Party in our porch

Soo....it's 11:55pm, I've had two too many iced coffees today (that means 2) and while I'm on a mad cleaning spree waiting for the laundry to be done washing, I decided to do a long post about a porch you haven't seen yet.  It's the one you can see in all my patio shots:

I haven't shown it to you, because it usually looks like this:

Except add about 10 times more crap and put Shaun's big orange kayak on the ground.  Quite embarrassing.  Before our summer party on Saturday, we wanted a nice clean porch to enjoy with our guests.  We were pretty far from that. 

The structure of the porch was obviously an add-on sometime after the house was built, and I don't think it's been maintained since then...it is a series of wood grids that (33!) removeable glass panels fit into. 

The wood and glass inserts were hopelessly dirty.  We had to remove all the glass, number the (33!) panels, and set them aside for a good cleaning.  Of course, each opening is a different size!  And there are 33!  Did I mention that?

BAH!  That is what I say to moving all these heavy things about a million times.  The ceiling also hadn't been painted since we moved in. 

Dingy!  The chandelier I actually put up when we moved in, there was a weird recessed light in here, the medallion is covering the hole and the light is swagged to center on the table without blocking the french doors.  The ivory paint I used on the chandy looks yellow now.  Of course.  

So...Shaun shopvacced (yeah, it's a word now)

We cleaned/sanded everything, caulked around the bottom, and then we both painted - even though there is no photographic evidence of me painting, I assure you I still have it under my nails. 

I spent an exorbitant amount of time trying to mix up the perfect light blue/aqua for the ceiling using old blue paint Boozie left behind, the green in our guest room, the teal I have throughout our house, and white.  I must've gone up and down the stairs 35 times trying to get it right!  I will never work for Benjamin Moore.

I did end up getting it right, and the rest of the room came together after I re-sprayed the chandy and all the glass was Windexed - yep, also a word.  It looks much more blog-worthy now, don't you think?

The only things I bought were the four new pillows from Home Depot, on clearance for $5 each....and the 6x9 jute rug from Pier 1 for $140.  Considering the old ugly rug was free, I was willing to spend a little coin for one I loved.  Coincidentally, the big red lantern and dining table set are from Pier 1 also.  I got that table used for $150 when we moved in.  Curtains are $15 Ikea specials that I already had.  Here's another before:

And after:

I know what you're thinking...does this girl bleed aqua and red?  Why yes, I do.