I’ve written before about how hard it can be to leave the farm for a vacation in the summer time. So we staycation a lot. And honestly, that’s probably more liberal than it deserves. We “staycation” a lot in the summer. On Friday and Saturday evenings. On our own back porch. After working all day. {smile} We’re blessed that the farm provides everything one could need to get a little rest and relaxation without having to go anywhere at all! It can truly feel like a “family vacation” with very little effort if you make the most of your space and time! (Just ask all the family that comes to vacation with us!)

Here’s how we make the most of our porches all summer long for family time!

1. Shade or Filtered Natural Light

Around here, nobody’s going to be enjoying summertime outside without some shade!

When we built our house, we were on a tight budget and we had to compromise on just about everything that was on our original “deal breaker” list. The one feature we hung on to was real, covered porches on the front and back. We wanted 10 foot wide, and we did manage to squeeze 8 foot wide into our budget, but we did not want an open deck on the back. It’s made a HUGE difference for us in using the porches as livable space all year long. Our house faces west, so we have sun on the back porch during the morning, and on the front porch during the afternoon. Just pick your preferred spot!

Other options for adding shade or filtering sunlight in outside spaces if you can’t just move to a better spot–trellises, arbors, or pergola with lovely climbing plants; lattice or painted screens; antique stain glass windows (this is still on our porch decor list!); or sheer curtains.

2. Seating Options

A great space has somewhere to hang out and talk, eat, or play games. Or all 3! Our porches are an eclectic mix of old and new, salvaged, scavenged, clearance, and DIY. We also use seating types and styles to break our long porches into distinct sections.

One end of our front porch has traditional rockers and a love seat that Mr. Fix-It’s grandfather bought years (and years!) ago from a traveling salesman. They’ve been re-painted several times now, but are still sturdy. The furniture is grouped together with an overturned washtub for a shared tabletop and a rug to pull it all together and make it feel like a formal space. The other end has an antique church pew with a couple throw pillows. Not super comfortable, but it works to give a couple extra seats for cooling off after working outside and the pew seat has storage.

The back porch has a round table with chairs, then a bench, then a full dining table and chairs for up to 6 people comfortably. Or 8 if we’re cramming kids in! {smile}

Hint: Cushion quality really does make a huge difference! We’ve gone cushion-less, and we’ve had bargain cushions. You can survive it. But the last two years we’ve slowly upgraded our seating cushions one section at a time. I’m sure company appreciates it, but since we use it every. single. day. it’s actually made the most difference to us.

3. Lighting

We love using our porches for quality time together after dark. Adults can sit and talk while the kiddos run around chasing lightening bugs and catching frogs. Or you can sit and watch the crew roasting marshmallows at the fire pit nearby. You can have a snack, play cards or board games, or just hang out together. We like to use a mix of lighting to create a relax atmosphere and keep from attracting too many bugs. How cute is this DIY table lamp from a solar sidewalk light?

We have a couple strings of inexpensive patio lights along the porch roof and clothesline. We have a mix of citronella candles that are scattered around the table and railings when we’re out there. And we do have wall mounted and ceiling mounted lighting if we want to use it, but usually, party-lights and candles are enough and the brighter porch lights really attract the bugs.

By the way, I’m currently in love with the idea of torches instead of candles and using mason jars (of course!) instead of store-bought holders. You can see lots of examples and ideas on my Porches and Outdoor Inspiration Pinterest board, but you can also check out the great Mason Jar Citronella torch DIY tutorial from Grassy Branch Farm. I think the Ladybug and I would like to try and make some this summer.

4. Air Flow

Even the nights are steamy and humid in the summer here in Tidewater. To enjoy time outside, a nice breeze–even if it’s hot air!–makes all the difference. We have ceiling fans on our porches for that reason. You could get the same cooling effect with standing fans. Fans help keep the bugs down, and can be adjusted not to blow your napkins away! Decorative table fans would be a nice addition on coffee or end tables as well, to circulate some air.

Our front porch ceiling fans are very decorative and were hard to find–and replacement parts are hard to find as well! Our back porch fans are very plain and meant to just blend in with the porch ceiling. The biggest thing we’ve found is keeping the bulb wattage down and making sure they run quietly. No one wants to hear the rickety old ceiling fan over the sound of crickets and frogs.

5. Tables and Surfaces

We like to eat outside in good weather, so we have two tables on the back porch with our grill. However, we also have flat surfaces for drinks, trays, and books (because who doesn’t like a good book and a cup of tea on the porch!) on the front and back porches. You’ll need a place to put all those bug candles too! You could use formal end tables, or in our case, you’ll find a budget-friendly mix of washtubs, chicken crates, ammunition boxes, antique crocks, and wrought iron plant stands. An old milking stool would be an adorable addition as a seat for little folks or a spot for your coffee cup!

Something to keep in mind is that you can add surfaces without a lot of room by using trays. While storing them in the house is challenging, we have several serving trays that easily go back and forth for drinks and snacks. If you follow us on Facebook or Instagram, you probably know that Hobby Lobby is currently my favorite place to find fun, vintage or farmhouse-style serving trays. We have the bigger one of these turquoise trays and how easy would it be to DIY something like this simple plank tray? I’ve also spray-painted and mod-podged an old wicker tray from my parents’ house to freshen it up.

By the way, our full-sized table on the back porch also doubles as a messy craft table! Just throw a simple plastic tablecloth over it and the kiddos can play-doh, paint, glue, and create to their heart’s’ content in the fresh air! I find that one of the plastic ones with flannel backing usually lasts at least two summers if we make sure to pick it up regularly before the rain.

6. Dishes

Know what makes summer nights easy and fun? No dishes. Seriously. {smile}

I keep paper plates and napkins around for summer company. Then we’ve simplified our drinking glasses down to only Mason jars–which are sturdy, dishwasher safe, and multi-purpose. And I found these reusable plasticware utensils. They’re recycled plastic so they’re more environmentally friendly (but not totally green, of course) they’re sturdy enough to be washed and reused if you want to. Or not. No big deal. Kinda like the Ziploc containers. You can re-use them, but if someone forgets to bring one home (or just forgets to empty it and it’s gross!) it’s not a big deal–ya just chuck it. You ruin my real Tupperware or Pyrex, or even our Lunch Blox, and we’re going to have a “talk.”

I’m on the fence about the idea of using something like dishwasher-safe melamine for summer time. I’d love to hear your experiences.

So what are some of our favorite things to do outside on the porch? We like eating outside, having summer snacks (like popsicles!), playing cards and board games, reading, playing legos, crafts, or painting, and nerf gun wars when it’s raining.

How about you? What are some of your favorite outdoor spaces for family time?