This post is sponsored by Arhaus. 

I store seasonal visions in my head, collected from scenes I’ve seen in movies, read in books–many from my childhood. When it comes to spring and summer, I see porches like the little boy in Sixth Sense saw dead people. I see them in my head, I see them in neighborhoods, I see porches everywhere–beautiful front porches where little old ladies sit in rocking chairs, sip lemonade and pencil in crossword puzzles. I see the last of the afternoon sunshine trickling in as the breeze picks up and stirs the wind chimes. I see flag bunting draped from railings and twinkle lights dangling everywhere so that these porches are just as magical at night as they are when the first cup of coffee is sipped from their most comfortable chairs. And there are parties on these porches–cocktails late on Friday afternoon, neighbors clinking glasses, little ones dancing, music, delicious ripe summer fruit piled up on platters. And weekend brunches because really, what’s a porch good for if it can’t host a Sunday brunch? Of course, a porch–unlike a rose–is just as sweet under its other names–veranda, stoop, sun room, lanai. Whatever the case, when the weather gets warmer and the seasons shift into longer days, I dream of life extending into outdoor spaces.

Our outdoor space hasn’t been so storybook though. It’s been run down over the years and needed a little love to get it brunch worthy. While it technically isn’t a “front porch,” I leave room in my imagination for dream alterations, and you can sip lemonade, pencil crossword puzzles and pile up summer fruit on platters for neighbors just as good on a back lanai as you can on a front porch.

Here’s the fun part–the before pictures. Don’t you love Before and After makeovers? Talk about a hook. If I’m watching a show–whether I like it or not–if I see a before picture and know the after one is coming, I’ll stick through thirty minutes of boring commentary and dumb commercials just to get to the transformation. Show me the haircut!

On our lanai to-do list was:

1.) Rip out old cabinet, counter top and tile.
2.) Repaint a nice rich color (Sherwin Williams Library Pewter).
3.) Add a rug.
4.) Find a cozy sofa made for the outdoors and durable for kid wear.
5.) Find a statement piece table.
6.) Lots of twinkle lights.

And our hopes for transformation:

1.) Utilize the space more.
2.) Entertain outside more.
3.) Have a place to work, read, chill out while watching the kids swim this summer.

The after photos: (haircut revealed!)

We ended up putting our old bedroom dresser in the spot where the old cabinet was ripped out. It fits perfectly while we wait to get something custom built.

And our two big favorite statement pieces that pull this room together–the outdoor sofa and root coffee table, both from Arhaus.

The Spinnaker Outdoor Sofa is an outdoor spin on an indoor classic. It’s versatile enough that it can be brought indoors (we love that it looks likes living room furniture!) and yet it’s made of weatherproof fabric, so you can lounge in style without worry. Its marine-grade frames, handcrafted in North Carolina with the same wood used to build boats, are covered in Sunbrella®/Outdura® slipcovered cushions that are resistant to mold, mildew and stains–a Florida mom’s dream! And it can be customized with over 50 outdoor fabrics.

And the Root Outdoor Coffee Table? We’re obsessed. It’s made of high-grade mineral composition concrete, cast from a genuine tree root and then hand-finished and hand-polished for a smooth surface. It’s an eye-grabber for sure, and the little ones love to lean into the nooks that fit them perfectly. Also–table doesn’t budge with their leaning. It’s SOL-ID.

Look! A porch party. A lanai lovefest. A sun room celebration. A veranda victory!

And then my dad came over and used his cement drill to hang the twinkle lights. Brett and I sat on that sofa sipping wine the other night, and it felt like we were in a fancy restaurant. All the feels we were hoping with this space–we got ’em!

If you haven’t been to an Arhaus, check out their site–so many dreamy, one-of-a-kind pieces for your home–and all of utmost quality. And if you’re looking for inspiration for some outdoor spaces this season, check out their new outdoor catalogue.

If you need me, I’ll be tackling a crossword puzzle and sipping lemonade out here.

Thank you Arhaus for sponsoring this post and for providing such beautiful inspiration for our new outdoor space.

I’m partnering with SLEEP NUMBER® this year to talk about Family & Rest in our home. They are sponsoring a series of posts including this one, and I’m excited to dig in to one of the biggest challenges in parenthood…sleep. 

Considering I’m fresh off a full week of flu in our family and repeated awakenings from all the crying children, you should know that I am so legit when I talk about the importance of rest right now. Rest has teetered many times in a highly dangerous position in our Family Priorities Jenga game, but it’s been repositioned to the bottom where it’s solid and holds everything up.

I wrote a post earlier last year about rest and all these special things we can do to value it–like spritz our pillows with eucalyptus and lavender and keep our bedroom a sanctuary and take the time to slip into nice pajamas before bed. I don’t necessarily get an A+ on adhering to everything in that post, but when I go back and read it, it makes me want to get an A+. I accepted the invitation to expand this into a series of posts with SLEEP NUMBER® because the challenge of restoring our rest habits and creatively exploring what a well-rested family means for us would be really good for us, and I knew without a doubt where this series would begin…in our bedroom.

When it comes to spending money on our home, our bedroom has been the last priority. Spend it on the kids! Their rooms are fun! Their rooms don’t cost as much! Besides, our bedroom has kind of turned into the throw hole. People coming over? Don’t know what to do with those cords/socks/basket of weird stuff/papers you never signed and have no intention of turning in anyway/attachment to the vacuum that broke off and Lord knows you’re never going to fix it? Why, hide it all in the bedroom, of course!

Our bedroom hasn’t been touched in a very long time, and while I have loved my big statement headboard (over 10 years old), it’s big and dark and echos what our room has been feeling lately–dark and messy and not someplace that says love and comfort and peace. We are thankful we aren’t sleeping on boards in a hut, yes. But we also knew it was time to admit that we are the foundation of this family and our home, and our room should be a place we can retreat to replenish and rest. We cannot expect our kids to create positive spaces if the one place Mom and Dad call their own is a hot mess. So over the past couple of months, we’ve taken everything out of our room and rebuilt our space focusing on comfort, peace and things that make us happy. There are some old things, new things, inexpensive things, splurge things, sentimental things, cozy things, things we made–all combined to create something we really really love now. A place of rest.

Before I get into the details of the room, we sleep more than anything else in this room and are committed to getting the best sleep possible. Our new SLEEP NUMBER® bed is the foundation of our new comfort goals. And they don’t mess around with sleep. In fact, when Brett and I went to try new beds and pick out our favorite one, we got a full sleep assessment–like Mission Impossible computer evaluation and all these pressure points on our back identified and mattress adjustments made that fit our personal needs. I like my mattress a little softer, Brett likes his a little firmer–we both get what we want. And we love the results. Our bed no longer says, “Shut up and go to sleep,” It says, “I bet you had a hard day. You’re important. Shhhh….close your eyes.” Okay that was a little creepy,  SLEEP NUMBER® beds don’t talk. But if they did, I bet they’d sound like Norah Jones singing you a lullaby. They do have brains though–little technological brains called Sleep IQ ™ technology  buried in the mattresses. Sleep IQ technology collects information about your movements, when you get up, average breathing and heart rate, what time you hit the hay–and it calculates that information to help you monitor your sleep habits. Brilliant, huh?

Finally, we paid a little attention to our own important needs: our new space of comfort and rest.

We tore out our awful dirty carpet and had wood laminate installed. My dad and I built the headboard together with old maple flooring our neighbor gave us. Every time I look at this headboard, I think about that afternoon my dad and I shared together, making it. He had blood running down his leg from a nail that got him–he never even told me. We’re still waiting for legs to arrive to hoist the bed up.

My other favorite thing about this room is the photo above the bed. In fact, it’s the first thing I planned in this room and everything–the colors, the textures–was built around it. It’s a slide I found in my grandpa’s slide box–a photo of my grandparents’ first Airstrem trailer and their car in the mountains on one of their trips. I had LegacyBox transfer it into a digital file and framed it with Framebridge.

This new space and our commitment to more comfort has already created such a healthy shift–I can’t wait to see what follows.

And thank you to SLEEP NUMBER® for sponsoring this post, creating some good momentum we needed and for supporting our goals to be a healthy not-freaking-out-because-we’re-so-tired-and-crabby family.