The Blog by Ellen Wags

a lifestyle blog for real mamas. featuring family-friendly home decor, casual mama style, and stuff to keep your kids entertained. 

Screened-in Porch – ORC Final Reveal

One Room Challenge Fall 2022 Reveal

Ahhhh! I can’t believe it, but the end of the Fall 2022 One Room Challenge is here! The past eight weeks have been quite a ride, but I’m so thankful we made it to the end because THE FINAL PRODUCT Y’ALL!

Before I share the final reveal, let’s revisit the before and our plan for the space.

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The “Before” – a Back Porch with Potential

When this challenge started, the back porch was pretty much exactly the same as when we bought our home seven years ago. We were initially wowed by the space, but once we moved in, we realized it wouldn’t be the outdoor living space we envisioned.

Want to chill out and watch a movie on an early fall evening? I hope you brought the bug spray! I’m convinced all the mosquitoes of the southeast visited our porch as their nightly buffet.

Aside from the environmental issues, we never invested in quality furnishing for this space that would actually make it enjoyable for our young family of four to spend time out here.

Our goal for this challenge? Harness the untapped potential of this space to create a cozy, family-focused gathering place.

One Room Challenge Design Concept

The Task List

  • Reconfigure the layout
  • Screen in the covered portion of the porch
  • Refresh and redecorate
  • Update the landscape

The Big Reveal…

One Room Challenge final reveal collage of a screened back porch decorated in a minimal, california casual inspired style

Special Thanks to our Project Sponsors!

I’m always thrilled to partner with brands I love on projects, and this one was no exception. Thank you so much to our brand partners: Clare Paint, Kichler Lighting, and Neighbor Outdoor Furniture.

Project Highlights

Functional Updates

The majority of the eight-week challenge was spent reconfiguring the porch layout and completing the screening process.

We knew screening the porch would make a huge change in the livability of the space, but I think we underestimated the difference moving the stairs would make. Overall, I think it just looks better with the stairs on the uncovered portion of the porch.

Refreshing the Space with Clare Paint

I partnered with Clare Paint again for this challenge to give the wooden exterior elements a fresh coat of paint. After getting our paint swatches, we chose Coffee Date for the porch framing and Timeless for the door.

Clare’s exterior paint went on like a dream, following through with its promise of self-priming exceptional coverage. Coffee Date compliments the brown brick exterior and flagstone porch floor perfectly! Timeless brightened up our front room in last spring’s ORC, so I knew it would bring a nice, clean pop to the door leading into our home.

Fixture Updates from Kichler Lighting

I honestly could not STAND the dinky little lantern on the uncovered portion of the porch. I knew it had to go and was thrilled to partner with Kichler Lighting to replace this outdoor light and the fans within the screened area.

For the exterior light, I loved the vintage, yet classic look of the Pier Wall Light. The Olde Bronze color coordinates perfectly with the brown brick exterior. I’ve officially made it known to Matt that I want to replace all our outdoor sconces with the Pier wall light!

I was immediately drawn to the Tranquil Ceiling Fan with its clean, vintage design and the contrast of the weathered oak blades. It looks even better than I imagined mounted up against the dark brown ceiling!

The Tranquil fan is damp-rated and suitable for high-humidity, low-moisture covered spaces. We feel super fancy because the fans have a remote control system to adjust fan direction and speed and dim the lights!

Creating an Outdoor Living Room with Neighbor Outdoor Furniture

I’ve been eyeing Neighbor’s teak outdoor furniture collection for a while now, so I was thrilled to partner with them to furnish this space.

When choosing furniture for this space, I was looking for a beautiful, clean, minimal design and comfort. I love the classic, California casual look of teak. Neighbor’s teak isn’t just pretty though! It is solid FSC-certified teak that is kiln-dried to create a durable, reliable piece of furniture.

I shared a bit about furniture selection in Week 7’s post, but as a refresher, I landed on a pair of Haven sofas in Ashe paired with the Haven Teak Coffee Table.

This low-profile table has quickly become a hub for back-porch family activities. From card games to popcorn snacking to an airplane runway, it is the perfect complement for a family space.

The Haven sofa. Oh, how we love these sofas. Originally I wanted a sectional for this space because, if you’ve had the experience of snuggling up in the corner seat…well, you know. Matt preferred the flexibility of having two sofas in this space for re-arranging when the girls have friends over or the occasional adult get-together. I hate to admit it, but the pair of sofas is a great combo AND we don’t have to deal with the dreaded battle of who gets to sit in the cozy corner. They are crazy comfortable and supportive at the same time – I don’t know what kind of wizardry is in the quick-drying foam Neighbor created, but it is pretty cool!

Still on the “To-Do” List

A few items on our challenge to-do list haven’t been completed just yet.

When planning the layout of the covered section, I didn’t realize how MUCH room would remain after creating our cozy seating area! We are debating using the extra space as an outdoor dining spot or adding some stand alone seating and a dart board for grown up fun. Totally taking suggestions in the comments!

We weren’t able to start the landscaping yet. Matt and I took a trip to a local nursery to plan the flower beds surrounding the porch, but we haven’t come up with a solid plan yet. Since cooler weather has started to set in, this might be a good project to pick up in the spring!

I was hoping to create a dedicated grill zone on the uncovered portion of the porch, complete with storage and a new charcoal grill. I have done a bit of research into new grill options, but haven’t landed on one yet. I’ll be sure to share that selection process and what we land on once that purchase happens!

Shop the Space

I know, I know. You want to know alllll the deets on the decor. I’ve got you friend! Check out the carousel below to furnish your own space!

Fall 2022 One Room Challenge Hub

Week 1 / Week 2 / Week 3 / Week 4 / Week 5 / Week 6 / Week 7 / Week 8

See all the guest participants’ final project reveals here!

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