A porch is a significant feature for any home; after all, it’s often what passers-by will first notice and what house guests will base their first impressions on. A neglected porch will really bring down the look of your property as well as its potential value. Crafty homeowners are using a dash of ingenuity and some creative skills to transform lifeless porches into inviting spaces that would not look out-of-place in a designer showroom. From beautiful icicle lights to stylish storage, we reveal five simple yet stunning ways that you can decorate your porch like a pro.
Make It Cozy
Image via Flickr by sonjalovas
If you’re lucky enough to have a spacious porch area, then you can incorporate some seating into the space. Choose outdoor furniture such as wicker love seats, varnished wooden benches, or rocking chairs for the best results. During the summer months, you can use some plush throws and fluffy cushions on the furniture to create an inviting space and a cozy area to sit and watch the world go by.
Consider Fabulous Flooring
Flooring plays an important role in any room in the home, but it is often forgotten about on porch areas. Using indoor carpeting on the floors of porches isn’t practical, but one or more simple, hard-wearing rugs will help to bridge the gap between the indoor and outdoor spaces and add a homey touch. Patterned or darker color rugs will work well as they disguise the dirt, and heavy-duty, waterproof rugs will withstand harsher weather and stay in tip-top condition for a longer time.
Light It Up!
Lighting serves a practical purpose by illuminating the way to your front door while also helping to create a magical space. One simple way to decorate your porch like a pro is to incorporate some pretty Christmas lights into the area. Icicle lights are particularly beautiful for use during the festive season. They contain a number of smaller lights attached to dangling wires to create a stunning, cascading lighting effect. These lights can be attached to the porch overhead area for waterfall lighting that is sure to wow guests and add that special festive winter wonderland feel to your home. Add in some decor such as gold bells, red bows, and tinsel; and you will be set for the holiday season.
Christmas lights aren’t just for Christmas. You can use them in the porch area all year round by creating mason jars filled with fairy lights, by installing net lighting over porch shrubbery, or by simply attaching a single line of Christmas lights on your porch walls. For some high quality and affordable Christmas lights that can be used outdoors, check out ChristmasLightsEtc.com.
Add Stylish Storage
A messy porch will bring down the look of the exterior of your property, so it’s important that it is kept neat and clutter-free at all times. If the space allows for it, you can add some nifty outdoor storage items to the porch area to store knick knacks, candles, books, insect repellent, and other porch essentials. Decked wooden boxes are ideal as they have enough space to hold these items, and they can double as a coffee table. Creative types can paint their boxes to complement the exterior of the property or even follow a tutorial to distress the paint for a shabby-chic finish. For DIY home decor at special events such as Easter Decorations, Koch & Co. offers a wide range of decor products
Go Green
Chances are that your yard is filled with flowers and pretty shrubs, and you probably have a few potted plants inside of your home too. Why not showcase your gardening skills by using some plants in the porch area? Hanging baskets will look great as well as plants potted inside of mismatched planters or a lone flower placed into a vintage vase. Choose fragrant plants like jasmine and honeysuckle to bring a lovely aroma to the air, or use bright flowers to add a splash of color to your porch.
So what are you waiting for? Create a checklist and use lighting, rugs, furniture, flowers, and storage to transform your porch area from drab to designer. Which one of these features will you add first? Happy decorating!
