Front Porch Decor



Hello There!

 

It's a rainy day, so I'll be honest, my job for today is scouring Pinterest and the HGTV website for ideas and inspiration for our front porch. It's working! I feel inspired and excited. Here's my conclusion: With a little bit of work, a few bucks, and some sunshine, we're going to have a comfy front porch this year.

 

Here are a couple of pictures of our house and front porch (they're old pix, and don't show the foundation garden we put in last year, but I'm not going out in the rain to take a new picture for you - I might melt).

 

 

 

As you can see the lattice is black, as are the shutters. (It's funny, in these pictures it looks like we could be in a development, but we're actually in the middle of nowhere land, with trees all around us!)

 

See, this is my front yard!

 

 

Sorry, I get sidetracked.  So, the porch is pretty long and skinny, therefore, my seating options are somewhat limited. Either side of the front door there is room for a small cafe table, or a few rockers.

The first thing I want is a couple of runner sized indoor/outdoor rugs. That's about the only size rug I can fit.  I did search around various blogs and Pinterest for tutorials on making my own rugs. A drop cloth rug may be something I could do, but with all I have goiong on this summer (weddings, birthdays, graduations) - I'm hoping to buy a rug or two.  I feel kind of guilty, but, here's one I love. Yellow is my favorite color, and I think it would look great on either side of the porch.

 

This porch below is about the shape and width of our porch.  I am loving the curtains. I am going to hang curtains on the far ends (not along the front). I want something breezy and colorful. I'm making my own, using fabric from the fabric store.

 

When I look at our front porch all I can see is the white front door. Look at me, I'm boing! (That's what it's saying to me - or maybe that's just the voices again). Anyway, my hubby, Big A, agrees that the door looks boring, and we're painting it black.

 

 

So, I did a little research, and found a tutorial on painting the front door. Sounds easy enough.

 

 

How to paint your front door HERE.

 

Another easy fix for the porch is to paint all of the pots. Whether they're plastic or ceramic, a coat of fresh paint (spray paint works), is an easy upgrade. Just remember it's important to use paint that will withstand the elements outdoors.

I've been checking out the local garden centers. All of the different colored pots are beautiful. I'm especially drawn to the gold, but I have to admit, gold wont work for our home. Not this year anyway. Everything is so new, (we built our home just 2 years ago), the gardens are a work in progress, and the grass hasn't fully grown in yet. 

I'm thinking the gold might be "making a silk purse out of a sows ear", as my great-grandmother used to say. I don't really know what that means, but gold would be too fancy for our home. I think black for the larger pots and some colorful little guys, would look a lot better.

The pot below is great - just paint a large pot and put our house numbers on it. I can do that!




We have two rockers, similar to the one below, which were a gift from my parents. They're natural wood, and unfortunately, they were attacked by the dog.  Hey, it's hard to tell the differece between a chair and an intruder. SO, the chairs get a makeover - wood fill for the chew marks, and a new coat of paint too. I think they'll look gorgeous painted black.

To match the yellow rug, I'm thinking some yellow patterned pillows for the black rockers.

I like the stripes and patterns above.  I'll make my own DIY No Sew Pillows. (All I'm going to do is use two tea towels, glue gun the edges and fill with fluffy stuff.)

My favorite idea, is one I used at our old house. I am going to put Hostas and Coleus in the long window box planters, and put them along the front railings. As the plants grow they create some height and natural privacy. Plus, they're pretty easy to grow, and very colorful.

To hang them along the railing, I use the brackets below:



They hook over the railing, and they adjust to the width of the planter, which is handy.

Now, in case Big A, wasn't paying attention, this is the rug I want. What? I'm just giving him ideas for my birthday!




So what are you doing for your porches. Got any cool ideas?