When we sold our old center hall colonial last fall to search for a smaller home, I don’t think either of us anticipated we’d still be house hunting come summer. Alas, we’re on week 35 of our search, and between the extremely limited inventory and crazy prices, here we are! 

We are beyond lucky to have found our rental home. It’s just a couple of blocks from our old home, recently updated, and all one level, which, at the risk of sounding like an old lady, has made for pretty easy livin’!

But as people who love a good project, be it a full on renovation or just a room refresh, it’s been hard to know where to put that energy. Plus, I think the challenge with any rental, no matter how lovely, is feeling at home when you didn’t choose the colors, the finishes, etc. When it doesn’t feel like you. 

When the warm weather hit this spring, we started spending most of our evenings out on the sweet front porch with the furniture the house came with. As the days turned into weeks, I realized we’d more than likely be spending our summer here, and I figured - why wait to make it a space that feels more like our home?! 

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In the midst of our dining room refresh with Serena and Lily last year (see that here!), I bookmarked many of their outdoor pieces, and we were so thrilled to partner with them again to refresh our porch this summer. The furniture on our last porch (pictured here) was fine, but we always talked about getting something cozier - and Tom really wanted something he can take a nap on ;) 

With the knowledge that this space won’t be ours forever, we wanted something that was versatile in terms of size, style, and color. Bonus points for being part of a larger collection that we can add to over time, depending on the size of the porch / outdoor space in our yet to be found new home. Speaking of porch / outdoor space, finding something durable and weather resistant was key as well, since while we’d love a covered porch at our next home, we may have more of a patio situation, and this would need to work for that, too. 

We had a lengthy list of requirements, but when we stumbled upon the Pacifica collection, we knew the Pacifica Loveseat in Driftwood would fit the bill. It’s the perfect size for our porch now and a size that’s versatile enough to fit any future space. While it’s not quite long enough for Tom to nap on it (he’s already excited to add the Pacifica Sofa to our collection once we’re sure it’ll fit our new space!), it’s such an upgrade in terms of “cozy” from our last set and we’re already spending so much more time lingering on the porch into the evening. 

As for durable, it should be noted that I promptly spilled rosé on the white Sunbrella fabric - the first night! - and the wine beaded up and wiped right off. And the cutest little footprints from my niece and nephew also wiped off easily with a damp cloth. I was a little nervous about the white, but the Sunbrella fabric gets five stars so far! Plus there’s a protective cover that I’ll more than likely be ordering as a little extra protection from the weather.

But most of all, and this might seem cheesy, seeing it there has made us feel at home. Styled with my favorite blue and white planters (filled to the brim with geraniums, of course!) and a $5 vintage stool from a barn sale, it makes me smile every time I walk out the door. 

The takeaway here is that just because we’re waiting for our next home to come on the market (impatiently, I might add 😂), doesn’t mean we can’t take steps to feel at home while we wait. We have no idea how long we’ll be living here - we could find our dream home tomorrow, or we could find it next fall. In the meantime, if there are things we can do to make our rental feel more like home, more like us, why not do it?! I’m so glad we did.

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P.S. Speaking of feeling at home, here’s what else is on my shopping list as we continue to personalize this space: these light blue and white gingham pillows (and maybe the matching camp stools for extra guests?!), this cooler to save trips back and forth to the fridge for another cold beverage, this console table for the ultimate bar / snack set up, and this sweet scalloped tray for serving. Summer nights on the porch, here we come. 

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*This post was in partnership with Serena and Lily, a brand we adore and whose products we regularly use and love. The post contains affiliate links, and If you buy something through these links, we may earn an affiliate commission, at no cost to you. Thank you for supporting the brands that support The Yellow Note!