Crafting a Beautiful Front Porch

With Thanksgiving right around the corner, many of us are beginning to prep the guest suite and deep clean our floors in preparation for the onslaught of out-of-town guests and extended family. First impressions matter, so make yours count this holiday season with a beautiful front porch and entryway set-up. 

Here are four ideas to decorate your front porch with different holiday-inspired designs that’ll be sure to spark your imagination and help you create a welcoming entryway this season.

The Traditional Fall Porch

Look towards festive fall feasts, family gatherings, and harvest festivals for decor inspo when creating a traditional fall porch. Attach corn stalks to light posts or arrange pumpkins and gourds around your front steps. Set out lanterns and string up fairy lights or globe string lights around your doorway and the front eves to brighten the front walkway on the dark, brisk fall evenings. Burlap, pinecones, mums in bushel baskets, garlands of colored leaves, and small haystacks are all classic autumnal decor to pair with your front porch. 

Of course, one of the most popular ways to dress up your front door for the holidays is with hanging wreaths. Thanks to festive ribbons, pine boughs, seasonal berries, and dried floral arrangements, wreaths can quickly infuse some holiday cheer into your exterior design while remaining dedicated to the fall theme.

The Classy Holiday Front Door

Spruce up your front door with classy color palettes and elevated style. Front porch holiday decor doesn’t have to be the traditional red and green colors with Christmas trees, holiday lights, and wreaths —get creative and break away from tradition this year with stunning new colorways in bright silvers, blush pinks, or even steely blues. Maybe this means you opt for 3-D foldable lighted golden spheres instead of lanterns on the steps and a green/gold garland over the front door. Or you switch out that old wooden rocker for some new rattan lounge chairs. Whatever your definition of “classy holiday” may be, remember that details matter and lighting makes a difference so update your outdoor porch lights with new wall sconces in bright metal finishes.

The Sleek and Modern Entry

Design by MICHELLE BERWICK Photography by LARRY ARNAL

For those looking for a little more simplicity in their front porch design, lean into a more contemporary approach with a bold-colored door, structural vases, and a simple bench. When looking to design a modern entryway, the trick is to minimalize your decor and let the front porch architecture speak for itself. For instance, if you have a country-style porch with big overhanging eves, take advantage of the dry space and create small sitting nooks with Venice-style rattan armchairs or a weather-resistant wicker sectional. Use planters to create green spaces with live flowers, succulents, and/or cacti.

If you don’t have access to a large porch, focus on your entryway design. Put a console table in the entryway to catch lose items like gloves, keys, and phones. You can spruce this up seasonally with fresh olive leaf and myrtle garlands, leather-bound books, artwork, and vases of dried pampas grass. Tile inlays and interchangeable welcome mats are also great year-round staples to keep dirt out of your home, adding a layer of function and beauty to your foyer. 

The Cozy Winter Stoop

Create a safe haven by decorating the front porch for winter with lots of lights, candles, and lanterns scattered across your stoop. In the cold of the season, you want your home to appear warm and cozy, so brighten it up with lighting or a few miniature Christmas trees on either side of the door. Use warm colors like deep reds, earthy browns, and forest greens to invoke a sense of familiar holiday cheer. Add a hint of the traditional with an antique Christmas urn or by wrapping a vintage wine rack in pine boughs and string lights.