One of my favorite things about my tiny but awesome coach house is that I also have a (tiny but still awesome) front porch all to myself. It’s not like I’ve never had outdoor space at any of my previous apartments… but the fact that it’s all mine makes it so. much. better. And this year I’m making it my own little outdoor paradise.

Last year I fell in love with this super fun colorful yellow geometric table and chairs by West Elm, but because I waited just one minute too long I missed out – sad face –

I was optimistically hoping that they would carry it again this year but apparently I’m still a rookie at manifesting whatever my little heart desires, so it looks like I get to come up with something even better.

What to do… I’m suddenly completely indecisive. I know I want lots of plants and somewhere to sit, but other than that… I feel like I have sudden onset commitment issues…

The one good thing about having a small porch is that there are only so many options… I started looking around at furniture and planter possibilities and if I can’t have the cute yellow table and chairs I started thinking maybe I’d just do a nice long bench? But I wasn’t sure if it would be too crowded. Maybe just stick with a table and chairs? Sigh… it’s so much easier to make these decisions for other people. Here are some of my favorite finds so far:

1. Jardiniere chair, Terrain 2. Bruno Planter, Crate & Barrel 3. Otter Planter, Crate & Barrel 4. Bistro table, Terrain 5. vintage benches, I’ve seen similar at numerous vintage stores, in Chicago check out Roost 6. Bistro chair, Terrain 7. Round back bench, Terrain 8. Dexter Bench 9. Kronos planter, CB2

Since I was getting nowhere on the decision train by just shopping and trying to imagine what would look or fit best, I drew up the plans to actually see what the furniture would look like and how it would fit in the space.

I like the idea of a bench, but I think it might be too crowded…

After drawing a table and two chairs I realized – anything is going to be crowded.

So I started really thinking – what do I want to be able to do when I’m outside? There are two main activities, but I’m not sure I can accomplish both of them with the same furniture choices. I want to be able to curl up and relax, read a magazine or just hang out and enjoy the weather (most of the time with a glass of wine), and I also want to be able to sit and study outside – I am in the last leg of finishing my Architecture license exams, most (least) fun of my life.

I’m still not 100% sure what I will decide… while I ruminate over my options I’m going to get started with the easy part of this transformation, planting all of the flowers and veggies. I’m sure that as I start to fill up the space I will get some clarity on what furniture really belongs there. Gotta trust that intuition… stay tuned!