Our little Getaway

No - no trips for us.  We've been working on our little getaway inside the house.
When we first viewed this house (well before we made an offer) we fell in love with the first room we stepped into - the front porch.
These are the photos from January just after we moved in:

Our plans for this room include:

• painting the ceiling (how can you resist updating the white bead board)
• new furniture
• new light fixtures (possible move this one to the back hall)
• braided wool rug
• decor to make this out little cabin getaway!

Matt and I love to hike and camp out and it just made sense to turn this space into that little getaway for when we can't really get away because of crazy summers like this one.

Step One: we painted the ceiling!  We almost did this for free too.  If we were paying closer attention to our ACE hardware coupons it would have been free.  They recently offered a quart of Valspar Flat Enamel Paint and Primer for free as a promotion.  We grabbed one, but in the end it took two to cover the ceiling.
We chose ACE paint color: topiary.

 
I also thought it was fun that when we took down the light fixture we saw that the ceiling used to be painted a fun color!

 We've also kind of finished task number two.  We found some beautiful plastic wicker furniture at a lawn and garden store we bought a groupon for.  We used the groupon on trees for the front of the house - but the wicker furniture was priced right and we couldn't pass it up.  Patio sets at other stores seem to run in the $800-$1000 range, crazy! We were about $300 for the couch, two chairs, and cushions.

We eat breakfast out here on the weekends! And it reminds us of camping.  I love being up early enough when there are hardly any cars diving by, and all our neighbors are still inside, enjoying my coffee on the porch.

And we've started adding out cabin decor.  My parents sold their lake house a while back and most of these items are from them.

The star on the top left used to be red - I gave it a quick coat of paint to match the ceiling tying it all in.  The canoe will be painted blue eventually as well.

This bookcase in ancient - from my baby room! the wear and tear work perfectly in our rustic retreat.  I need a bit more bookshelf decor (or maybe some books1)

An antique lantern from Matt's Grandfather's house.

Wait for it.....

Only my Mom would buy this!!

Do you have a vacation retreat in your home you can enjoy when you don't have a chance to actually go anywhere?  We're really not sure we'll get to go camping this year.  After next weekend we're pretty much booked solid until after labor day.  I'm glad we could get a start in here and enjoy the room this summer.

• painting the ceiling
• new furniture
• still need - dining table
• maybe a different coffee table
• new light fixtures (possible move this one to the back hall) 
• we picked one out! 

Source: shadesoflight.com via Miss on Pinterest
 

 
• braided wool rug (hopefully from LL Bean!)
• decor to make this our little cabin getaway! - started!