Cheerful Front Porch Makeover with DIY Outdoor Chairs

Check out this cheerful front porch makeover featuring DIY outdoor chairs, handmade planter boxes, happy yellow accents and space-saving small porch decorating ideas!

Disclosure: This post is sponsored by Brookfield Residential. As always, all of the opinions here are my own.

I’ve had so much fun partnering with Brookfield Residential here in Edmonton this year for some functional and easy DIY ideas that you can re-create in your home. Over the past few months, I’ve been working on DIY projects in some of their gorgeous show homes all over the city to give YOU ideas on what you could build in your own home to add to its function and value. In case you missed it, in January I shared how I built a simple and functional DIY entry hook wall at the Dawson show home and you can read all about that here. Then in February, I showed you how I gave a closet an industrial makeover on a budget. In March, I taught you how to build a framed pegboard and workbench in a garage nook. April’s featured DIY was this command center & recycling station in a back entry.

This month, I had the privilege of working in the Belvedere show home in The Orchards. The Orchards is a thriving and growing community in southeast Edmonton where you can live, work, and play. There are fruit trees and greenspace everywhere you turn, and it has tons of extra features like ponds, walking trails and access to an exclusive residents-only facility: The Club House. All new to the community this month is the Orchards Show Home Village – a unique home shopping experience where you can tour 7 show homes by 4 builders in just 1 convenient location!

The Belvedere show home is a lovely, open concept home featuring a curved staircase and an extended kitchen island with quartz countertops. I love how the designers have decorated this living room with pet-friendly accents!

I was inspired by the happy yellow front door of this home combined with the modern, neutral accents inside, and used those as a jumping off point to create my DIY project: a cheerful front porch makeover featuring DIY outdoor chairs and planter boxes. It’s definitely the season to make a cozy living space outside, and the front porch of this home is so adorable!

If you’re local, make sure to come see this DIY in person and enter to win $500 towards making your own DIY project with Brookfield Residential! You can find all of the contest details here on Brookfield’s DIY site.

Now, watch my YouTube video below to see how I made some DIY outdoor chairs and gave this front porch a cheerful summer makeover, or follow the step-by-step written instructions below:

How to make DIY outdoor chairs & decorate a small front porch:

To make these DIY outdoor chairs, I followed Ana White’s Modern Outdoor Chair from 2x4s and 2x6s plan. You can find it right here, and it’s very easy to follow along! I purchased inexpensive spruce lumber from The Home Depot, and the total cost in wood was only about $50.

I did alter the plan to fit some outdoor chair cushions I found that were only 22″ wide, so I made the seat of the chair a couple inches narrower. Since this building plan only uses 2x4s, 2x6s and deck screws, it’s a great project if you’re new to woodworking. I used my miter saw to cut all the pieces.

These chairs have beautiful modern lines, and they would look great stained, however I decided to paint them white to pop against the colourful Belvedere home’s exterior.

I painted them with white exterior latex paint, and I finished them off with an inexpensive outdoor chair cushion, an outdoor throw pillow in a happy yellow stripe, and a blanket.

I especially love how the sides of these DIY chairs look! The row of 2×6’s is so modern with a bit of a farmhouse twist.

To add even more pops of yellow to this front porch, I planted some simple marigolds surrounded by trailing lobelia in 14″ planters.

These fit perfectly in some DIY farmhouse style planter boxes I had built earlier.

You can find the tutorial for the DIY easy wooden planter boxes right here!

I love lemon decor at summertime, and this simple wreath was an easy DIY for the yellow front door. I used a grapevine wreath as a base, and attached some faux lemon stems, faux fern, and black & white striped ribbon to the wreath with hot glue.

Little yellow lanterns I found at the grocery store were the perfect finishing touch for this welcoming entry!

To create a cozy seating area on the porch and highlight the DIY chairs, I added a patterned outdoor rug I found at the grocery store along with a caned accent table between the chairs for a spot to place drinks and decor.

More lemony accessories help bring some cheer to this cozy seating area.

I definitely love how this natural coloured side table contrasts with the white chairs for a look that’s fresh and summery! I’d love to have a cool drink on this porch with a friend.

I sure love how this happy porch makeover turned out and that it didn’t cost much at all to make it look cozy and beautiful.  I’m also thrilled with how these DIY outdoor chairs turned out, and I’d love to make a set for our own home!

Learn more about the Brookfield Residential Belvedere show home right here and if you’re local, make sure to come see this DIY in person and enter to win $500 towards making your own DIY project! You can find all of the contest details here on Brookfield’s DIY site.

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