The Elephant on the Porch and More!

I was scrambling to get my One Room Challenge post up on deadline 

so it was mostly pictures.

But I wanted to share a little bit about how I created what we think is a beautiful, relaxing spot without spending much at all.

It is an outdoor space and even though our porch is screened and under a roof 

the elements still take their toll.

This means that things do wear out or fade or suffer

 in our humid, damp weather most of the year.

I can't justify spending a lot, but it is our favorite room "in the house" so I want it to be comfortable for us and welcoming since we do the bulk of our entertaining here.

Almost everything on this porch

 was found at a thrift store, yard sale 

or online thrifting forum. 

I've already talked about the great deal I got on this large wicker chaise here.

I can never, ever leave an elephant garden stool behind. 

This one was at Goodwill a couple of months ago. It's large and had great detail. Sadly it had been broken. Someone had very carefully, practically seamlessly, glued the base back together but the glue had yellowed and they donated it. 

I grabbed it for less than $10.00 and brought it home. 

A coat of the BEST gold spray paint in the world (here,  here, here and you can't even find the cracks.)

The British say, "It has a wee blighty."

You can't even tell the poor boy had a blighty!

Trunks up!

Now for the big, fabulous bar cart!

If you are lounging around in that hanging bed you might need a refreshing drink!

I found this bar cart a few weeks ago in a non-profit thrift shop. 

I actually left it behind, thought about it for 20 minutes (what was wrong with me?) and then rushed back to get it. It is from a company in Bradenton Fl and I'm sure it spent many sunny days on someone's porch in South Florida.

Humble beginnings. 

We gave it a coat of fresh, glossy green and then added a ton of thrifted, vintage bar cart accessories. 

It will be so much fun to change it up for the seasons.

Literally everything here was thrifted and so inexpensive. 

 The straws are in a thrifted pineapple pitcher (99 cents at GW) and the gold straws came from the party section at Wal Mart. The gold polka dot tea towel is from the Target Dollar Spot. The silver pineapple snack trays are from the dollar store too!

 Tortoiseshell pitcher? Goodwill. Less than $5.00. 

And so far no one has noticed - we drank that wine the night before the photo shoot :)

The pineapples were all thrifted

 and the big pineapple canister also got a coat of my favorite gold spray paint.

No monkeys left behind either!

The brass tray cost less than $5.00 and is holding leopard napkins from the dollar store.

The mantel was salvaged. Read that story here.

Everything on this mantel is thrifted. 

The bamboo mirror was $6.96 and it's plastic!! It's definitely vintage - you can tell it has some age from the back but it looks great and you have to get close to tell it's not real bamboo!

Plastic bamboo is perfect on a porch.

Lamp and lampshade - GW on separate trips. Under $10.00 for both.

Seascape? Yep, Goodwill for $4.94. We love it. The gold frame is thrifted and the contemporary black and white art is just something I painted quickly to work with the black and white from the zebra rug.

The big yellow vase was a quick buy at GW a few weeks ago because the background of the wicker chaise is a nice soft, creamy yellow and I thought this would be fun and a nice modern addition to the mantel or bar cart.

So, see, you can find a lot of great items for not a lot of money. A little paint , fabric or freshening up will do the trick. And a lot of items don't need a thing done to them- they were just donated because people got tired of them. 

This is the ultimate recycling.

And because I don't have a big investment in my decor I don't feel bad if I want to pass something on and change things up. I can resell some items but I often just text pics to friends, someone is usually willing to come pick it up and it gets a new home!

I'll try to share more details about the other thrift finds on our porch in future posts.
And you can always see what I'm finding if you follow along on Instagram!

I hope you have some thrifting luck soon!