I am overjoyed to be guest hosting today for Julie. I have been a big fan of her fabulous blog Redhead Can Decorate for sometime now. I am proud also to call her a blogging friend.
My name is Christy and I blog over at Our Southern Home. I describe my style (get ready…it’s long!) as Eclectic French Country Farmhouse. Hunting for finds in thrift stores, consignment and antique shops makes my day. Marrying those finds with new store-bought items completes my look. I am a big believer in “shopping” my home to change out looks on a regular basis. Keeps things fresh….and it’s free!
Enough about me! Today I’d like to share a few ideas from my home on how my family loves living outdoors this time of year. Quite frankly in the south, we use our outdoor living areas though October.
I truly believe in bringing the indoors out when decorating our screened porch. This server used to be in the kitchen. Painted with Annie Sloan Chalk Paint in Duck Egg with a little stenciling it fits perfectly on this wall. The drawers hold matches for lighting candles and the fire pit, card games and more for outdoor fun. You can find the complete how-to for this server HERE. The no-sew lamp shade was a spur of the moment idea using outdoor fabric that I already had. I’m loving the pop of color it adds to the space. You can find that no-sew tutorial HERE.
No chalk paint handy? No problem! In this post I share my favorite outdoor paint and a perfect Duck Egg blue match. Thrift store and consignment shop finds comprise the bulk of the screened porch. Click HERE for that post.
I even like to embellish my citronella buckets. It’s so easy with stencils and sharpie markers. You can see the how-to HERE.
You know those resin like light weight pots? I’ve got quite a few of those. They are old and had seen better days. Don’t throw away! Click HERE to see how I cleaned and prepared the pots for a paint treatment. One year later, they still look fabulous!
I just painted this set for the front porch. It was a fabulous newspaper classified find…you know the way we used to do it before Craigslist! You can find the full post HERE.
This table was made using one of those trays from the Better Homes & Gardens Collection at Walmart. You can find the tutorial HERE.
All of these projects would not be complete without a cold summer beverage to enjoy after your hard work. This is an old family summer favorite from my husband’s side. My adult slushie makes a large container and stores in the freezer. Just scoop it out and serve as you are ready to relax! You can find the recipe HERE.
Again, thanks so much to Julie for having me over today! I invite you to come on over for a visit at Our Southern Home.
I’d love for you to follow along on social media!
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Hi Christy, I follow you over your blog. Your kitchen is favorite of mine. You’ve created a beautiful outdoor oasis. I have those same pots. I made mine over too. I wrote a post probably 1 1/2 ago or more. Now in our new home it’s my plan to redo them for next spring. For this year they got used
Cindy
Thanks so much, Cindy! I love hearing from you. You’ve done great things in your new home. Great minds think alike on those pots. wink, wink! Enjoy the summer! ~Christy
I have the same style!!! It’s funny whenever someone would ask me I would say eclectic, but we live on a farm and I love french country farmhouse. I am always shopping thrift stores for little things because the basic bones are in my house, but I can feel like I have a new room when I add little touches I have found!!!
Oh my goodness, Donna! We sound so much alike. I bet between you and me, we could get in quite the bit of trouble thrift shopping together! ~Christy
Julie,
Thanks so much for giving me the opportunity to hang out with you and your readers on your fabulous blog! Such fun!!! XXOO Christy