I have an L-shaped 1950's ranch home with a small 6 x 6 front porch in the the elbow of the "L." The back and left walls are the chocolate brown siding of the house (with my red front door in the back wall), the right side is a large brick planter, a brown column anchors the front right corner, another smaller brick planter anchors the left front corner and the steps and floor are concrete. With all that brown and brick and concrete, plus that it is in shade most of the day, it's kind of cold, heavy, dark and uninviting. During the winter it's not bad because I have so much holiday greenery and decor in that area that it brightens things up but the rest of the year...the flowers in the planters are just OK because of the shade and it's otherwise pretty blah. I do have a series of wreaths that adorn the door but it needs more.
The back left corner (to the left of the front door) is kind of empty. I'm thinking that I could probably put something there to add some color and interest, but what? There are some times of the year, like now, when I could probably put a tall urn there and fill it with things like forsythia stalks (I have some that are over 8 feet tall), dogwood branches or other flowering branches. Any other ideas for something that could go there? Another thought is something structural that could decorate (like a very tall, slender ladder-back chair). What's on your front porch?
Thanks for any ideas/inspiration!
The cutest things that I've personally seen and thought looked the cutest on a porch/entry area are:
A classic (old style) wicker chair with a colorful cushion set
and
an old dresser painted in a funky color.
Handy and cute!
My front porch is narrow, so we have had a wrought iron bench (done to death) but right now--I only have some candle filled Mason jars...I need to do something. I'll be reading your answers!
You can use regular size vases and planters, just cluster them together on stools with different heights. I would throw in more lighter and brighter color accents...yellow tones and even white would bring out the brown in a nice way.
I have a sort of nautical theme on my porch. My centerpiece is an 6 ft A-frame latice which we've hung small bottles from each rung, filled with sand and small shells from different places we've been.
I'm sure you will find loads of idea on pinterest.com.
Our bed and breakfast porch was similar to that. They had a pretty whitewashed wheelbarrow placed there with various flower and tall greens in it. Adding some white elements to the decor, like a pretty chair or architectural element would be pretty.
Wherever I have shade, I use a ton of flower pots with Impatiens of different colors. They grow really fast, have flowers all summer long, and tend to "spill" over the sides with color. You can put a bunch of different size pots together with different colors of flowers. That should brighten the spot!
We just went to homedepot this weekend. We bought a hibiscus tree that they have in many different shapes and sizes. Ours was $20 and approx 3-4 feet tall. We planted this though. We have hanging plants and outdoor furniture. Good luck, this is the perfect time to plant, with the weather being so mild!
My sitter has just this configurement and I'm so jealous of it.
She created a sweet little vingette. She put a round table in the corner, with two beautiful wicker chairs on each side of it with backs against the wall, so they sort of face each other. She can change the cushions out with the seasons. She has a few planters and a little fountain.
It's an ideal shadey spot to sit while the kids run around the yard. When I pick the kids up everyday, that's where we sit and have our 15 minute chat session. It's the perfect little alcove to sit for morning coffee and watch the birds play in the fountain. I love it.
