When I saw this room I was a goner. It was the first room I walked into at our new house and after seeing it I no longer cared what the rest of the house looked like.
I was smitten with The Screened Porch.
For a long time I’d been rather jealous of those who lived in the South. You see, they got to have these beautiful screened porches and I didn’t. Not that I didn’t try to talk Mr. OTN into adding one onto our lake house.
It always came down to practicality though as really, how many months of the year would we be able to use a screened room in the Pacific NW? 
So when we decided to make the move south, a screened porch was HIGH on my “Must Have” list and this is the room that cemented the deal for me. Lucky for Mr. OTN the rest of the house was perfect for us as well!
The former owners, Mr. and Mrs F. told us they used to begin and end every day in this room. Now . . . here it is November . . . and we are still enjoying afternoons on the porch (yesterday it was 72). 
In negotiating for the house we were able to have included in the price all of the screened room furniture, as well as some of the interior furniture. This worked out perfectly for us because we had to sell a lot of our old furniture to keep the moving company costs down.
Isn’t the view of the yard beautiful? It may not be the same view we had at our lake house but it is still pretty wonderful.
At first we were talking about putting a pool in here . . . something to make up for losing our lake view.
We may add a water feature in the future, for the sound it makes, but we are loving looking out at the trees so much that we don’t really feel the urge to tear things up to make room for a pool.
You may recognize these bottles and some of the other things we’ve decorated the porch with from our lake house and also our old guest cottage at the lake.
I always used some coastal decor in my summer decorating (you can take a look back HERE) and our guest cottage was ALL coastal (if you missed that remodel you can view it HERE). I knew when I saw this screened porth that it would be the room I would fill with happy west coast memories!
Can you believe these vaulted bead board ceilings? LOVE!
This is the view that captures me when I lay my head back to rest.
Now for a few close ups of some of my west coast decor transformed to east coast decor!
As you can see, the dogs have made the transition with no difficulties at all. Cozy loves nap time on the porch.
Sasha keeps an eye out for chipmunks or squirrels who might invade her territory.
Say what???
Even old girl Snoopy, who is almost 17 and doesn’t do much but sleep, is happy here on the porch.
The porch is indeed my happy place. It is the place I go to find total peace . . . but . . .
. . . anyone who knows me well knows that I have a gazillion ideas for this space. I’ve run them by Mr OTN and he just shakes his head. “Not right away”, I tell him, knowing that he is still reeling from the cross country move and a new job! “Eventually . . . little changes over time . . . “, I assure him.
He just rolls his blue eyes and smiles.
So blog friends . . . here are my ideas! I’m just certain that this room would be even more wonderful if we added a few more things to enhance the coastal feel:
A Sky Blue Ceiling
A Corner Fireplace Made of Natural Stone
Brightly Patterned Pillows . . . LOTS of them!
A Gray Wash on the Floor
A Large Patterned Rug to Pull it all Together
What do you think? It definitely won’t happen right away. We still have plenty to do just getting settled into our new home and community.
Hmmm . . . maybe I’ll go grab an afghan and spend some time mulling over my ideas . . . right here in my favorite room.
Blessings,
VMG206, TuesdaysAtOurHome,
Sherry @ No Minimalist Here says
November 5, 2014 at 7:25 pmHi Patty, Your screen porch is wonderful and I love the vaulted ceilings! We are decorating our new home a little at a time too. Don’t you wish you had a magic wand so everything could be done immediately? All the planned changes to this room sound fabulous.
xx,
Sherry
Jill says
November 5, 2014 at 10:12 pmLOVE this space! Its beautiful! I really like all your updating ideas, but I vote to keep the ceiling white. Its so clean and crisp looking.
Linda Payne says
November 6, 2014 at 12:23 amLove yout screen porch and all of your wonderful ideas. I want one! Hey, it looks like, in the distance, you can see another house behind the chair and ottoman, have you thought about putting your corner fireplace over there to block the sight line?,
Stacey says
November 6, 2014 at 10:57 amPatti, I’m jealous now! Here in Texas it wouldn’t actually be comfortable out there that much but I’ve always wanted a screen porch. My dad just downsized from his giant 104 year old house and his new/old house has a screen porch. Love!! How lucky that you were able to get the furniture – it’s really pretty.
At our last house we had a beautiful pond in our backyard. You would love having one…it’s a little bit of work but the water draws in birds and all kinds of critters.
Gentle Joy says
November 6, 2014 at 8:59 pmWhat a beautiful room! That porch is amazing and would be such a pleasant place to read, eat, visit or more. Thank you for sharing it. 🙂
Jann Olson says
November 6, 2014 at 9:21 pmA screened porch, oh wow I too have always dreamed of having one. Yours is gorgeous and what a view! Love, love that ceiling and It will be fun to see you add a few of the new ideas. It’s those little things that will make this home become yours! Thanks for sharing with SYC.
hugs,
Jann
Meredith Wouters says
November 7, 2014 at 10:01 pmThis screened porch is gorgeous! I would have felt the same way about the rest of the house too. 🙂 It looks so inviting, and comfortable. I’m jealous! (Found you on Say G’day Saturday and following on Pinterest)
Michele says
November 7, 2014 at 11:02 pmNo wonder your porch is your happy place……gorgeous:) Love your doggy bed too!
janice schaub says
November 8, 2014 at 3:02 pmFirst of all I have to say I love Snoopy, what a sweet face. I do love the porch. WIsh I had one myself I would spend a lot of time there. We have a regular old front porch but its not at all pleasant. I am hoping next year to enclose it and make a sitting room there. one can only hope. My back deck is all open and I can only sit there when its not buggy, so looking forwards to a real outside room.
Janice
Deborah says
November 9, 2014 at 10:55 pmWhat a lovely space to relax in! I would love a screened porch too, but we might get five months use out of it at most, in a warm year. I tried convincing my husband that we could cover the screens with plastic in the winter and make a green house out of it, but he wasn’t buying it!
I love all your ideas and can’t wait to see what you do, but I know you are overwhelmed with getting settled in. I’ll wait 🙂 Thank you for sharing at What We Accomplished Wednesdays. Have a lovely week!
Blessings, Deborah
Sue Silva says
November 10, 2014 at 7:30 amYour happy place is perfection and the puppies are divine!
Kyla @ HouseOfHipsters says
November 10, 2014 at 3:42 pmYou are so lucky to have a room like this! Beautiful! Thanks for sharing! Also wanted to let you know about a new linky party starting this Saturday at 8pm called “Found & Foraged” Can’t wait to party with you at http://www.houseofhipsters.com
shelly says
November 11, 2014 at 10:43 amWhat a beautiful place to retreat to! I sure did love our porch area in Florida and miss it so much. I really like your ideas. I am tending to agree with someone who mentioned keeping the ceiling white. That would keep it really bright; as well as the fact that painting the ceiling would be a really difficult task! Enjoy your serenity room.
Dana says
November 11, 2014 at 1:34 pmI can certainly understand your love for this room. I long for a screened porch and yours is so roomy and well appointed. We all need a happy place and so do our pets. You did a wonderful job!
Sandra says
November 11, 2014 at 9:24 pmThis looks so much like “you” as do the possible changes. The fireplace would definitely bring in the warmth that both you and your Mr. exude. The pillows and floor changes sound like a beautiful blend to add warmth and character, though there is something about the current light ceiling that I really like.
Keep creating!!
Diane | An Extraordinary Day says
November 11, 2014 at 9:46 pmPatti…you view is beautiful! Oh how peaceful everything feels. And your porch is so spacious too! I’m so happy for you to have gotten your dream porch. And yes…all your ideas are fantastic! I’m so excited to hear how God has lavished his love on you through your move.
Thanks for sharing your screen porch with us at Project Inspire{d}!!
[[hugs]]
Laura Irion // Avery Street Design says
November 12, 2014 at 12:02 amOh man I love this porch!! I need one!
Sherry says
November 12, 2014 at 12:17 amGorgeous space. Thanks for sharing.
Lori from LL Farm says
November 12, 2014 at 8:20 amAbsolutely beautiful….every single detail!
Arlene says
January 21, 2015 at 11:58 amLOVE your website! We moved from Buffalo to Florida after some unexpected life experiences, (I think someone magnificent coordinated this really!). So STRESSFUL for six months until I just let go and let God……..our lives are so happy and bountiful now! Yes Southern hospitality IS THE BEST! Have never met such wonderful caring people, now I feel like I belong, not an outsider! Anyways, hope you have some info for me, how do you stop fabric items (pillows, table runners, blankets) that are decorating a screened in porch from getting mildew? I have made beautiful items for my porch and there must be a way to protect them! Everything can’t be made from Sunbrella fabric!