Well, we can finally check the back porch off the big ugly to-do list on the house. It’s only been two years in the making. But, dang, it looks good.
What’s that, you say? You want to see the before? Okay … if you insist. She was a beaut.
For some reason, the back porch became one of the last projects at this house (for now). Until now, we painted the house and foundation, added new lights, a new door and some landscaping. Right before Henry came along, Ryan ripped out the rickety railing and replaced it with this beautiful wooden number. And I even painted the railing last summer. But, I never went through with painting the porch.
Why wait so long? Because of this. Scraping.
I really hate scraping paint. Ew. And ick. But since I looked at this monstrosity every single stinkin’ day, I said ENOUGH on Saturday when Henry went down for his morning nap. I put on my big girl pants, cleared off the porch of all the crap it had accumulated and begun to clean and scrape it.
There were at least three layers of paint on that porch. And it’s pretty darn important to scrape everything as well as you can before painting again. So, I scraped scraped scraped until all the loose pieces were gone. Then, I cleaned everything really well with soap and water. (I hosed everything off, then mopped and then sponged by hand.)
The scraping and cleaning is the worst part.
The painting, in contrast, was quick and easy.
The paint color is the same we used on the front porch. It’s Satin Porch Paint by Sherwin-Williams. (Learn from my mistakes – do not, under any circumstances, use gloss paint on your porch. It’s an accident waiting to happen.)
The concrete is old and has some major chunks out from years of wear. But the paint really evens it out. I paint around the edges with a brush and then roll the paint on in the middle. It took two coats.
After some touch ups on the red door and the white trim, it’s as good as new.
What do you think of our transformation?
Like it? Put a pin on it.
What color of gray did you use for the porch? Thanks!
Do you remember what color paint you used? Thanks!
Thank you! thank you! thank you! I just found your post on Pinterest and it made my day. This is exactly what I needed to see. I am planning to do my front porch and stairs. I just love the colors you chose. They are going to be perfect. Cheers! – Holly
It’s Sherwin Williams thunder gray
I love your porch it’s really beautiful! Can you share what shade of paint you used for your concrete floor?
Hi there! Great post with very helpful tips! The pictures tell the story of transfromation too! Yes, it takes some elbow grease to get it right, but it is worth it. New paint is always a gret choice to bring floors and walls back to life!
House Painters Perth
Really fantastic job. I need to read more from you.I love to see a makeover and the paint selection you made worked very well. .
I was just the other day updating my Painter Perth blogroll on my pc when I saw your post and bang! You have a nice post!
Love it!! What great color choices too 🙂
I love the colors you chose–they work so well together. I am always amazed at the difference a little elbow grease can make. Well done!
Super stylish porch! I bet Franco and Lola appreciate your efforts.
That looks fantastic. I wouldn’t have thought about not using gloss paint but now that you mention it that makes complete sense.
Your porch looks great! I need to repaint our front and back porch. I will definitely have to scrape and our back porch is huge, wish me luck. How would a flat paint look or hold up? Do you know?
fantastic!! what a huge difference!
Huuuge change! I am feeling for you on the scraping! That sounds terrible. But the end result is gorgeous, so well worth one precious nap time spent working!
Oooo…I love the color! We’re actually going to be adding this to our “To Do” list soon. I’m going to Pin this for later use! Question…do you think that garage floor paint stuff would work just as well? We found some unused at a yard sale and scored it for pretty cheap. It’s a semi-gloss finish so I wasn’t sure.
I’m always so impressed with your porch paint projects. Something I would never think of – I don’t think we have a lot of painted concrete out here, but makes such a great impact!
That looks amazing! Way to go. I hate the prep work for painting. So long and tedious!
ewwww scraping paint. It paid off, though–it looks so much better! I still love your red door! 🙂
Paint is a wonderful thing. Looks great!
Love it! And thankful I came across this post today. I didn’t know there was such a thing as porch paint, so we just painted ours with exterior paint and it’s starting to chip.
Kim it looks awesome!! I love the contrast and the makeover, makes the porch look brand new!! 🙂
That looks awesome! Yep, the scraping would have been enough for me to put it off for 2 years, too. Probably more. Much more. It really does look so nice and fresh after all that work . . . nicely done, Woodward.
i love paint makeovers because it always makes such a difference! the end result looks great – gotta make it worth it for all that scraping! good job!
also – i’ve been yearning to paint our front door red – and now you have solidified that!
Great work lady! I just love how you two know how to make a home fab! I even showed my hubby your before and af er pics.
aaaah, so much better! so fresh and so clean clean….
It looks so good!!! I really need to repaint our front steps, but….yeah, scraping sounds terrible. But dang, your porch looks great!! Nicely done.
Wow, what a difference a little paint makes! It looks so good, and I love the color!
Wow, what a difference! It looks so good, and I love the color!
Looks fa-boo! Love the color of the porch paint and the door together.
Couldn’t you use a power washer instead of scraping all the paint off? Just a thought…