Painting the Porch

I honestly didn't know if I should call this post "Painting the Porch Floor Green" (which is basically what this is about), "Messel Green", or "My Obsession with Amanda Lindroth's Bahamian Home."

We have a large screened in porch on the back of our house. 

We are porch people. 

We live outside about 9 months of the year and any unusually warm days in the Winter months. 

It has been added on to over the years and is a bit quirky for this reason. 

People always want to hear the story of our porch "evolution" when they see it the first time :)

When the pandemic struck and lockdown started I began a series of #pandemicprojects to keep myself busy. They all needed to be done anyway and they were a great distraction.

One of these projects was painting the screened in porch floor 

and the wall that is inside the porch but is the exterior of our house. 

This has been a process because A) it is a large porch as I said B) it is fully furnished with some rather large heavy pieces to move around and C) it has to be painted in a way that the dog rowdy puppy Cooper doesn't track through wet paint so that means blocking off sections to paint one at a time.

Fresh green floor paint on the left and the dingy old paint on the right.

And, yes since it's 2020, let's throw in a broken bone and a walking boot :(

What does this have to do with Messel Green (whatever that is you ask) and Amanda Lindroth?

If you are as obsessed with her book "Island Hopping" as I am then you are probably beginning to figure this out.

Years ago our deck floor was hunter green but when we screened it in I knew I needed a medium green for the floor because we had some dark green porch furniture and I needed there to be a difference in the greens. I knew my ceilings would be light blue because I am originally from Charleston SC and that's what we do.

I decided to look through some pictures from a trip to the Bahamas for porch inspiration and I kept seeing this unique, not too dark green color that seemed like it could work as a "neutral" on our porch floor. We had a partial 5 gallon bucket of dark green so we mixed in some OOPS paint (remember that??) to lighten it up and matched that green as closely as we could.

(Pictures from the good ol' days when we could travel)

(I'm also now wondering why I didn't buy that center painting of the palm trees on the yellow background?)

Fast forward a bit and the porch needed a fresh coat of paint. This green we mixed had worked out great but it was still a bit yellow-er than this Caribbean green I was after. I had seen pictures of Amanda Lindroth's home in some of the shelter mags by then and she used that same Caribbean green I liked so much! I started searching through my Sherwin Williams fan deck for the perfect color. I narrowed it down to SW Lounge Green. (By the way, another fav designer Eddie Ross recently used Lounge Green in his home restoration!!)

About that time my long awaited copy of "Island Hopping" arrived and there was the story of that particular Caribbean green. It is one of Amanda Lindroth's go to colors and it is named after a famous designer/builder  in the Caribbean named (you guessed it) Oliver Messel. He designed homes in Barbados and Mustique in the 60's and 70's and used this green a great deal. 

So my color had a name - Messel Green - and if that color is a favorite of Amanda Lindroth whose style is everything I love then it must be the perfect color for my porch floor!! #validation

So here we are, 5 months in to a stay at home situation, and I'm finally about to finish painting my porch floor!! 

I'm pretty sure this is more than you want to know about my (or any) porch floor paint color but, then again, we have time on our hands still and this long winded explanation of why my porch floor color is this green might just be what you needed to fill 5 minutes of your day!!

Here is a little look at our porch with it's pretty green (freshly painted!!) floor.

I'm going to start with some pictures I took in the evening.

(I know there's a whole thing about not taking pictures for blogs and IG with lamps on but that's when I love the porch most so I'm going for it.)

I'm standing in one corner (which is against the house) facing the opposite corner. 

In this next picture I'm standing in the opposite corner from the one above 

looking back toward the table and chairs.

I'm standing in this nook (below) that has our hanging/swinging bed 

and a big, comfy wicker chaise.

If you look at the first picture you can see the golden seahorse outline and the wicker lamp if you need a point of reference for this to make sense. See, it's a lot of floor to paint. That's why it has taken me this whole lockdown to get it done! Not to mention the 629 other projects I kept coming up with :)

What's under the big green tarp, you ask?

It is a pool table. I"ll uncover it and show you sometime. 

It's tarped to protect it from the weather and me. 

Mostly me because I like to do big, messy projects on it.

(In this picture I am standing at the kitchen door which is where we come out onto the screened porch from the house.)

If you've been following me for even a second then you know all of this furniture, lamps and accessories have been thrifted. Everything is comfy and nothing is too fancy for propping up your feet, sitting a drink down on the table next to you, eating on the furniture or sharing a nap spot with Cooper.

Speaking of Cooper...

We have 10 chairs at the table but we can squeeze in a few more if when we need to.

Ready for a laugh?

 My BIL made this checkerboard for us several years ago. 

Look at the bottle caps he used :)

I think this year is "Corona Extra!"

So now we've come full circle. 

I was standing in front of this bar cart when I took the picture across the porch to the opposite corner. 

Thank you for joining me for an evening tour of my favorite place "in" our house at my favorite time of day. And if you made it through all of this long-winded look at our screened porch, double thank you!

Hot Chocolate or Hot Cocoa?

Is there a difference?

Well, if you Google it, there is a difference and for chocolate connoisseurs it is a big deal (apparently!) I'm basically in it for warmth and whipped cream so what do I know?

If you want to know more about the differences (and similarities) then this article can clear things up for you!

Whichever you prefer, this warm chocolate-y drink is a holiday favorite.

And the part I'm up to speed on is all the "stuff" you can add to a big steamy mug!

I love to set up a Hot Chocolate Bar for Christmas parties at home and at church and we keep a small Hot Chocolate "corner" (it's not a full blown Hot Chocolate bar!) ready and waiting at home through the cold months!

There are a lot of delicious hot chocolate recipes all over Pinterest and recipe sites.

I have made hot chocolate from scratch but my "secret weapon" for large groups is this...

I buy already made chocolate milk in the gallon jug (cold) from the grocery store.

 It's yummy and creamy and for a big group of people it just works!

I put it in crock pots with plenty of time to warm up slowly and then when its warm I pour in a can of Sweetened Condensed Milk and mix it in well. It's outrageous!
For individual servings at home we use our Keurig and K-cups.

That's it. But the "extras" are where you can have fun
 and impress visitors to your Hot Chocolate Bar. 

Whipped Cream!! No. 1 item hands down. And in the cans with a nozzle, please! If you are having an event then fill a bowl or champagne bucket with ice and put the cans in it to stay cold. Easy.

Peppermint Syrup with a pump nozzle is a nice touch. 
If peppermint isn't your fave then there are a ton of flavored syrups available - salted caramel, vanilla, raspberry! You name it.

Then gather some small bowls or other cute serving containers and add chocolate chips.  marshmallows (which come in a zillion flavors and shapes!), sprinkles, crushed peppermints, candy canes, m and m's and even cinnamon sticks! Get creative. 

Add some spoons and cute napkins and it's a party!

Such a fun way to celebrate the season! 

You say Hot Cocoa, I say Hot Chocolate 
but as long as we all get a warm cup with whipped cream 
then everyone is right in my book!

We will keep this little corner stocked through January and February so stay tuned over on IG to see how I change it up once I put away the Christmas decor!

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!

ORC Lucky No 7 - The Reveal.

This reveal is all smoke and mirrors.
And creative editing.

Repairs were not quite finished 
by the time this ORC started six weeks ago (and they still aren't!)
 but I didn't let that stop me!

And we only had one way to go on this project. Really.
It couldn't have gotten any worse!

There are still a few things that will have to be finished construction/repair wise
 and I didn't complete all of my plans -
  so maybe you'll check back and see.

But here is what did happen in the 5 quick weeks of this One Room Challenge...

Thank you to Linda of the One Room Challenge because, finished or not, this is the greatest motivator and we always end up with a space that I'm glad I took on the challenge!

Please be sure to see what everyone else accomplished. So many great rooms.
And check back on the blog because I'll be sharing in future posts where I found some of my items and what I still need to finish and more!