TYE STREET BLUE PORCH DESIGN REVEAL

This post was sponsored by KILZ® Complete Coat™ Paint as part of an Ambassador program for Influence Central and all opinions expressed in my post are my own.

Project by: Kevin Francis Design

The front porch could be considered the most important room of the house at my dad’s place, a kind of open-air public living room. Cabbagetown is a neighborly kind of area, where people still spend time honoring the old tradition of hanging out on the front porch and chatting with their neighbors and friends as they walk by or come to visit. In the transitions of seasons and the day it’s a lovely place to spend time.
 Since it’s the face of my father’s house too, I knew that eventually I’d have to get around to making it shine as much as the interior.


The first step was to refresh the paint – a great tool I like to start with, in any project. I used KILZ® COMPLETE COAT™ PAINT that I picked up at my local Walmart to get the whole job done in a single step. This was especially perfect for the ceiling, which hadn’t gotten love in years and was difficult to reach too! As an interior and exterior paint, we also won’t have to touch it up for a while.


As you saw in my introduction to the project, the ceiling went classic ‘Idyllic Blue’ based on the Southern myth that bugs avoid it. Whether or not that’s the case, I’ve always loved a haint blue porch ceiling as a truly timeless detail. I used a little more paint than we expected because the ceiling was so rough, but it was worth it for the result and the Perfect Finish quality KILZ Complete Coat Paint vaunts. The deep ‘Kettle Black’ I used on the door came out with a nice sheen and depth that looks polished, just the way you want someone’s first impression of your home to be. I kept the railing and trim the crisp ‘White Wing’ and it fades back to let the rest of the porch take center stage.


After painting came decorating, and I pulled together this eclectic design board for the porch. Instead of using my go-to natural fiber rugs, I started a theme of graphic prints with the patterned charcoal rug and outdoor throw pillows from DecoratorsBest in a graphic orange pattern and blue print that matches the color of the house. Sheer curtains added a modicum of privacy and softness around the space while keeping light and air flowing through the space.

Outdoor fixtures for the porch were sourced from LampsPlus, where I found a sleek nickel fan and an LED light that was the perfect fixture for outside the front door. Both pieces looked beautiful against the pale blue ceiling, and brought a modern finish to the space.

Now the space is pulled together just in time for the changing seasons to bring a cool breeze to the air and make my dad’s porch the perfect place to relax.

Product for this project was sponsored by the following brands: Decorators Best, KILZ, and LampsPlus. Thank you for supporting the brands that keep Thou Swell running!