Whether you want to spruce up a boring old porch or you’ve just moved into a new home and are looking to nest, there are countless ways to make your front porch appealing, even on a shoestring budget. Be it planters, displays, doormats or windchimes, here are 10 of our favorite DIY decorations to make your front porch fun and inviting.
1.Outdoor Monogrammed Planter
Want to personalize your front porch with your initial? A DIY monogram planter is the perfect way to achieve a classy, customized front porch look without spending a bundle.
You’ll need to be a bit handy with a nail gun, or you’ll have to talk the hubby into an afternoon of constructing your planter. Either way, it’s not a difficult task. Armed with some wood for the back and sides of your initial, a few planter slats, some soil and the plants of your choice, you’ll be the envy of the neighborhood when the flowers bloom.
2.Vintage Plant Display
If the monogrammed planter is a bit too time-consuming for your taste, you can achieve a look just as pretty with an antique table and a few simple plants or herbs planted in a variety of mismatched terracotta, concrete and aluminum pots.
Look for a table that fits your style, be it farmhouse or modern, and don’t be afraid to check out garage sales and flea markets. Sometimes, all an unloved piece of furniture needs is some fresh paint or a bit of weathering to make it gorgeous.
Once you’ve found your display table, decide on the plants you’d like to use. If you’re going for something romantic, blossoms will be a perfect addition. If you love simplicity, consider herbs like mint, rosemary and thyme. Not only do these grow fast and smell fantastic, but you can also use them in your cooking.
Or if you live in a particularly mosquito-prone area, look up plants that are a natural deterrent. Lemon balm is known for keeping those nasty pests at bay.
3.Beaded Windchime
Nothing adds sparkle to your front porch like colorful glass beads. Gather a selection of quality beads and small bells that will delicately chime in the wind. Decide on a piece of driftwood or a wooden dowel, and you can easily create a unique and eye-catching piece of custom artwork for your porch.
All you need to do is drill a few holes in your piece of wood, run some nylon beading thread through the holes and string away! You’ll have a lovely chime to greet visitors to your door and a beautiful centerpiece to catch the light.
4.Rustic Branch Ladder
Building a branch ladder out of something like black birch saplings or young pine can add a hefty dose of charm to your front entryway. It also creates a natural display that you can modify seasonally or by holiday as the year progresses — think twig hearts for Valentine’s day, flowering vines in the spring and summer and lush balsam branches dotted with pinecones and holly berries for Christmas.
5.Farmhouse Porch Bench
Whether it’s for sitting or display, a bench is a perfect addition to any spacious porch. If you can find a used bench that needs some TLC, it’s usually a quick project that can be done in an afternoon with an electric sander and some paint. You can also find all kinds of simple bench designs online that are quick and easy to build. Choose a bold paint color to make your bench pop. Finish it with a couple of outdoor pillows, a few small planters and a pretty lantern, and you’ll have a spot that anyone — visitor or resident — will be eager to enjoy.
6.Repurposed Spool Table
Need a front porch table but don’t feel like spending the money, don’t like the options or simply want something super-unique? Consider a repurposed spool table.
First, you’ll need to locate a large wooden wire spool. If the spool feels a bit rough, give it a good sanding. Then, paint it the color of your choice, stand it on its end and voila! You have a perfectly rustic table with a bottom shelf for cute decorative items.
7.DIY Front Porch Wreath
Front porch wreaths are far easier to make than they look. You can use anything from silk flowers to plastic Christmas baubles or even create a DIY holiday fairy light wreath. This wreath features sparkling white twinkle lights nestled into lush green moss that captures the essence of the holidays and makes your front door glow.
All you need is a base wreath, such as a grapevine wreath, some floral wire, preserved moss and battery-operated fairy lights. With a little bit of time and finesse, you’ll have a holiday wreath that wassailers will be oohing and ahhing over all season long.
8.Whitewashed Terracotta Pots
Terracotta pots are great for porch decorating. They’re easy to find at home improvement stores, there are tons of different shapes and sizes and they’re cheap! The bad news? They’re orange. Very very orange.
If you’re pining for a porch garden but can’t stomach that terracotta color, consider whitewashing your pots for a softer, more rustic feel. It takes minutes per pot to get rid of that garish orange glare, and all you need is some white paint and a paintbrush.
To whitewash your pots, water down your paint so that it’s runny enough to drip off your brush. Dip your paintbrush into your watered-down paint, then dab it onto a paper towel to create a “dry brush.”
Then paint your pot one small section at a time — but don’t let the paint dry. Quickly wipe the paint with a paper towel to blend your brush strokes and create that whitewashed effect.
9.Wooden Doormat
A wooden doormat is a great way to spruce up a boring porch, especially when you choose a cheery color and add pizazz with a stenciled greeting such as “hello,” “‘hi there” or “Hey, Y’all!”’
To make a wooden doormat, all you need are a few boards cut to size, some screws, wood glue and paint. Essentially, you’ll create a frame within a frame within a frame, all surrounding a solid centerpiece where you’ll paint the greeting of your choice. The result is a charming and unique welcome mat that will make your visitors gush.
10.Rustic Welcome Pallet Sign
Nothing says “welcome” quite like a welcome sign next to your door. But you don’t want just any old welcome sign. The bigger, the better! Unfortunately, bigger means expensive, and with the growing popularity of farmhouse chic, if you’re looking to buy a ready-to-display welcome sign, you’ll be shelling out a pretty penny.
All you need to make your own is a slat of pallet wood, wood glue if you want to join two pieces of wood together, some large stencils and white paint. Within an afternoon, you’ll create a one-of-a-kind statement piece for pennies.
