We take our porches seriously here in the south.

Whether it’s on the front or backside of your home, porches are basically another living space perfect for summer sweet tea sippin’, afternoon nappin’, and neighbor watchin’.

Here, our porches are comfortable and inviting. Basically enticing visitors to come on up and sit a spell.

That’s how the porches are where I’m from, at least.

I’ll talk more later on about Justin’s and my decision to add on a screened in porch when we built our house. For now, just know that having an outdoor living space was essential to us and having a screened in porch as an option during construction was a primary reason we selected the builder neighborhood that we did.

Before I jump too far ahead of myself, though, let’s talk about a furniture piece I added to our porch over the weekend … a daybed!

I had a vision for a dreamy lounge space that our little family can enjoy together, and I searched and searched for regular ol’ outdoor furniture to fit that vision.

The problem with outdoor furniture, though, is that the good stuff isn’t cheap and the cheap stuff isn’t good. And I can’t justify dropping thousands for a lounge set for our porch.

So, I started thinking outside the box and before long it hit me. We already had a twin bed in our guest room that we planned to swap out for a queen. Why not move that twin mattress to the porch?

It’s genius, right? I like to think so. Plus, having daybeds on porches is very common in the southern states. I remember my great grandmother having one on her front, and I loved curling up on it during the summer.

After many online searches and endless scrolling of Facebook Marketplace looking for the perfect daybed frame for the right price, I finally said screw it and ordered this one for $120 from Amazon.

I put it together over the weekend while Justin got Jack down for a nap, and holy moly, I am beyond happy with this decision. To keep the mattress safe from our North Carolina seasons, I wrapped it in a waterproof cover and then put a cotton daybed cover over top. We will see how it holds up.

The bed looks adorable on our porch and has already been a great spot to beat the heat with afternoon popsicles and puppy snuggles. I am sure that I wouldn’t feel this pleased with my design decision if I had gone with a standard patio set.

Pillows and a new outdoor rug are on the way, and I need to find chairs and a few other pieces to finish out the space.

For now, though, we are thoroughly enjoying our new spot.

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