Dreams really do come true! Ever since we moved in I envisioned what it would be like to take a nap, on a porch swing, in the middle of the pouring rain. It’s been a long road but we’re finally here! Keep reading to see how I turned our pergola into my own little slice of heaven.

In order to make my dream a reality I had to break this process down into 3 steps:

1. Clean the patio and get rid of all the old patio furniture that was taking up space.
2. Cover the pergola so rain can’t get through.
3. Hang the porch swing and decorate.

1. First things first, I had to clean off the patio. We actually don’t use this space too often so I’m surprised it got as gross as it did. But, with an open roof and water and dirt being able to flow through, I shouldn’t be surprised. Luckily, I was able to borrow my parent’s power washer and got the concrete cleaned off in no time! Seriously though, there is nothing more satisfying than washing dirt away with a power washer! I’ve made a couple TikTok videos but here are some screenshot comparisons.

I also had to clean off all the old patio furniture and get rid of it. I got this set for $200 on Amazon and really thought I could use this again in our future house. But it’s a little small and I’m going for a light-and-bright feel so the black wasn’t going to cut it. I ended up selling these on the LegGo app and it was so easy! I sold the set for $50 and I should have charged more because I received multiple offers within a couple minutes of posting.

2. Ever since we moved in, my husband and I have been complaining about the pergola. Sure, it’s great and I’m so glad we have the structure, but the roof as slits in it that doesn’t block the rain or sun… so what’s the point of having a ‘roof’? We thought about covering the roof with more wood and staining them to match, but with the current wood shortage, and overpricing, that didn’t seem like the best option. Also, it wouldn’t make the patio completely waterproof as water can always seep through the cracks.

That’s when I decided to cover the patio with a waterproof tarp. Since our patio is fairly large, I ended up having to get a custom made tarp at Covers & All. In short, they can make covers for everything! I even ended up getting the porch swing cover from here and love it. My custom items shipped within a week and were at my doorstep in less than two, so no complaints here. I even thought the price was reasonable at around $300.

The hard part, of course, wasn’t ordering the tarp but installing the tarp and attaching it to the pergola. I wen’t back and forth with my dad, en engineer, on the best way to attach the tarp. We decided to use grommets and screws to attach the tarp to the pergola. We found a grommet kit online to punch the grommets into the tarp, the used screws to attach them to the pergola.

Pro Tip: get washers with rubber on the bottom so water doesn’t seep through.

3. Finally, on to the fun stuff! Now that the patio has been cleaned and waterproofed, it’s time to decorate. There are so many varieties of porch swings and at the end of the day you should find one that fits your needs. My dream was specific, I want to curl up with a good book and a bunch of blankets with my dog. So I needed what’s called a twin size daybed swing. It’s exactly what it sounds like, a twin bed frame, hanging up. If you’re handy with carpentry then this wouldn’t be a hard thing to DIY. However, I’m not so I bought one online. I got super lucky and found this one on a Wayfair Black Friday deal for $470, normally $700. So if $700 is completely out of your price range then check back November 2022 and I’ll let you know if it’s on sale. Once I purchased the frame I bought a twin size outdoor mattress, also on Wayfair for $60. Then, since it’ll be outside and exposed to the elements, I bought an outdoor, waterproof mattress cover just for overkill.

Exactly what I bought:

Other porch swing options:

Now that I had the swing, it’s time to hang it! Luckily, the swing came with really good ropes that are thick and sturdy enough. To attach them to the roof, I bought this set of hangers on Amazon for $50 for 4.

The swing decor was the most fun to shop for! Since I got everything hung in December I decided to jump right into Christmas decor.

Literally the day after Christmas, the first thing I did as put up the blue and white decor because I couldn’t resist!

For more of my patio decor and favorites, you can checkout my Amazon Storefront, because lets be honest, I buy almost everything on Amazon!

More awesome decor: