This Homeowner Turns A Bare Front Porch Into A Cozy Farmhouse Retreat Using $70 Walmart Rocking Chairs, $10 Michaels Crates And A Rug Found At 80% Off

A bare front porch with a couple of mismatched old chairs is not exactly an invitation to sit down and stay awhile. That was the starting point for Jessica Giffin, who shared her budget porch makeover on her YouTube channel. Her plan called for rocking chairs, a handmade table and a few plants, all picked with a budget in mind.

Farmhouse porch makeover video cover beside a stock photo of a decorated porch with chairs and a table.

She describes the “before” bluntly. The porch had some old chairs from the family’s previous house, and the space was lacking any sort of functionality. Her plan was simple: find affordable rocking chairs, add a little table, bring in plants, and make the space a lot more inviting and useful for the families who spend time there.

This makeover is the third video in her DIY home makeover series, and it is packed with ideas: farmhouse porch decor, a DIY crate table, DIY concrete planters and a DIY s’mores station, all done on a budget. Here is how the main pieces came together.

Start by Emptying the Porch

Giffin says the first thing she does when making over any space is remove all of the items and wipe everything down. It is a smart habit. You cannot judge what a space needs while it is full of clutter. Her little porch rug was in desperate need of a cleaning, so it went into the washing machine while Miles and Ryan started building the rocking chairs.

The $70 Rocking Chairs

Rocking chairs were the centerpiece of the plan, and she says she has always dreamed of a front porch with rocking chairs. She shopped around and found the cheapest ones at Walmart, at about $70 apiece. That price made the dream possible, and she says she was thrilled. Once she had them home, Miles and Ryan got busy putting them together.

A Table Made From $10 Crates

She wanted a table on the porch too, and she stumbled upon crates on sale at Michaels for $10 a piece. She decided to try making a table out of them. Here is how she prepped them:

Remove the sticker by wetting it with some water and scraping it off with a box cutter.
Let the crates dry in the sun.
Apply an all-weather wood stain.

She is honest about what went wrong. She says she always underestimates how long painting something takes. She also made the mistake of applying the stain with a rag instead of a brush, and her hands ended up completely covered. Stain is very hard to get off, she says. Her fix was soaking her hands in a little canola oil and then using dish soap and a scrub brush. Her moral of the story: use a brush or a sponge meant for applying stain.

The Rug Found at 80% Off

One of her favorite things about Hobby Lobby and Michaels is shopping the after season sales. That habit paid off when she found a really pretty rug at Hobby Lobby for 80% off, part of their spring collection. Timing a purchase for the end of a season is one of the oldest budget tricks around, and it works especially well for rugs, pillows and outdoor decor.

Plants and Planters on the Cheap

Next, she stopped by a local nursery to pick out flowers and plants. She already had some mismatched planters from the old house that had faded in the sun, so she cleaned them off and spray painted them a light gray to get a concrete planter look. Her reasoning: concrete planters are really expensive, and since she already had these on hand, she figured she would try her hand at the DIY.

That is a great example of the “shop your own home” approach. Faded, mismatched pots can look brand new with a good cleaning and a coat of paint.

If you try something similar, a few extra habits help. Read the label on any stain or paint before you buy it so you know it is made for outdoor use, since a porch faces sun, rain and temperature swings all year. Wear gloves, and lay down a drop cloth so the porch floor stays clean. Plan your layout before you buy, too. Measure the space, leave room to walk, and make sure the table sits where a person in a rocking chair can reach it.

What You Can Take From This

Set a simple plan before you shop. Chairs, a table and plants kept this project focused.
Compare prices before you buy big items. She says $70 apiece was the cheapest she found for rocking chairs.
Look for crates, shelves or other basic pieces you can turn into furniture.
Use a brush or a sponge made for stain, not a rag, so you do not end up with stained hands.
Give yourself extra time. Painting and staining almost always take longer than you think.
Shop after season sales for rugs and decor.
Reuse what you own. A coat of paint can change the look of old planters.

If you are staring at a plain porch and a small budget, this makeover is proof that a handful of smart choices can go a long way. A rocking chair, a handmade table, a bargain rug and a few plants may be all you need to turn an unused space into the spot where everyone wants to sit.

Willow and Hearth