Updated March 7, 2024
I am all for sprucing your home to honor the season–especially the exterior! You can easily create an inviting front porch that you tweak seasonally (and affordably). I’m starting to find wreaths and other outdoor decor in stores so today I’m sharing the perfect formula for your seasonal front porch decor that oozes curb appeal.
Tackling a front porch seems daunting, right? So much pressure is put on curb appeal and being creative. But what if you chose to forego the stress and came back to the perfect formula time and time again? The process becomes fun and easy! That’s what decorating is about–you’re creating a beautiful atmosphere that supports a beautiful life. No need to agonize over ‘perfection’ or spend your precious time and money trying to have the best house on the block. Just keep it simple and repeat seasonally! That’s what I’m teaching you today so you can go out and tackle your fall to winter seasonal front porch decor.
The Perfect Formula for Seasonal Front Porch Decor
In almost everything I do, I consider how I want to feel and I ask my clients how they want to feel. Your heart dictates your design–don’t skip this! You’ve heard me talk about this literally all the time, especially when teaching you how to design, but I’ll say it again:
Before you design anything, you need to decide how you want your design to feel.
Harvest is celebrating a long and prosperous growing season (both literally and metaphorically) with a celebration of bounty. We can bring this celebration of bounty to our homes even if we aren’t farmers and didn’t literally reap and sow.
So, let’s first break down what fall means. For me, fall means:
- transformation
- a warm color palette
- indoor gatherings (aka love shared)
- historically, fall means it’s harvest time!
Great, so we have an overall visual of what fall looks like. Now what are the feelings and descriptors of fall (or your current season)? I describe fall using words like:
- softness
- abundance
- comfort
- love
- closeness
- slowness
- ambiance
- fullness
- rest
How can we take everything above and transform it into a design? THAT is all you need to do each season and then come up with creative ways to showcase what the season means to you. Now let’s translate this into a design!
PS: If you’re reading this in another season, follow the exact same steps. Design is all about making intangible feelings feel tangible. That’s what I’m teaching you how to do: to first start with feeling, then translate that to actions and designs.
Here’s how:
1. Showcase the meaning of the season
For fall, and what we are focusing on today, it’ll be the harvest. If you are reading this in a different season, think about what that season means to you. For example, if you’re reading this in spring, the meaning of the season could be renewal.
Jackie Greaney
To showcase the harvest, we are talking fall blooms (dahlias, sunflowers, mums) and fall vegetables (pumpkins, squash, flowering kale). If you’re not sure where to start, you can take one item like mums and just get a lot of them. Keep your color scheme in mind though–are you wanting a really elevated and classy look? Then keep them one color. Are you wanting a more fun and casual look? Mix up the colors!
2. Create ambiance and atmosphere to represent that season
Jenna Kate at Home
For fall, it will be soft lighting to represent shorter days as we head to winter. It will be soft abundance through our flowers. We can use fairy lights, plug in lights, candles or flameless candles in lanterns or hurricanes.
3. Add a tangible feeling
Tripe C Farmhouse
For fall, it is abundance, comfort, with a hint of nostalgia. To create a feeling of nostalgia, think about what fall felt like to you as a kid. Chances are, it’s very similar to someone else’s feeling of nostalgia.
A wreath with a bow, a porch railing with a bow, a seasonal welcome mat, pillows (and a throw if you’re in the right climate where it won’t rain). What we are looking to do here is add soft textiles (that are outdoor friendly, of course) and create layers of our feeling.
4. Showcase the action of the season
Liz Marie Blog
For fall, it is celebration and appreciation. What better way to show appreciation than to rest and look at what you’ve built? A side chair with an outdoor pillow will do just fine! Bonus points if it’s a rocking chair or a vintage item like wicker or rattan. SWOON. And to celebrate? Vibrant colors of course! Showcase and share your abundance using your front porch as your canvas.
5. Display love suitable for the season (like something crafted)
Inspired by Charm
For fall, we need a wreath of abundance!
6. Bonus: add some whimsy
At the Picket Fence
Kindred Vintage
For fall, we can get creative with our fun flower and pumpkin groupings.
And that’s it! We consider the feeling of the season, along with the 5 senses, and create our seasonal front porch decor using the same formula time and time again. Your values and how you describe the season are always evolving, so even by using the same formula, you will get a different result time after time. That’s the magic of heart-driven design: you get something so you, but unique every season. Enjoy your creation!
-Kristen
More inspiration: