We began by making a trip to Menards to buy the pine wood to wrap the 6 posts you see in the before photo. It took 3 full days to complete and then I painted 2 coats of exterior white paint about a week ago before we hosted our July 4th week of festivities. See here and here for pictures.
BEFORE:
AFTER:
What a difference some pine wood, screws, and exterior white paint make in transforming a porch!
Next project: painting the porch and back deck with Restore