My Farmhouse Christmas Front Porch

I FINALLY finished my front porch this weekend, and it’s a good thing I did because today it’s snowing along with 35mph winds…gross. Iowa always keeps us on our toes! There’s an old saying that if you don’t like the weather here to wait a day and it will change. Well, yesterday it was 50 degrees…

Enough on that, let’s get to the fun stuff.

My front porch came together rather late this year, as you can see, and that was mainly due to me waiting on these two trees I purchased online from Target during their black Friday weekend sales. Personally, I think they were worth the wait! I had my eyes on this pair last year but never ended up getting them, something about the trees being ‘less full’ caught my eye. You can see them below!

These trees came in their own wooden stands, which I did keep, however for this project I wanted them to have more of a vintage vibe so I put them in an old crock and a wooden box. They are pre-lit which made it easy to decide to place them next to the outlet.

For the rest of the items, I simply shopped my house/garage. You might wonder what kind of hoarding situation I have going on if I can simply rummage through my house and find all these things for the porch…well I do have a lot of things, but I use them mostly year round in different capacities each season. I am blessed with a lot of storage options at this house, so I always keep my eyes open for a good deal and constantly add to my collection…y’all know I love a bargain!

For example, this wash tub on the right, it was originally purchased at a flea market several years ago. For this season, I simply snagged it from my front flower bed where it had been on display this fall with a water pump. During summer months I will fill it with flowers or twigs/branches. Currently, it’s holding some over-sized metal ornaments originally from my wedding, over 4 years ago. Reusing decor in different ways drastically reduces the cost of changing things up each season!

Here is a photo after dark, to show the lit trees. I don’t often talk about or recommend products, there are plenty of bloggers out there that do that. I do, however, give my non-sponsored opinion from time to time about certain things that I really like or enjoy, and these trees fall into that category.

Here is another front view of the porch! I posted this image on Instagram today and someone asked if the front of our house had tile on it, which is a good question! It is actually cast stone that is smooth and made to look like tile…each one weighs 130 pounds! We chose this stone for the front door area to give a contrast to the cobblestone look of the rest of the stone on our house.

And while we are on the topic of the front door, this was not our door we had in mind and I cannot wait until we replace it with the permanent door. Until then, white metal door it is!

Hopefully this post has provided you some inspiration to decorate your own house, and as always I love seeing what you come up with so make sure to tag me on Instagram or Facebook or whatever platform you share your pictures.

And if you have made it this far, thank you so much for stopping by the blog today! I can see when y’all visit this little corner of the internet that I call home, and it means the world to both me and Adam knowing that you are sharing this space with us.

That’s all for now, make sure to check back soon for more farmhouse renovation updates coming up, or feel free to subscribe to our mailing list if you want them sent directly to your inbox.

Cheers!!

-Rachael

It's a Farmhouse Christmas!

I cannot believe it’s already December, and here we are just a few short weeks from Christmas. Maybe it was the wonky weather, or the fact Thanksgiving was so late this year, but either way I found myself quite unprepared for December’s arrival! I did (finally!) finish getting my house decorated and photographed, minus the front porch, and I am here today to share these with you!

If you are feeling behind in decorating and want some quick inspiration, this post is for you!

---

Here’s a quick dining room tour!

I love all things budget friendly, and Christmas is no exception! While I do purchase a couple things each year, they are always marked down or on clearance. I mostly just use the decor from previous years in new ways or in new places, and that always makes it seem like a fresh new look. For example, this garland on the table is tucked into my re-purposed chicken feeder that I frequently have on display here, and I added a couple candles and pine cones that I had on hand. Ta-Da!

I made this ‘Merry Christmas’ printable last year and took it to a copy and print shop to have it enlarged and printed on cardstock (for $1). If you would like the file for a quick download, shoot me a message!

Linking our personalized book sets here.

This corner of the dining room is new this year, since I picked up this vintage sewing table super cheap on marketplace. I also grabbed these mint bells from the Target dollar section this year, can’t go wrong with over-sized bells!

On to the kitchen!

I did a whole post on the kitchen that I will link here, but if you just want a couple quick ideas here are some photos from that post!

Next up is the entryway table, and if you have been following along for a while you might remember that I have a terrible time decorating this long table. I strive to keep it uncluttered, but it seems to just collect things on its own!

I am really feeling the ‘woodsy’/tree farm/greens and whites vibe this year, and that is new for me from previous years. I am not entirely sure why I gravitated toward this style this year, but I embraced the challenge to incorporate what I had on hand and decorate this table.

And, the tree

let’s just ignore the un-decorated shelves on the flag wall in the background. This pencil tree was new to us last year (hello Michael’s clearance!) and this nook in the railing is about the only location we can put it at the moment, as we have to tether it with twine to secure it won’t fall over. Our 2 year old has never tried to pull the tree over, but i am sure the moment I didn’t have it secured she would give it a try. Kids just know when you are taking a shortcut!

As you can see, I have a bit of a Starbucks ornament collection going, and soon I will need my own tree just for them. For now, I will just hang them out of reach of little hands.

Also, our tree skirt is just a burlap sack from our local farm store, Theisen’s. They sell them for roughly $1, and while they do shed a bit I like the rustic look they bring to the tree.

---

Well, that’s all I have for inside decor this year. I have yet to finish my front porch, as I am waiting on something to be delivered that I bought the day after Thanksgiving. Hopefully I will have that post ready sometime before Christmas!

In the mean time, I hope I was able to bring you some decorating inspiration and as always, thank you for stopping by the blog today! All of your support really means a lot to us! I’m going to sign off for now and get back to the farmhouse remodel, big changes happening this week so stay tuned for that!

Cheers!

Rachael

Kitchen Christmas Refresh

It’s that time of year, the most WONDERFUL time of the year! I know some people wait to decorate for Christmas, but I like to get it over with early and enjoy it for a couple of months. Last year I felt like everything got a little too cluttered/cramped around here so I am trying to keep it simple this go around.

I really am feeling the green/white color scheme this year, so you will mostly see that style from me. I started in the kitchen, because that seemed the easiest!

I picked this dough bowl up extremely cheap on a local Facebook site, and it has been sitting in my kitchen ever since. This season I added some faux greens and an amazing candle from my friends over at Antique Candle Co. (I am not an affiliate, I just really like their stuff!). This candle scent is ‘Tree Farm’ which works perfect for giving that real tree smell to a home.

Now on to the sink area, and I struggled with what to put in the ‘window’. Originally, I wanted a wreath, but opted for the copper bells for the sake of simplicity.

It just wouldn’t be the Christmas season without home baked goodies in the company of friends and family. Both of us have close friends we consider family, thus our annual celebration ‘friendsmas’.

Lastly, a simple wreath over the range hood ties it all together! Here are a few additional photos that I took…

Dough bowl close up!

Hopefully my early decorating has provided some inspiration for your own home, feel free to tag me in your photos so I can take a peek! For now I am back to managing the fort, it’s Friday night and that means (most) tasks can wait until the weekend!

Cheers!

-Rachael

My (No-Cost) Holiday Front Porch!

Last week I wrapped up my decorating for the year by completing my front porch, and it was a challenge! If you follow me on Instagram (@aps_design) you already know that I posted the whole process on stories that day, attempting to do the entire porch with items I already had at home, no purchases!

This was a personal challenge I came up with because I know I have a ton of items at home that I should be creative with and use for decorating, but I usually forget to do that and just purchase what I need instead. But, in the spirit of budget friendly, I went with a no-cost front porch this year! Now I will admit, I have a large collection of random items that helped make this task possible, but I did have to get creative in using them and some of these methods could inspire you as well!

Lets get to it!

I worked on the right side of the porch first, collecting items and putting them in a wagon that I found in my garage. I had made some ‘presents’ out of blocks of wood earlier this season and decided they would go well together in the wagon. The crock that is also in the wagon could probably use some greenery but in the spirit of not buying anything for this porch decor, it remains empty.

The large rusted milk jug is a staple piece for my front steps, so it always stays out there in some capacity. This season I gave it some height by positioning it on top of an overturned wooden apple box.

I piled the wood slices up in front of the wagon to add more of a woodsy/rustic/tree farm feel to the picture.

The left side of my porch was a bit more challenging, as I did not have any Christmas lights on green wire, but in the evening hours when the tree is lit it’s not as noticeable. I simply put the tree in an old wash bin and stacked some wood slices in front of it.

During my scavenger hunt in the garage, I found this beautiful vintage sled and half barn door that I had previously forgotten about. I grabbed a little greenery and tied it to the sled. Ideally, I would find some old ice skates to pair with the sled, if I wasn’t doing a no-cost challenge!

Here’s the final look!

Again, I would have done things a little bit differently if I wasn’t doing this little personal challenge of not purchasing anything for the front porch, but this did force me to look through things I already had and be creative in using them. I hope this can provide some inspiration with your own budget friendly decorating! Merry Christmas!