Porch Decor Ideas & How To Decorate On a Budget

Any time of year is ideal for updating your front or back porch setting, giving it a refresh for the season or the holiday; especially now that we are into summer and spending a good deal of time outside. Whether your available porch space is small and compact or a larger wrap-around style, there are accents for every sized space to enhance the look and feel. With a few inexpensive decorative elements, an artistic DIY project or two (if you’re the creative type), and the guidelines below you will be well on your way to a gorgeous and inviting porch update.

As recommended with all design projects, it is best to have a plan before beginning! What is the priority for your space? What would you like the focus to be? Is it:

• For entertaining
• Simply decorative
• Rotating styles with the seasons and holidays
• More garden, plant, and flower focused

TIP: It’s not necessary to overhaul your porch every season. Take advantage of what you have on hand already, following the priorities you outlined above. Rotate those items and then add in a few new pieces and accents to fill to your liking.

TIP: Focus on one key element you love then build the rest of the space around that item.

Making A Small Porch Look Bigger

1. Focus on the entryway: the use of glass is one element that expands and adds light, flow, and expanse to the space.
2. Mirrors: placing a mirror, any size, shape, or style in a room will always enlarge the space by reflecting back the outside expanse.
3. Paint the front door white. Any added decoration, such as a wreath, will now pop off of that bright background.
4. Paint the ceiling. This is one trick most often overlooked which makes such a striking impression.

Making A Porch More Inviting

1. Doormats- with words, in a rustic style, vibrant colors, layered one on top of the other; the choices are quite numerous and can instantly update your porch creating a welcoming vibe.
2. Wreaths- dried flowers, natural elements, ribbons, ornamental items, abundant, lush and full decorative wreaths add an instant homey and inviting feeling.
3. Flowers- pots of colorful flowers; a mixture of small, large, short and tall sets a space on your front porch that says happy, sunny, and welcome.
4. Small chair- placing small stools, chairs, and the like invites a place for guests to stop and sit, chat, and relax creating a mini conversation area.
5. Painted front door- add a warm welcome paint color in tones of reds, oranges, yellows, or creamy whites to give your porch attention and focus. Warm colors invoke a homey feeling, making guests feel comfortable and welcome.
6. Cozy extras- add soft blankets and fluffy pillows for outdoor coziness.

Summer Porch Decor

Bunches of colorful flowers and pots of bright greens instantly speak of summertime. Other summer-season porch decor accents include:

• Painted flower boxes.
• Bright colored outdoor pillows in sunny yellow, sky blue, berry pink.
• A beach tote with an abundant faux flower arrangement.
• Blue, orange, and bright green ceramic pots with a multitude of fresh green plants. No better way to cheer up a porch.

Potted Plants- For All Season

Pots of greenery last through several seasons. Adorning steps leading up to a front porch with topiaries is a classical more formal look but can be easily updated to more modern aesthetics with some imagination. To offset big pots, insert grouping of smaller ones, adding pops of colorful flowers, herbs, and greenery in all textures, shapes, and sizes.

TIP: Purchase flowers in flats, meaning not already potted. This has two benefits. One, saves you some cash, and two, allows you to choose any kind of pot you like, decorative, plain, pre-owned, upcycled- you name it.

Vignettes

Porch locations offer truly ideal settings for storytelling, in the sense of creating little vignettes. What a wonderful way to genuinely show off your personality and personal decorative style. With that project in mind, how best to find the treasures that are not too expensive (as they’ll be outdoors and affected by the elements all year long)? As well as a wide variety of items to choose from? May we offer…

Second Hand Stores

The best place to hunt and offer timeless options for vignette creation are second-hand shops. Some ideas to ponder when browning your favorite vintage, consignment, or thrift store:

• Watering cans
• Rocking chairs
• Mailboxes
• Benches, stools, small chairs
• Pots, vases, containers, buckets and planters for holding plants and flowers.
• And living a sustainable, eco-conscious, and environmentally friendly lifestyle also means if you see a worthy item on the side of the road that someone is discarding, by all means rescue it! There’s no reason to spend money on something that may not last as long as normal anyway (taking environmental weatherization impacts into account).

Lighting

Another often overlooked porch installment that adds a considerable amount of character is an interesting light fixture. A metal or colored glass light can positively give your porch a polished look. No need to spend big bucks. Think industrial reuse style, steampunk, or seaside coastal style. Little accent makes a big impact.

Layered Doormats

A design trend in outdoor decorating right now is the layered doormat look. Yet another fun way to present a taste of your personal style when decorating your porch room. Depends on what you’ll be stacking on top, as it looks best to have a bit of contrast, but start with a bottom or base layer that has some artistic play and contrasting compliment to your top piece. Place a smaller sized mat on top to complete the layering.

This is the final touch to finish off great porch finds all by decorating on a budget. Happy hunting!

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