Well, my plan for yesterday didn’t quite work out. I had planned to start work on our new bedroom, starting with installing the hardwood floor. In fact, I was hoping to install quite a bit of flooring yesterday so I could have it all done (the installation, not the sanding and staining) by the end of the week.
Did that happen? No. I couldn’t even start because Matt had a awful yesterday I mean, just horrible. There was about an hour around lunchtime where I was sure I would end up in the hospital. I had to spend the afternoon checking on it about once every ten minutes, and it’s very hard to work and focus on a project when I have to do that. But last night, at bedtime, he had recovered and was feeling much better. This morning he’s still not back to 100%, but he’s almost there.
So instead of working, I spent most of those 10-minute intervals walking outside, dreaming, planning, admiring what had been done, and thinking about the next steps to get the exterior of our house looking the way I envision it. mind. . One of the first things that catches my eye is the baseboard that surrounds the front porch. The unfinished baseboard is visible in every photo I take and is just plain ugly.
I just hate how that unfinished project (along with the two shutters that came down during the storms) detracts from our new driveway and the entire look of the front of our house.
I started that project six years ago. Oh! I started it in September 2018. If I remember correctly, I didn’t finish it because the bad weather came and it stayed for a while. I needed the concrete to dry before adhering more faux stones (I used Airstone from Lowe’s) and while I waited for that to happen, I moved on to other projects and never did it again. And now, here we are, six years later, and it’s still not finished.
Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like this is a project I can finish and check off the list. It looks like it will have to be completely redone because this is the current state of the Airstone.
See all those little hairline cracks? In reality, those cracks are affecting the integrity of the stones. I rubbed one of them with my foot to remove a leaf and the stone crumbled. One thing I didn’t realize with this product is that Airstone, when used outdoors, must be sealed with a sealant or paint. Now that I know, I don’t think I would ever recommend using this product outdoors.
So now I’m going to Plan B for the porch baseboard. And for some reason, I really want the front porch baseboard to match the baseboard I use in my workshop. I don’t know why they have to coincide in my mind, but I like the continuity. I don’t like it when a lot of different materials are used and nothing seems to be consistent.
So whatever you use as baseboard on the front porch will also cover the open area between the workshop and the ground.
My initial thought was to try to recreate that stone look I was initially going for. I found these stone panels and thought I’d use them.
I liked that they matched the actual style and pattern of the Austin stone in our home. And since our Austin stone is painted (it was painted when we bought the house, so I repainted it the current color), I knew I could paint it the same color and it would probably look like the same stone. But this was $84.71 per panel and I would need six panels just for the front porch. I didn’t want to spend so much on fake stone panels.
And then the second one is this lattice style, but I just like this lattice style. I’m not sure what it’s called, but I like the horizontal and vertical lattice pieces. I’m not really a fan of diagonal lattice designs, at least not for my house.
Photo by Crisp Architects – Find Porch Design Ideas
I think the former probably wins by a narrow margin in my opinion. The style seems to go better with the interior of my home than the lattice design. Plus, you wouldn’t want an open trellis, which means you’d have to find a way to create that trellis look while also creating a solid barrier, and that’s just extra work.
So as of now the plan is to use PVC boards to create that look on my front porch. I love PVC boards because they seem to last forever. That’s what I made my shutters out of, and they look as good today as the day I made them. I want something that will last and not require annual maintenance, so PVC boards meet those requirements.
The funny thing is that today, six years later, this style appeals to me much more than the look of the stone skirting I chose then. And I know for a fact that I considered this style six years ago, gave it up and opted for stone. Personal taste and style are always evolving, and that’s not a bad thing! It can be a little expensive, but it’s not bad.
Addicted 2 Decorating is where I share my DIY and decorating journey as I remodel and decorate the 1948 upper that my husband, Matt, and I purchased in 2013. Matt has MS and cannot do physical labor, so I do most of the I work at home alone. You can learn more about me here.
