a family member gave me and the base is made from simple 4x4s. 

I also built the bench. It’s made from inexpensive 2x4s and I think it looks great with the table.

dark wood farmhouse table with wood bench and white bistro chairs on porch

The white chairs are the only pieces of furniture I bought new for this space. They were still  inexpensive and I love how they look with the table and bench. 

Finally there’s the daybed which was my most recent build. I have a post sharing exactly how to make this DIY daybed for cheap and it is actually a pretty easy build even if you’re a beginner. 

diy wood daybed on porch with drop cloth cover and lots of pillows

I made a simple cover for the daybed from a canvas dropcloth and I also made most of the pillows. I like to repurpose all kinds of fabrics to make pillows and these are made from a combination of outdoor fabric, the fabric from a shower curtain, and even some old clothes.

daybed on porch with lots of cozy pillows and a blanket

I did spray everything with Scotchgard heavy duty waterproofing spray to help protect it. Even though the porch is covered, some rain does blow in and I want to keep the fabrics looking nice.

Porch Accessories

Everything else in the room is a combination of things I made, things I thrifted, and things I grabbed from other rooms around the house.

The little basket table is made from a big basket that we were using as a clothes hamper and a circular piece of wood that was left over from a DIY fail.

simple basket table made from a basket and a circular piece of wood

You can buy these wood rounds pre-cut at a home improvement store so putting together a little basket table like this is super simple. And I love having a little extra hidden storage.

vintage cast iron fan and bowl of succulents

The vintage fans are my favorite. They look adorable and they also really work which is wonderful on a hot day.

diy wooden candle lantern on porch

I built the larger lantern; the smaller one is one I already had.

round home sweet home sign hanging on a white wall on the porch

The home sweet home sign is a super easy diy project using a stencil.

basket wall made from thrifted baskets and a metal welcome cutout

And finally the basket wall. I know they’re super trendy right now and I thought about not adding it.

But I really like it, and not doing something just because it is trendy is just as silly as doing something just because its trendy.

I found these baskets at a yard sale (of course) and I like the way they add warmth and texture to this little corner.

large screened in porch with stenciled floor, white wicker furniture, wooden dining table, and daybed

Thanks for letting me share my porch makeover filled with things I made, found, put together, built, and painted!

I definitely love this room more than if I had just bought everything I wanted from a bunch of stores. The downside is it took a lot of time, especially all of that painting. This was not one of those quick weekend makeovers, but it was completely worth it. 

Sources

Links to all the things I purchased for this space. The ones that didn’t come from a yard sale ;)

DIY Tutorials

I’d love for you to share this post on Pinterest!

screened in porch makeover on a tiny budget wide view of room

 

 

 

Comments

  1. ChrisT says

    You did an amazing job on this space. A project you can be proud of and inspires others. You took a small budget – one that most of us have to live within – and used it thriftily, along with good old elbow grease -and created something special. Something you can be proud of because it was made with love and thoughtfulness. A great place for some quiet time and for family to gather. The string lighting was the icing on the cake. It lights everything up beautifully and gives warmth and a touch of love to the area. Thank you for sharing this labor of love and budget with us.

    Reply

    • Carrie says

      Thank you so much for your kind words! I really do love this space and everything I put into it! And our family loves hanging out there now.

      Reply

  2. Shana says

    You have worked so hard!!! Great job on your beautiful porch! I hope that you spend lots of time relaxing out there. My favorites are the table (incredibly lovely!) the floor, the string lights and the old chest you found along the road. I saw the good bones in it too!! Thanks for sharing and inspiring me as you have so many times….

    Reply

    • Carrie says

      Ours was really easy because it wasn’t glued down – it was simply set in place so we just rolled it up. If yours is glued down, this post might help – https://www.lovelyetc.com/how-to-remove-glued-down-carpet/. We had glued down 70s carpet in our family room and it was a huge pain to remove. One of those projects where I questioned what I was thinking several times but it was definitely worth it in the end.

      Reply

  5. Del Hammer says

    What is the ceiling made from on your porch? It looks like a tin roof only nicer than others I’ve seen. Is it tight enough around the eaves to keep bugs out? Love the tutorial on painting the wicker. First time I have seen an old rocking chair similar to mine with the little arm/table area on the side. Mine has a magazine/book holder on the other side. It is black with a red undercoat and I have always been afraid to paint but I’m going to go for it now! Love your first and second redo. Both looked great. Thanks a lot for sharing.

    Reply

    • Carrie says

      Thank you! Our porch ceiling is metal but is more heavy duty than regular corrugated sheet metal. I’ve been told that the porch was made from a kit back in the 70s and the roof was part of it. It is sealed up well and does great at keeping bugs out! Good luck with your wicker chair – I love the shapes of old wicker furniture!

      Reply

  6. Erica Sorohan says

    I love the porch. One thing I’m wondering—how many electrical outlets do you have on the porch and where are they located? I’m trying to figure out where the string lights and fans plug in because I’d like to add both to your screened porch and currently we have only one outlet on the interior wall.

    Reply

    • Carrie says

      Well, the funny thing is we have a ton of electrical outlets on our porch. The people who put this porch in must have been very concerned with having outlets because there is an outlet every 8 feet or so along the walls. We have our string lights and fan plugged in to an outlet on one of the far walls. For the string lights, I have a small extension cord running down from the end of the string to the outlet. Depending on where your furniture is, you might could use an extension cord run underneath/behind furniture to where you need it.

      Reply

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