A Peeling Porch Last Touched in the ’90s Gets a Pink Paint Makeover for $775

Sarah EverettHome Projects Editor
Sarah EverettHome Projects Editor
I organize the Before & After series and cover DIY and design. I joined AT in October 2020 as a production assistant. I have an MA in Journalism from the University of Missouri and a BA in Journalism from Belmont University. Past editorial stops include HGTV Magazine, Nashville Arts Magazine, and local magazines in my hometown, Columbia, Missouri.
published Aug 15, 2025
We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.
About this before & after
Home Type
Project Type
Cost
Skill Level
Rental Friendly

Homeowner and DIYer Brittany’s advice when it comes to choosing exterior paint colors is to go colorful. “I think outdoor spaces are more forgiving with exuberant colors, so don’t be afraid to pick a bold, fun color,” she says.

For her own porch makeover project, she picked pink (Sherwin-Williams’ Comical Coral) to cover the once-blue-gray, peeling porch floors and half-walls. 

“The porch was exactly how it was when my grandmother lived there — likely last painted in the ’90s,” Brittany explains..” There was a full-coverage dark blue outdoor carpet, [and] the block half-wall was peeling and faded light blue. It was very bland … I spend so much time outside, especially in the summer because there is no central air in the house, so I wanted to make it a happy, inviting space.”

The first step was power washing. 

First Brittany had to power wash the peeling paint off, and she hired a professional mason to reinforce some of the block wall. (That cost about $400 of the $775 total project.) Once the surface was prepped, it was time to paint.

Painting was a one-day project. 

The paint for the porch revamp cost about $150. The hardest part of the project was keeping bugs out of the drying paint, and Brittany’s whole family came to help knock out the project in a day. (They also gave her some of the furniture for her new-and-improved porch.)

“I should have painted the whole ceiling with a fresh coat of white while I was at it, but we were all done with painting by the end of the day,” Brittany says. She can still tackle the ceiling paint project later if she wants to, but for now she loves the new painted space. 

“I love how the greens and blues of the tropical rug pop against the coral of the paint color,” she says. “The warm tone of the floor and half-wall brings an overall happiness to the space for me.”