As a little girl driving around with my family in the Bronx, I would dream about living in a home with a porch. As fate would have it, my home has a wrap-around front porch. It feels more like a living room when it is all set up for the season.

Summer is just around the corner, and it’s time to create our outdoor living spaces. Here are some ideas to create a pretty porch whether your preference is modern, streamlined or classic comfort.

Furniture

For the love of wicker: a popular choice for the porch. Styles available in traditional and contemporary. Wrought iron, wood, metal, glass — anything goes.

Color

Color is where your porch gets a personality. Whether it is pops of color via accent pillows, accessories or potted flowers and hanging baskets, color makes a porch happy.

Shade

My front porch gets full sun later in the day and gets blinding sunny and toasty. This limits my porch time. My goal this year is to install curtains to provide shade from the sun.

Cheers!

Oh, the things you can do with a rolling cart! Like create an outdoor bar. On a recent consultation, clients showed me family pieces of furniture to incorporate into their home, including a glass-rolling cart. Whether it is for a cocktail party, for tea or dessert, the possibilities are endless. It can also be used as a plant stand or for pots of fresh herbs.

Perfection is overrated

Nature is perfectly imperfect. Don’t stress over distressed pieces. Something from your house can work outside. After years of sitting in my garage, an old metal coffee and side table now live on the porch. There are also a few wrought-iron bistro sets that have rusted. I was told in order to paint them you had to tediously sand each piece.

Fixing things around the house requires me hiring someone, or it just doesn’t get done. Faded and rusty, I ignored the rust until I purchased a few cans of glossy white spray paint, along with an aqua can.

After dusting off the cobwebs and dirt, I passed on the sanding and scraping. The can was shaken vigorously. Right before my eyes, something old and faded was newly restored. That chair instantly became white and glossy, glistening in the bright sunlight.

One by one, I sprayed three tables and six chairs a glossy white. But something else was happening. I realized that this entire process was easy, except for the sore finger from spraying. For years I avoided a daunting task that wasn’t bad at all.

A few items did not get thoroughly cleaned prior to spraying. This created an interesting texture on some spots of the table. My next realization is that things don’t have to be done perfectly to make you have a sense of accomplishment. Sometimes a mistake can actually turn out good. I liked the textured effect.

A discolored green planter and 2 small folding tables got a coat of aqua. Besides refreshing old items, I discovered some life lessons. Don’t believe everything you are told. Perfection is overrated. Change is good and beautiful, especially when it comes in a lovely shade of aqua.