If you are lucky enough to have a front porch on your home, you should make sure it is properly decorated.
Your front porch is an extension of your home and the first thing visitors see when visiting your home, so it should look as good as the inside of your home.
Here are a few ideas, tips, and tricks for decorating a front porch.
photo courtesy of Norman Platt Johnson flickr.com/photos/npjinc/17121270016/Lighting
Not everyone visits your home during the day, so your front porch needs to be lit properly.
Not only should there be plenty of light on the front porch, but also the walkway from where guests park (the street or the driveway) to the front porch.
Welcome Mat
A welcome mat should be used on a front porch to minimize the dirt coming into your home and as decoration.
Make sure to get a welcome mat that compliments your interior decor.
Furniture
If your front porch is large enough, add seating.
A porch swing is an iconic fixture on front porches, so it would be very charming to have one on your front porch.
Wicker chairs or a rocking chair is also traditionally expected.
You do not have to go the traditional route - you can add more modern furniture.
A small table to set a glass of iced tea is also nice as well as a plant stand and/or an ottoman to put your feet up.
Plants
Plants make a front porch come alive.
Consider adding ferns, greenery, and colorful flowering plants in the ground around your front porch and in planters on your front porch.
Seasonal Items
Many people like to decorate their front porch with seasonal items.
For Easter, consider decorating your front door with a wreath made out of Easter eggs, for July 4th you can have little American flags lining the walkway, and for Fall set out pumpkins on the steps to your front porch.
Accessories
Don't forget about adding accessories to your front porch, just like you do inside your home.
You can add an area rug, an upgraded doorbell, decorative vases, upgraded house numbers, add a door knocker, a flag, a fresh coat of paint on your front door, put stained wood paneling on the ceiling, add shutters, tile the concrete floor, add artwork or a mirror, and most anything you would add to decorate the inside of your home.
