Updating Our 90’s Home With An Open Front Porch No Railing

Today I’m sharing about how we updated our front porch for FREE to create an open front porch no railing. Plus, links to our new teak rocking chairs we found on amazon that are so affordable!

This weekend the Peppermint House got a major, budget-friendly update. We’re slowly taking our house out of the 90’s.

This weekend we turned our front porch into an open front porch no railing that totally changed the look of our home.

Without spending a dime.

When we were searching for our forever home last year, high on my list of must-haves was a front porch for rocking chairs. I wanted to create a welcoming space that felt inviting and allowed us to sit and chat with neighbors.

Our windbreaker 90’s home checked that box (and more) for us. It’s taken us almost a year, but we were finally ready to get some new furniture for our front porch.

Nathan and the girls got me some beautiful, modern (and affordable) teak rocking chairs for Mother’s Day.

Our house right after moving in, 2023.

Removing Our 90’s Porch Railing

But we quickly discovered that our front porch was too skinny for rocking chairs. We only had about an inch of clearance for them to fit.

It was a tight squeeze and not comfortable.

Most homes in our neighborhood have a similar-styled front porch railing. But it’s at an oddly high height when you’re sitting in a chair. We’ve always had to crane our neck to really see around it.

Instead of returning the rocking chairs, we decided to just take down our front porch railing!

Our front porch sits about 6″ off the ground so the railing is more decorative than practical. I was really unsure how it would look, but I figured we could just reattach it if it didn’t look right.

Turns out, it was 100% the right call. Our porch feels so open! And makes our ranch-style house look larger.

Future Updates

This open front porch no railing is one step in the right direction for our house.

Someday we’d like to frame out the porch with natural wood beams to give it some good color and texture. Our skinny post looks lacking now, but we can bulk it up in the future.

For now, this was a free upgrade that made our front porch so much better.

We’ve been spending our evenings here, watching the spring thunderstorms roll in. We get to chat with our neighbors more, and I know we’ll enjoy this space with family and friends who come to visit. We can sit comfortably while our kids play in the driveway.

Slow Progress In Our Fixer Upper

It’s hard to tell, but we added lots of young plants throughout this big garden to create a cottage-style landscaping. It will all fill in over the next year to hide our gutters and exterior pipe (whyyyy is that there?).

We’ve been diligently clearing out dead plants and shrubs over the last year to make room for new landscaping this spring.

Our neighbor gave us these low-profile solar lights that added a beautiful soft glow to our front of house too. They come in a pack of 6 and stake easily. Such an easy addition that makes our house beautiful in the evenings.

Our yard was mostly weeds and dirt when we moved in last year. This will be our second year planting grass and aerating the lawn. Everything is filling in and getting better and better!

These rocking chairs and open front porch no railing is the perfect excuse to spend more time outside as a family.

Owning and living in a fixer upper like ours requires a lot of patience. Little projects like this, over time, add up to major changes in the look and feel of our home.

This 90’s poorly flipped house has so much potential. Knowing we’re here for the long term is such a joy. Can’t wait to see what we can do in the years to come.

Links:

• Affordable Teak Rocking Chairs with Cream Cushions
• Outdoor Solar Lights – 6 Pack (Similar)