Porch makeover with Lick paint

Your hallway, or in my case porch, is the first thing you and your guests see when entering a house. Therefore, I think it needs to set the tone for the style of your home… a little taste of what’s to come, so to speak. As my porch was as bland as could be, with a white tiled floor, white walls and a brick skirt, it was time for a makeover!

My house is very 70s, as that was the last time the house was decorated. I love what the previous owner had done, so I’m keeping most of the carpets, built-in furniture and tiles in place. Unfortunately, my porch didn’t have any of these 70s features, so it was time to add a few!

Lick paint DIY porch makeover do it with cans

For the porch makeover I used:

Soft-bristled brush
Lick paint – Green 01
Paintbrushes and roller
Masking tape
Self-adhesive vinyl flooring – wood-style
Stanley knife
1.2 metre long, 18 mm thick and 20 cm deep furniture board
4 x 40 cm hairpin legs
Bunch of screws
Power drill
Rustins wood dye /stain
Coat rack
Baskets (for shoes to go in)
Found art
Self-adhesive picture hooks

Step 1 – Preparing and Painting

I didn’t need to clear the room as the porch had nothing in it, so I simply did a brush down of the walls and I was ready to go. The room was in desperate need of some colour and I chose Green 01 from Lick. It’s a lovely soft green that matches a lot of the other greens in my house and a paint you can use on nearly any material. This meant I could paint the walls, ceiling and woodwork all with the same paint! It was the first time I used Lick and I am very impressed.

The paint went on perfectly; it has nearly no odour and the coverage was great. And what I like most is that their paint comes in metal tins. Metal is a permanently available material, so it can be recycled over and over again, avoiding landfill. You could also reuse your metal paint tins, as they are perfect for DIY storage and make the cutest lanterns when you add a few holes. I also loved how the bag around the paint tin is water soluble – nice one Lick! When you paint, remember to apply masking tape to the brickwork or skirting board so you don’t paint on parts of your porch that shouldn’t have paint on.

Step 2 – Floor upgrade

Once the walls had two coats of colour, it was time to upgrade the floor. I had a look at several vinyl floor options. I knew I wanted an floral print but couldn’t find it anywhere, so I opted for a self-adhesive vinyl with a wood-paneling look. I’ve used these in several projects before and love how easy they are to install.

You just measure, cut the planks with a Stanley knife and stick them to a clean floor. Couldn’t be easier! I went for a warm wood tone for the floor, as it was a similar colour to the door and because it complimented the brick. It took me half an hour to put the new floor down and the porch immediately looked so much better.

Step 3 – Furniture upgrade

The next part of the makeover was to add the new bits of furniture. The porch isn’t big but there was enough space to add a little bench; perfect for taking your shoes on or off. This bench couldn’t be simpler to make. I used a 1.2 metre long, 18mm thick and 20cm deep furniture board you can buy in any hardware store and four 40 cm hairpin legs.

Attach the legs to the bottom of your plank with a few screws and your bench is done.

I stained my bench a darker tone to match the rest of the wood in my house.

Above the bench I hung a coat rack, and below the bench I put a large basket for shoes to go in.

Step 4 – Art on the walls

The last, and maybe most fun part, of the makeover is my wall of questionable art! As I mentioned, my house is very 70s and I wanted a bit of that 70s fun in the porch. What better way to do this than by raiding the local vintage furniture store for their small paintings? I wanted the pieces to have dark wood frames; to be hand painted (or prints of paintings) and cost no more than £5.

Most of these pieces were a lot cheaper and I absolutely love the wooden souvenir plates. I think this wall is a growing collection of (questionable!) art, so I will keep my eyes peeled at car boot sales as well as charity and vintage shops.

I didn’t want to drill too many holes in my porch wall, so I attached the art with self-adhesive hooks. Heavy duty ones for the big pieces and small Command hooks for the smaller ones. If I ever want to change this gallery wall, I can simply remove the hooks (maybe repaint the wall a bit) and hang something else.

What do you think? Do you like the new look porch?

It injected a lot more warmth and quirk to the front of my house. I also find it is so much nicer coming home to beautiful green walls and fun art, rather than the sterile white tiles and white walls that were there before. There is plenty of paint left over so expect a lot more green projects popping up in my home soon!