This is the porch-ette on our house in Highland Village. This is how it was decorated two years ago. Actually it’s last years porch-ette too. We don’t have a nice large porch like so many pictures I’ve saved on Pinterest. There’s no wide open seating area, no handrail to hold on to, no place to add a little table to eat at – nope, we have this. But I enjoy it. I like decorating the large urns for different seasons.
This year everything was faded so I decided to paint the pumpkins and go with softer colors. Much like the beautiful Heirloom pumpkins. I thought they’d look great. Uh yeah, no. Strike that fabulousness from your mind. They turned out terrible.
FAIL! The large pumpkins would be perfect if our house was on the moon or in a Halloween movie. Uuuuggghhhh!!! When I painted the pumpkins on the kitchen table, they looked so pretty. They had such an interesting blue tone with just the right amount of texture due to the extra 30 minutes of dry brushing. Uuuuggghhh!!!
So what do you do when they are painfully neon and every time you look at them they seem to mock you? You add real Spanish moss from Navasota that your sweet hubby drug back at your request. That didn’t help. It makes the topiaries more spooky. Uuuuggghhh!!!
So I took the topiaries apart again and added more white paint to them thinking that was the problem. Put them together and hated that too. By now, I’m about to pull my hair out! I took them apart a 4TH TIME and painted them a totally different color- a mint green with added Heirloom texture and uniqueness. Then added magnolia leaves from the tree in the backyard. All the while knowing it was going to work. Nope, can’t like it.
I believe the problem is that the pumpkins are to pale and washed out. They don’t show up against our brick and the pumpkins look like they are just floating there and not sitting on urns. I need to go back to something deeper in color. Something with orange in it. I need something that’s going to get me all the way to Thanksgiving not just through to Halloween.
There’s only one problem – I’M SICK OF PAINTING THE PUMPKINS! They use to have a nice bumpy texture. I think now, with so many layers of paint, they are as smooth as a babies butt. Uuuuggghhh!!!
With all of that said, I went back to the attic looked around and decided on tomato cages and fall garland. It’s fine. It’s not magazine beautiful like I wanted but it will hold up until the family arrives on Thanksgiving Day.
I left the magnolia leaves and wrapped 3 strands of fall garland on each tomato cage. Can’t get much easier than that. And easy is exactly what I needed after this ridiculous attempt at newly improved fall decor.
Right behind each urn, I can fit a chair on either side. If we sat there we’d definitely be squished cozy. But that’s okay too. We can spy on the neighbors and they’ll never see us. 😉
Gratefully, when the family arrives they won’t judge. They’ll say “I love the front porchette”. And I’ll just smile and say “oh it was nothing. I enjoyed doing it”. All the while on the inside I’m groaning.
I hope you learned something from this post on The Don’ts of Decorating a Porchette. I learned that since I have pale brick, I need bright color. I also learned that next time I want to paint pumpkins, I need to buy more paint. Uuuuggghhh.
BTW, to make the pumpkin topiaries, all you need is one long dowel rod. I drilled a hole in the top and bottom of the each pumpkin and gourd. Then simply stacked them. No gluing needed. You can add garland or moss in between the layers or just leave alone. 1, 2, 3 done!
Oh Cindy you made me laugh again. I feel your pain I’ve been there and done that. I love the way it looks now and the tomato cage was a brilliant idea. Love the seating area too! Who doesn’t want to spy on the neighbors 😂😂😂. I just love your blog
Author
Haha. Glad I can make you laugh AND so excited that you love my blog! That seriously makes my day.
Smart girl!! Your porch is colorful and welcoming.;)
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Finally. 😉 Thanks Stacey!
Thanks for the laugh! I’m terrible at picking colors so I can relate. Your porchette looks great, very fall & goes with the season.
Author
Haha. Glad you like it and I’m glad someone can laugh at my torment. 😉.
I learned a new word porch-ette and this post was hilarious! I love the way you write and the end results of your trials are beautiful.
Author
Aww thank you Sandra for saying that about my writing – it means a lot. Totally not sure if porch-ette is a word but I use it all the time. 😉
Well, after all that, the porchette turned out great! If you decorate for Halloween, the blue pumpkins and spanish moss would be perfect! 🙂
Author
Yes they would! We’ll see. I’d have to paint them AGAIN. I’m kinda thinking using the glow in the dark spray. 🤔
I love your adventures, Cindy! They inspire me and encourage me to try my hand at different projects. Enjoy Fall!
Author
Thank you Lynn! Makes me smile to know you’re encouraged to try something new. Hope you had a marvelous birthday!
There are so many who have small porches (me included), so I appreciated this post. Thanks for all your tips 🙂
Author
You are so welcome. Cheers to all of us with Porch-ettes!
I enjoyed your post very much and your sense of humor. I liked your final result best, but I did like your pumpkin topiaries! My front stairs are maybe 3′ wide with a railing on 1 side; 1 medium sized potted plant is about it! So your porchette is “good-sized” to me! I love it when people share their less than successful efforts; it encourages those of us who are healing from knife cuts and hot glue burns, eating scorched recipes, and scrubbing off permanent marker that SHOULD not have bled under the stencil! Yep, have done all that in the last 2 weeks! Oh, well, you bloggers keep inspiring me, and I keep trying!
Author
Kathy! – Reading that you enjoyed the post and are inspired to continue to try new things makes my whole day! Thanks for visiting the blog. Oh and just in case you need it again, I’ve found that rubbing alcohol takes permanent marker right off. 😉 Happy (safe) crafting!
Loved your article. Your Porch-Etta looks like a good size to me. I think the Urns were to big, but, but that’s only my opinion. When making a Tomato Cage Topiary you need to fill it COMPLETELY. Looks as though you could have added another 2-3 garlands of leaves. I think in doing so, you would of been pleased with it. Thank you for sharing your Porch-Ett Photos.
Happy Decorating!
Author
All good advice Jean. Thanks for the visit! We’ve sense gotten new containers that are smaller and a creamy ceramic. Just that little touch makes a difference in how bright the porchette is during the day. Hope you are enjoying fall?!