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Jessica Ackerman : Ways to Decorate a Front Porch for Fall

Creative Ways to Decorate and Update a Front Porch for Fall

By Jessica Ackerman

Fall Mums Fall is a time for cooler temperatures and extraordinary color, and it can be a great time to enjoy the scents and the ever-changing beauty of the season. When fall arrives, do not put away the outdoor chairs, side tables, and outdoor decor. Instead, consider the following creative ways to decorate and update a front porch for fall. These creative ways to decorate a front porch will provide a welcoming entrance and a comfortable place to sit on warm fall days and crisp fall evenings.

Stylish Fall Chair Cushions

Brightly colored chair cushions with a tropical flair are ideal when decorating for spring and summer, but as fall arrives put away the summer decor. Instead, take your cue from Mother Nature. Select cushions embellished with beautiful fall colors and designs. Decorating with chair cushions in striking fall colors will add to the beauty of the season while providing a place to enjoy the outdoors.

Decorating a Front Porch with Accents from Nature

Natural accents are some of the best when decorating for fall, and the bounty of the season can become part of the decorating scheme. Select small gourds of various shapes, colors, and patterns, and place them in a beautiful wicker basket. Set the basket on a side table or along side a front porch step. Better yet, fill two wicker baskets with colorful gourds. Place the baskets on both sides of the top step to welcome guests and add color to the front porch. Decorating with this type of front porch decor is far more stylish than store-bought scarecrows, Halloween pumpkins, and other commercial items that are typical of the season.

Fall Floral Arrangements for the Front Porch

Fall offers flowers with some of the most vibrant and unusual colors, and fall mums are an excellent choice for decorating a front porch. Mums are available in uncommon hues, and pots of beautiful blooming fall mums along with striking green foliage make a lovely fall display. Select pots in neutral colors of graduating sizes, and fill them with rich organic soil and eye-catching fall mums of various colors. Plant hardy trailing vines around the mums, and place them on front porch steps from smallest to largest. The largest pots should be placed on the walk leading up to the porch. Decorating with a natural floral display that is bursting with the colors of fall is a great way to welcome guests and impress passersby.

Create a Painted Front Porch Rug

A painted porch can be made more decorative and impressive for fall with the addition of painted flooring. Consider decorating a painted concrete or wood plank front porch with a beautiful painted rug in gorgeous fall colors. Even those without artistic talent can create a painted-on rug that will last longer than a typical welcome mat or an indoor/outdoor cloth rug.

Begin by cleaning off dirt and loose paint with a high-pressure sprayer. Allow the area to dry completely. After the surface dries, use outdoor latex porch primer according to product label instructions, and after the primer dries, paint a beautiful fall rug in a design of your choice. Separate a gallon of white paint into smaller containers with lids, and tint each container a different color using ordinary latex craft paint. Practice on paper first, and after developing a smaller version of a painted rug, try your hand at painting a work of woven art on the front porch. If it looks realistic enough, no one will realize it is not an actual rug without bending down to feel it.

Decorating a Front Porch with Candle Wall Sconces

Sitting on the front porch on a cool autumn evening while enjoying the sounds of crickets and rustling leaves is one of the simpler pleasures of life, and it can be made more enjoyable with the addition of fall lighting in the form of candle wall sconces. Contrary to popular belief, candle wall sconces are not just for use indoors. They can be attached to the siding or the posts of a porch and safely used with continual supervision. Select decorative candle wall sconces, and outfit them with candles in beautiful fall colors and fragrances. Trim the wicks to ¼ of an inch to keep the flames at a safe level, and light them when enjoying the outdoors on a dark and windless fall night. Even when the candles are not lit they will add a great deal of beauty and style to the front porch, and these beautiful decorating accents will help make the front porch feel more like an extension of the home. •

About the Author

Jessica Ackerman is an exciting and originative designer with vast experience in residential interior design. ...

11/4/08