Twelve Decorating Tips for Making A Front Porch Cozy and Beautiful

It is always nice to refresh your porch. I have twelve decorating tips for making a front porch cozy and beautiful.

One of my favorite things to do is sit on my front porch in the morning sipping my cup of coffee. It is so nice to sit on my rocker or bench listening to the birds’ songs. The smell of flowers blooming is in the air. It is one of my favorite places to hang out.

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Twelve Decorating Tips For Making A Front Porch Cozy And Beautiful

Here are twelve decorating tips to make your front or back porch cozy and beautiful. It will be a place where your family and friends will love to gather.

1. Clean The Porch

The first thing to do after the winter months is to give your porch a good cleaning. As the plants and trees begin to bloom, pollen gets everywhere.

All of the furniture will get a good wipe-down with warm water. Over the years, warm water seems to do the job nicely without the need for soap.

The siding and railing will get power washed. The front window is a good wipe down with paper towels and Windex. Then the porch gets a good rinse off with the hose. I found sweeping will swirl the pollen up.

Finally, the front door and windows get a good wipe down too.

After the porch dries off, it’s time to have some fun to refresh things.

2. Make Your Front Door Welcoming

One of the ways to make your front door welcoming is by adding a wreath. It complements the door and adds pops of color. A little sign in your wreath that has welcome always looks nice.

I love making wreathes to change out the look on my door through the seasons.

There is a full tutorial here to make this basket wreath.

Sometime changing things up with a wooden sign instead of a tradition wreath is fun. Here is a door sign with a bow and greenery. It can be customized with various options. You can order one here.

My current wreath below, I found last year at HomeGoods. A sweet bird’s nest was added along with a pretty bow.

The greenery with the purple cone flower looks lovely with the seagrass green siding on our home.

3. Layer Your Door Mat

These decorating tips will add some warmth to your front porch. Try layering rugs. Add a larger rug under your door mat. It is a fun way to bring some pattern and texture to the space.

The door mat was part of my Mother’s Day gift from my daughter and her husband. She made a gift bag with items for me to decorate such as a throw, pillow, vases, and door mat. How fun was that!

You can change out your top mat for the seasons or switch out the bottom rug.

4. Add Plants & Containers

Here are a couple of decorating tips when working with plants and containers. Pay attention to the scale of your container on your front porch. Sometimes people use containers that are way too small. As Carmen Johnson, Bespoke Garden Plans would say “Go big or go home”.

When you add plants to containers, think of this easy rhythm “fillers, spillers, and thrillers”. What does this all mean? To make sure you have beautiful focal points in your garden containers include fillers, spillers and thrillers plants. These three key elements will balance your planter for that WOW factor.

A thriller is something eye-catching. It is usually a plant that may have some height, color and/or texture. Types of thrillers are spikey grasses, Jester, Salvia, Canna, Corkscrew Rush, Dahlias, etc.

A spiller is a plant that will cascade from the container. Types of spillers are Vinca, Alyssum (fragrant), Creepy Jenny, Sweet Potato Vine, Ivy, trailing begonias, Baby Sun Rose, etc.

Fillers would be Geranium, Drift Snow, Begonias, Marigolds, Zinnias, Sweet William, Coleus, Petunias, etc.

Basically, my container above has one thriller, one spiller and three fillers. It is going to depend on the size of your container for the number of plants that will be necessary to fill it.

Here is another example: The thriller is the curly green spikes called “Spiralis” also known as “Corkscrew Rush.” The spillers used are “Creepy Jenny”. This plant comes back each year. The fillers are “Purple Shamrocks (Oxalis triangularis)” and “Wishbone Flower”.

Sometimes a plant can stand alone without any thrillers or spillers. This fern is planted in a large pot. Ferns need to be watered daily or they will brown. Ferns are the perfect addition to urns or large pots.

5. Add The Right Porch Furniture

The scale of your furniture needs to fit your space. Nothing worse is seeing a house with dinky furniture on a huge wrap around porch.

Sometimes you will see the exact opposite. A small porch with large pieces of furniture. It’s best to save the larger furniture for the back patio.

If your porch is large, you can do conversation areas. Our porch is large enough for two conversation areas. One area consists of two outdoor rockers and a side table.

The second conversation area, I added a vintage bench. This bench was made from an old iron bed. A cushion bench pad was made along with some matching toile pillows.

Sometimes my husband and son will be sitting on the rockers, and I will sit over here with an evening drink. It is the perfect reading nook and where I love to hide.

Finally, if your furniture is outside it needs to be weather resistant. If you are buying or making furniture for the outdoors, be sure the pieces are sealed to protect it from moisture.

6. Outdoor Pillows

A confession here, I have a thing for pillows. My husband tells me all the time, “honey you don’t need any more pillows”. I love them whether it’s indoors or outside.

This year, I wanted a little more color on my porch. Two pillows in an orange geometric print complement the Dragonfly pillow. Did you know that Dragonflies are good luck?

A throw for those chilly mornings. It gets thrown in the wash each week. It’s mainly a lap blanket.

The rockers have the same pillows as last year. Yes, they are still available, and good quality pillows. Wintertime, I took them inside and washed them. With the pollen outside, I will hose them off and they dry in no time at all. Great pillows!

7. Add Signs or Artwork

Recently, I added a sign to my porch. My porch is covered and has this blank wall space. It was the perfect spot to hang this sign. Right over my bench!

How about adding a sign to personalize your space? Many small shops have personalization for signs. I was able to change the wording for my sign. I have the source link below for you.

8. Paint The Ceiling Blue

A Southern tradition is to paint porch ceiling blues. It is said to ward off evil spirits. I have often heard that by painting your porch ceiling blue, bugs will not hang from it. It looks like the depth of the sky.

9. Mix Vintage & New

Vintage Items can add warmth to your space. It gives that look of time. I like shiny and new, but not everything needs to be new. Mixing old and new, gives the look of coziness to me. It also creates your style.

A vintage bench like I have here on my porch with new pillows. It is perfect for mixing the old with the new!

The old wooden drawer found at a vintage market is used as a planter from some Geraniums.

A pop of greenery peeks out of this charming watering can, along with a lovely ceramic bird. These simple touches personalize the space, adding a touch of whimsy.

10. Add Hanging Baskets

Adding hanging baskets to your porch can give it that southern charm. Ferns look lovely in hanging baskets. My mother hangs baskets of Fuchsia on her porch because this plant attracts hummingbirds. She must have 30+ hummingbirds feeding in her yard. I sat one day and counted over 16 hummingbirds at the feeders and flowers in her backyard.

11. Hummingbird Feeders

Hummingbird Feeders are a perfect addition to your porch. You can hang it near a basket of Fuchsias or Geraniums to attract them. You can also add a Sheppard Hook right in front of the porch.

12. Lighting

Besides the outside lights, try adding a lantern with outdoor timer candles. I have mine set to pop on at dusk. It gives a lovely glow to the porch.

If you are building a new home, consider adding recessed lighting to your porch ceiling. We are so glad that it was an option in our semi-custom home. I asked the designer about adding a couple to the porch. It was not an expensive option.

There are two recessed lights in the porch ceiling.

Did you get a few new ideas from my twelve decorating tips for making a front porch cozy and beautiful? Well, we have more inspiration for you.

Thanks to Cindy at Cloches & Lavender for hosting a gathering of ideas from FLOWERS, GARDENS, PORCHES AND MORE! This blog hop is packed with lots of inspiration!

Be sure to pop over to my friend Donna at An Organized Season. She has an amazing project that you will love! I sure love it!!!!

 

Cloches & Lavender // Sweet Valley Acres // From Farmhouse to Florida //Peacock Ridge 


Hen and Horse Design // Amy Sadler Designs // White Lilac Farmhouse //



 

An Organized Season // Shop at Blu // Feet Under My Table // 

Be sure to pop over to my lovely friends blogs to see more inspirations!

YOU MAY ENJOY

With these twelve decorating tips in mind, you can transform your front porch into a welcoming and inviting retreat. Cozy seating, layered textures, pops of color, and inviting lighting will create a space that begs you to relax and unwind.

Don’t forget to consider the seasons and switch things up to keep your porch fresh and enjoyable all year round.

Happy decorating for spring, sweet friend!