Decorating a Front Porch for Summer
I LOVE having a front porch! I think I have always wanted to have a front porch. I have so many fond memories of playing on the big wrap around front porch my grandparents had. Their house in southern Ohio was a Montgomery Ward’s catalog house that come on the train. My grandfather and a neighbor each bought one and then helped one another build them.
There are always lots of ideas for decorating your porch for holidays, but what about just for summer? Today I am all about easy front porch decorating.
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A colorful mat, layered with a rug is great even for decorating a small front porch. The front of the porch of my grandparents home was where the front door was located was covered and then as it wrapped around the corner of the house to a large open patio. I remember playing out there with my cousins for hours on end. The columns on the corners of the porch and patio part were substantial. As a little child, I thought they were likely four feet by four feet. Thinking about that now, I thought I had to be over estimating that, so I asked my dad and he told me I was right, that is how big they were.
Those columns didn’t support the roof of the covered porch, they must have supported the structure beneath, because my favorite thing to play out there was circus! There were wide wooden railings between the columns which ended with big concrete caps at the top of the railings. We cousins would pretend we were lions and tigers in the circus and crawl down those railings from one column to the next like we were in a circus. Ah, such memories!
I selected red geraniums as the theme for my front porch this summer. From the pots of growing geraniums on the front steps and near the front door, to the artificial ones filling the basket on my front door, it is geraniums everywhere.
I found these cute summer pillow covers with red geraniums and patriotic accents to cover my outdoor pillows. Pillow covers are so much easier to store than trying to store the pillows for every season, and make for a quick change anytime! That little lantern does double duty, it is the BEST thing I have ever found for keep the mosquitos away! You can read about that and more if my ideas for porch decorating at 7 Things a Front Porch Needs.
My porch is not at all like that one of my childhood memories, but it is a place to gather and relax and spend quiet mornings or evenings. When my granddaughters visit, they insist on breakfast on the front porch with Papa! Many a pancake and blueberry has been enjoyed right here at this table! I hope they grow up to treasure those memories like the ones I still have from my grandparent’s front porch.
I wanted to share a little tip or more like a secret about my arrangement of geraniums on this table. I pulled them aside so you can see what is hiding in there. Can you see it? It is a tulip! I had Dollar Tree red tulips left from my Valentine’s wreath and really needed to fill in my arrangement a little more. Those red tulips were WAY cheaper than the geraniums I bought, so I just filled in the middle of the arrangement with those cheap red tulips, and if I hadn’t told you, then no one would have known any better!!
With our extra large porch, we have lots of seating options which gives us the chance to sit where we can get a breeze on a hot day or find ourselves in the sunny chairs on a cooler morning. Throws and blankets are there to offer cuddly warmth if an evening gets too cool.
For the time being, the room where I craft and edit my blog looks out on this corner of our front porch. I couldn’t ask for a better view!
Shop my summer porch ideas!
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Love your porch, Chloe!
Thanks so much Rita!!
Chloe, oh I love this post! Especially since I was ON your front porch. First of all, the geranium red against your blue door is fabulous. And I love the idea to use less expensive flowers (the tulips) to bulk up your arrangement. Just brilliant! Thanks for sharing. I re-did my front porch last year, but it could use some refreshing….especially since our weather is getting so much warmer.
Thanks so much Mary! Thos red tulips came in handy! I will just add some bunting and flags and will be all ready for the Fourth of July!
Love your porch finds. I really need to order some new furniture. Mine is falling apart. I will definitely go through all of your furniture so I don’t have to spend so much time looking. Glad you put that bug zapper on here. What a fun post.
Thank you so much Andrea! I was so lucky to get that furniture at Pier One while they were still around! Oh, and it isn’t a zapper…it puts out this aroma and the mosquitos stay away!!
I absolutely love the splash of red. Thank you for presenting all the options for color.
Nancy
Thank you SO much for taking the time to leave me a comment! It means so much to me! The great thing about the red is that all I need to do for the Fourth of July is add flags to my geraniums!
You have the most amazing porch Chloe, and I can’t wait to go and sit ther again too! Looks amazing, and thanks for sharing. Hugs friend
Thanks so much Chas! I can’t wait to have you here again, too!!
Gorgeous!!! Loved it
Thank you SO much Kay, it means so much for me to hear from my readers!!
Very nice…
In my case birds always built nests inside the basket….
I have heard of people that have that problem, and even nesting in wreaths!
I could live on that porch. Like everything else you do, it’s gorgeous. And welcoming, too. Too often, “gorgeous” things are not inviting. You, however, have nailed it.
Oh Marie! That is SO kind of you to say! I do want my front porch to look lovely, but more than that, I want it to look inviting. I want passers by to be able to join us on the porch for some lemonade and casual conversation, or serve those little granddaughters their pancakes and berries with no worries if some syrup gets spilled!
Your porch is beautifully decorated for summer, Chloe! You totally fooled me with the Geraniums. I was so surprised to read that some of them are faux. They look like the real thing! Filling empty spaces with red tulips was a brilliant idea! Enjoy this beautiful space the rest of spring and summer.
Thanks Paula, the geraniums on the door and in that pot on the table are artificial, the rest are all real!
Looks pretty! Thanks so much for linking up with me at the Unlimited Link Party 26. Pinned!
Thank you so much Dee!
Hello! Thank you for sharing such inspiring ideas. You did an awesome job redoing your front porch area the front of your home looks gorgeous thank you so much for sharing such a great post with us. I also prepared for the summer) I painted my back porch and also some patio concrete stones.. they have concrete paint and stain and I used the hammered spray paint for my patio. And a also took a couple of your ideas to decorate it. Looks gorgeous! Very easy and cost-efficient!!
I am in love with your front porch! Absolutely beautiful! Your styling is bright and cheerful! A lovely place to gather and sip sweet tea. I’ll be right over!
What a lovely front porch! I’m curious to know how you keep your outdoor pillows and cushions clean. I bought some seasonal pillows and new porch furniture at the beginning of the summer and I already had to get them cleaned by an upholstery cleaner because they got so dirty outside!
I see you are a fan of Grandin Road. I’m about to see what they have for my summer porch. Unfortunately mine is west facing and it is hot until the sun gets behind the trees. But it still needs to be comfortable and inviting. It’s my first time looking at your blog and I’m going through all of the pages. Love your ideas! Thanks for sharing with us who are not so crafty!
Thanks so much Tammy! That is a bummer about the hot sun on your porch. Yes, you still want it to be comfortable, evenings are probably lovely on your porch!