How To Decorate A Porch

Decorating your porch is so important! It’s the first thing you see when you come home or have guests over, it sets the tone for the whole house and we are going to teach you how to decorate a porch.

Do you know the old saying about first impressions? Well, the front porch is where people will get their first impression of your home.  Think you of your porch as a calling card, or a preview of the inside of your home. The kitchen is often referred to as the heart of the home, but your porch is a window to the soul. It is often the only thing passers-by or your neighbors will see of your home, you want it to feel warm and inviting and not as a place for storage.

How To Decorate A Front Porch

Decorating a front porch is a simple weekend project, first, take a look at what you are working with. Is it a small portal? Or is it spacious? When you step in the door where does it lead? Is it in the shade? Or is it sunny a good portion of the day? How is it decorated inside the door? What colors and styles are inside your home? Is your porch covered or not?

Decorating A Small Porch

When decorating a small porch you should carry out the feel of your home, draw the colors and textures from the inside out onto your porch. When decorating a small porch it’s best to decorate using vertical items, especially along stairs that way you don’t take up all of the floor space or make it difficult to access your front door. Make the most of walls and ceilings by hanging pots or specially made outdoor prints that can withstand the elements. Don’t go crazy and overdo, otherwise, your entry area can become clutter and overwhelming and that isn’t what you want it to feel like.

Find a balance, try to mirror your decor on either side of your door to keep everything cohesive. You do not have to have something on every step (I would recommend it on either side of the door though), try placing pots on alternating sides of steps. If there is room try adding pairs of pots, urns or other types of planters in twos and threes to the sides of your door for an interesting focal point.

If you have the room you could add a small seating area or cafe table and chairs but don’t press it, if you do not have room. You want the space to be comfortable, not claustrophobic.

Veranda Decorating Ideas

If you have a large front porch or screened in area that doubles as living space you can give the room a different look as you would different rooms in your house. Just make sure the decor compliments the colors and character of the outside of your home.

Depending on how big your porch is consider adding a swing or loveseat that seats two, an ottoman that can be used as extra seating or a coffee table depending on your needs (or if you don’t have room for that a skinny table will do just fine) and at least one solo chair. Group them with the largest piece of furniture facing out and the others stationed around it like a living room set. Leave enough space that people can comfortably get around the furniture.

Add outdoor pillows to your chairs for a splash of color, and give the space a cozy feel. If you use a small table, try adding a lantern, small potted plant, or even a candle.

Front Porch Planter Ideas

Adding a container garden when decorating a porch or entryway go along way to making a space feel more friendly. Try adding a set of matching urns to either side of your door or at the top of your steps to catch your eye. Or layer your pots to either side of the door with a tall one in back to give it a different look. Add some pots that match the color of your decor down the stairs to draw your colors down to the sidewalk.

If your porch gets full sun try some of our favorites like:

Petunias
Geraniums
Moss roses
Garber Daisies
Dalias
Mums
Petchoas
Calibrachoa
Sweet Potato Vines
Creeping Jenny
Coleus

For porches in the shade or covered porches try planting:

Impatience
Begonias
Pansies
Caladiums
Torenia (AKA wishbone flowers)
Coleus
Artemisia
Littletunia series petunias (make sure you check the tag, as some petunias need full sun)
Rex begonia
Lenten roses (AKA hellebores)
Violas

How To Layer Your Container Gardens

Try layering several of these plants together in pots and planters for a fuller more vibrant effect. Choose a short plant, or one that creeps and place that around the edges of your pot, then something with a bit more hight and a splash of color behind it. In the center plant something taller than the rest of the plants.

Front Porch Landscaping

Now that you know how to decorate a front porch, think about your landscaping Draw the colors and plants on your beautiful porch into your landscaping. Don’t stop at the foot of the stairs, draw them along the front of your porch or along sidewalks. Create a border using short, or trailing plants, in the back of your bed plant your taller plants (keep in mind that while they are small when first planted in a few months they will get much bigger). In between these rows plant things that are shorter than the back row but taller than the front.  You can try to stagger the plants for a different look or simply plant them in rows. We’ll be releasing an article on how to layer plants in a few weeks to get a professional gardener look. 

Front Porch Decorating On A Budget

A great way to decorate a front porch on a budget and make your porch or entryway stand out is by painting the door with a high gloss paint, some people recommend painting it a color that will pop against your house (for example a white house with a red door), we choose to go with a black door against red brick to match our shudders. You could also change out the hardware on your door, add a sculptural door knocker, and update the house number will give your door a whole new look. Adding a wreath to your door will help to make the space more welcoming and cozy.

Add some throw pillows, a simple bench or rocking chair, a cute doormat, and some plants to create a welcoming space on a budget.

How To Seasonally Decorate A Porch

To decorate a porch for autumn and Thanksgiving replace your summer flowers with mums and decorative cabbage to your planters. Add pumpkins here and there and a large wreath to your door. 

To decorate a porch for Christmas or winter try switching flowers out for faux evergreen trees (depending on where you are living), Christmas lights and a grapevine or evergreen wreath.

When decorating a porch for spring or Easter try adding bright flowers, cheerful colored planters and a beautiful wreath to your door. Think outside the box and draw nature onto your porch and door. 

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Still, need some inspiration? Check out Liz Marie Galvan’s blog for some beautiful farmhouse designs.

Before you go, check these out!

• Plow & Hearth Wicker Swing Review
• Summer Farmhouse Tablescape
• Farmhouse Kitchen Makeover

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