Create a cozy welcome this fall and spruce up your curb appeal with these eight helpful tips for creating a beautiful fall porch!
8 Tips for Creating a Beautiful Fall Porch
Tip 1: Choose a Color Scheme
Before you buy a single pumpkin or fall wreath, stop and think through your current porch colors and decide which complementary colors go well with what you already have going on. Do you want to use traditional fall colors such as orange, yellow, rust, and brown? Will those colors look good with your purple front door? Or perhaps you want to choose a more non-traditional color scheme this year and decorate with all whites and greens? Will they stand out against your siding? Choosing a definitive color scheme will make your shopping and planning easier and will ensure that you end up with a cohesive and beautiful end product!
The last few years, I have really enjoyed using muted pastels and shades of blue on my fall front porch. The muted tones compliment my blue front door and I just love the look!
Click here for front door paint color and paint sources.
If you’ve been using the same fall color scheme year after year, then perhaps it’s time to try something new. Painting your front door a fresh color may be just the inspiration you need! Don’t know where to start? Check out my post on the 27 Best Front Door Paint Color Ideas.
I personally love shades of blue paint for the front door. Blue doors look fantastic with traditional and non-traditional decor colors. If you’re in love with one or the other, never fear, blue is an all-around great color choice for a front door!
Tip 2: Use unexpected elements when decorating.
Using unexpected elements on your porch is a fantastic way to add interest on-the-cheap! Look around your basement or shed to see if you have an old door, ladder, dresser, or planks of wood that can be repurposed into something fresh for your porch! I love how Laura from Finding Home used an old chest and door on her fall porch. These pieces are unexpected and add character to her entryway.
Lauren from Bless’er House transformed a sheet of plywood into an unexpected and adorable focal point!
And I love how Diana from Our Vintage Farmhouse used an old ladder with a DIY pennant banner on her fall porch!
Tip 3: Stack, lean, and layer your decor.
Stacking, leaning, and layering your decor is a decorating concept that works well in all vignettes! Be creative with using outdoor elements, such as hay bales, as the base for your other decor items.
I love how Adrienne from Chic California used hay bales on her bench to build a fun fall focal point with lots of “leaning and layering” of fall decor items!
Daune from Cottage in the Oaks stacked pumpkins and used vintage crates to build her gorgeous fall vignette.
Tip 4: Bring the indoors outside!
We often talk about “bringing the outdoors in” when interior decorating, but the opposite is also true when decorating an outdoor space. Bringing indoor elements outside–such as toss pillows, blankets, chairs, dressers, old church pews, lanterns, milk crates, old dishes, and bar stools–is a great way to cozy-up your front porch. Obviously the amount of exposure to the elements will determine which items work best for your porch, but many indoor items do well on a covered porch. Click here to read a great post about waterproofing outdoor items.
This 1800’s church pew bench, poof, throws, and pillows make this porch a warm and inviting retreat!
Tip 5: Use door decor to create a center focal point.
Greet them at the door with something beautiful! This burlap sack filled with fall foliage by Heather At the Picket Fence is a creative spin on the traditional wreath and is my all-time favorite fall door decor idea. It stops me in tracks every time I see it! Simply fill a small burlap sack with faux, or fresh, fall clippings and hang.
Similarly, this unusual door decor draws me in and grabs my attention! Door buckets are a great alternative to a traditional wreath.
It doesn’t have to be grand to be welcoming! I love this Wood Slice Door Hanging by A Home Full of Color. Find out how she made it!
And if you’re looking for an easy and elegant traditional wreath, you simply cannot go wrong with a grapevine wreath and dried flowers. Grapevine wreaths are beautiful, timeless, and budget friendly! To make this fall wreath, I tucked in some dried hydrangeas and some dried roses into the grapevine. I always like to hang my wreaths with fishline attached to a nail at the top of the door for a seamless look.
Source: Home Stories A to Z
Tip 6: Use the principle of symmetry.
Symmetry is often used in decorating because it is very appealing to eye. KariAnne from Thistlewood Farms uses symmetry around her door brilliantly! Mirror your objects on both sides of your door to create a symmetrical masterpiece.
Ann from On Sutton Place knows her porch decor. Her use of mum-filled olive buckets shows how symmetry can be simple, unfussy, and beautiful.
Tip 7: Make the most of your space.
Even the smallest of spaces can have a fun porch display! If you want to play it low-key this year, go for it! Small vignettes make for a beautiful space.
A simple chair stacked with carved pumpkins can be all that’s needed to create a cozy fall welcome!
Source: BHG
Or go bold in just one small corner of your entryway! Toni from Design Dazzle created a gorgeous display in the corner of her porch using a non-traditional color scheme and all faux materials. Go see how she did it!
Tip 8: Use natural elements to create an inviting space.
When decorating your porch, think of what personally appeals to you and just go for it! Do you love blankets, pillows, and white mums? Use those! Do you crave adventure, bold colors, and pattern mixing? Use those! The porch is an extension of your living space, and you set the rules on what “inviting” means to you. However, whether your style is modern farmhouse or eclectic glam, bringing natural elements into your porch decor will honor the season and add life to your porch. Pumpkins, gourds, pinecones, acorns, fall flowers, leaves, sticks, branches, apples, and feathers are all wonderful options to consider.
Love this cozy, inviting porch by Stone Gable Blog with pumpkins, mums, and gourds.
This porch by Jennifer from City Farmhouse transitions from summer to fall so gracefully by maintaining a neutral palette, changing the toss pillows, and using a few natural elements.
If you enjoyed this post, please check out my related fall porch decor ideas below, and stay tuned for this year’s fall porch reveal!
Kat says
Beth, I’m having a wonderful time checking out “everyrhing” you have to offer…Can I just HUG you? 😉
Kat, xoxo
Beth says
I’m so glad you’re enjoying my blog Kat! Thanks for visiting. 🙂
Daune | Cottage in the Oaks says
Thanks so much, Beth, for featuring my porch! Love all the wonderful ideas! xoxoxoxo
Ivory says
I love ALL these fall porches. They are breathtaking! Thank you fr sharing.
Beth says
Thanks for visiting Ivory! Happy Fall! 🙂
KariAnne Wood says
Thanks for the shout out friend!
What a great collection of porches!
Happy fall!
karianne