It’s getting to be that time of year again … cool days, crisp air, and pumpkin spice everything. Fall is one of my favorite seasons, and the best way to start getting into the fall vibe is decorating my front porch. The front porch is the first impression people get of what’s inside the home, so I love when it’s reflective of the personal style of the homeowners. You can achieve just about any look by utilizing a few simple items:
Baskets
Greenery/Florals
Indoor/Outdoor Rugs
Doormats
Add a few décor pieces and/or a wreath and voila … you’ve got the cutest front porch on the block!
I've decided not to do any pumpkins this year. My porch, which is western facing, gets a lot of hot afternoon sun and the pumpkins don’t do so well. (Although, I may add a few just before Halloween; especially if the kids carve their own!) Sometimes I chose a color scheme before-hand, but this year I just grabbed a few mums at Sam’s Club and got to work ...
Here are the players:
Baskets: Look for baskets with texture. I love mixing shapes and varying heights to add interest. Round baskets are great, because exteriors tend to be very geometric - everything is square or rectangle. Adding curved lines will help soften the look.
Greenery/Floral: Choose plants with varying textures. You want some that are more organic and fluid, like branches, and some that are mounded and structured, like mums. Think about how the colors will interact with each other, as well as the color of your exterior.
Rugs and Doormats: This is my favorite part and the area where you can really let your personality shine. We are all limited to the florals that are available at the greenhouses, but when it comes to rugs and doormats, you have the internet! I LOVE my "Hey There Pumpkin" doormat that I bought on Etsy last year, and the striped one was from Target. There are literally thousands of options to choose from. Find a doormat that speaks to you and run with it. If you remember by blog post about pattern mixing, you can apply those principles here. If your doormat has text, you are free to choose any rug you want, but if you have a geometric pattern on your doormat, they pair best with fluid, organic rugs. I always recommend an indoor/outdoor rug, and if your porch gets a lot of western sun, look for something that is fade resistant. The only caveat is that you will want to check the lead time, especially on custom doormats from Etsy. Because they can sometimes take 6+ weeks, you will want to order them early!
Now that we've covered everything you will need, let's get decorating!
For these first two, I layered my favorite fall doormat on top of a pretty sage green, Persian style rug. I paired these with orange mums and layered in more texture with the green branches. I used the same florals and rugs in both, but switched out the sign for a tall vase filled with some grasses I cut from my yard last fall for a slightly different look.
You can see how just by swapping out the green rug for a geometric, black and white print, the entire look feels more boho. In the second photo, I added a more traditional fall wreath that really draws the eye up to the door.
Here, I swapped everything out. First I started with a large, pink rug and layered a striped doormat on top. I used two sets of trees in different sized baskets made of woven seagrass for a more textured look, but I removed the wreath to give your eye some breathing room. The purple flowers pair well with the rug and I added the grasses back in to soften it just a bit. The large size of the rug allowed me to stage the plants right on top of it, and it really creates a nice, welcoming moment. In the second image, I replaced the tress with the purple mums and added an olive branch wreath for a more organic look that again, draws your eye right to the door.
I was really loving the way the pink mums and purple flowers looked together, so I went back to the geometric rug and 'pumpkin' doormat, and switched out the wreaths again. This time I added back in the sign, which is such a great way to take this look all the way from the beginning of fall through Thanksgiving.
Here is the final look! I love the way all the different textures play off of one another. Since I ended up mixing in all the florals and trees, I opted to go basket-less because I didn't want to over-power the look. I can't wait to add in a few carved pumpkins just before Halloween, and this look will easily transition into the late fall up to Thanksgiving, when I might add in a few squash and other gourds.
I hope you enjoyed walking through this front porch session with me! Tag @tigeroakdesigns in your front porch images on IG! I can't wait to see what you come up with!
xx - Natalie
"When your home shows up well for you, you can show up well for others"