In the dog days of summer, Middleton residents everywhere are looking to spend more time outside. And what space is more convenient than our outdoor patios and Porches? A good porch welcomes people to the home. And yet, designing the spaces just outside our doors can be easily overlooked by the larger interior design community. This is where Julie Bowker, “The Porch Girl” comes in. Her interest in porches started early. As a child, her grandfather built a playhouse for her and her three sisters.
“We had a porch and I was always the one out there decorating it, putting chairs out, flowers, a wreath, and honestly, it just kind of took off from there.”
Now, Julie takes her childhood passion and helps people all over the Midwest make the best use of their outdoor spaces. When someone with a less-than-beautiful porch first reaches out, they’ll send a picture of their space and Julie provides a quote and design custom to their needs. Using Canva, she’s able to help clients see what their space can look like before even setting foot on their porch.
“My goal is to make the whole process the least amount of work for them, and I take that into consideration when choosing products. A lot of people who reach out to me don't want real flowers and don't want real greens because they don't want to take care of them. I’ll do real flowers if they want, but if not, I have some really great companies that I found that make faux flowers. My goal is to just make everything functional, affordable, and low maintenance.”
Julie works hard to find materials that can handle Wisconsin weather, along with repurposing items her clients might already have on hand. You may have a chair that’s sturdy but needs a new cushion. Or a sign that makes you smile. All sorts of things help a porch come together once there’s an expert to guide the process. Beyond function, a porch upgrade can have an immediate impact on the relationship people have with their homes, especially this time of year.
“People want to spend time out there. They want to come home from work in the summer and go spend time outside, not inside. The weather's beautiful. At the house I worked on yesterday, my client was sitting on her newly decorated patio before I left!”
Changing the decor of an outdoor space is about more than aesthetics. A front porch is the first “welcome” to a home. Giving some design attention to that space can soften the whole experience of a home. When people are out on their porches, neighborhoods feel friendlier, and that cycle of more usable space can have a huge impact on people's everyday lives.
“I have a girlfriend who lives two houses down, and last year, they completely redid the front of their house. It was a year project, and the whole time she was like I can't wait for you to do my porch. I ended up doing it on Mother's Day, late morning when I knew she wouldn't be home. When she texted me, she was crying. She was like, I just pulled up, and it's so beautiful.”
Looking to be moved to tears by the beauty of your outdoor spaces? The first step might be in your cleaning cabinet. “The first thing and this is the first thing I do when I go to a client's house is I clean. I clean the windows, I sweep the porch.” Beyond the powers of a good sweep, Julie stresses the impact of simple changes
“A wreath, a doormat, maybe layered over an outdoor rug, maybe a pot with flowers. Those little things will change the space automatically.”
Porches and patios big and small are really about making the most of the space you have. Simple things like seasonal refreshes (another service The Porch Girl offers) can go a long way towards loving all of your home, all year long. And who doesn’t need a little more leisure in their life?
“When these homes have beautiful spaces, you want to fill them. When I see a house with a plain porch, I just think ‘It has so much potential.”
My goal is to just make everything functional, affordable, and low maintenance.
My client was sitting on her newly decorated patio before I left!