Porch Sitting

After spending so much time making improvements to our back patio, you may be surprised to hear that our next project was to create another seating area on our front porch. Our back patio doesn’t have much shade so the front porch is a nice option for early evening that we never seemed to take advantage of.

In keeping with the neighborhood, we did have a porch swing. Most of the surrounding houses have swings, all of the same approximate vintage. It took up a surprising amount of space though, and while side-by-side sitting might work for us, it’s not the best for company.

The first step was replacing the old mailbox. When we first installed the porch light and address numbers, we had searched for a new mailbox but found that they are all surprisingly expensive. It was either a $15 mailbox from Home Depot or a specialized version ranging from $200 on up. We punted and simply painted the old one to match the trim.

It took me a while but I finally found a mailbox below that magic $200 number—a Glasgow style mailbox from Arroyo Craftsman. It even matched the rest of the outdoor fixtures. I repainted the trim on the door to de-emphasize the window and shift the focus onto our nice craftsman accessories. (And yes, we centered the mailbox, address, and light—for some reason this photo makes them look all off-center!)

Since most of our budget went towards the fancy new mailbox, we looked to Pier One for a couple of affordable chairs and a table to set drinks on.
Not surprisingly, we’re now using the porch much more than before. Even better, we received a free Frank Lloyd Wright-style welcome sign with our mailbox which made a perfect addition to our new back gate.