Your front porch is the first thing someone will see when they drive past or visit your home. Thankfully, you can make a good first impression by adding just a few little touches to your porch design, including:

8 Front Porch Decor Ideas to Up Your Curb Appeal

New Front Door
Transoms and Sidelights
Lanterns
Furniture
Plants
Wreaths
Welcome Signs and Miscellaneous Decor
Holiday Decor

Whether you’re trying to get into the spooky season with some fall porch decor or want to give your outdoor space a complete makeover, taking the time to maintain and decorate your front entryway can make a major difference in the overall appearance of your home.

Thankfully, you don’t have to spend a fortune to turn your entryway into a show stopper. These decor ideas for a front porch will give you the ideas and tools you need to decorate and keep your curb appeal poppin’ all season long.

8 Front Porch Decor Ideas for Every Season

Some of these projects will require a larger budget than others, so you’ll need to take that into account while planning out your design. No matter how much you have to spend, though, there are plenty of affordable projects you can do to take your front porch design from mediocre to marvelous!

1. New Front Door

While replacing a front door is one of the more expensive projects on the list, swapping your old, dented, dinged-up front door for a new one is a surefire way to increase your home value. In fact, Remodeling Magazine estimates that homeowners will recoup 75 percent of the costs once the house hits the market.

Double front entry doors are always a crowd favorite, as they make your home appear more expensive and high-end, but even upgrading a single door to a new door will make a world of difference when it comes to curb appeal.

If you have a door that’s still in great shape, you can add a new coat of paint to refresh it and make it into something new. You can check out our best front door colors article for ideas, but you also can’t go wrong with refreshing the color you already have.

Don’t forget about door hardware as well. Adding a new lock and knob can make your old door look brand new again, and it’s a relatively easy and inexpensive project to do. Just be sure to take measurements before buying so that your new front door lock or door handle fits properly.

2. Transoms and Sidelights

One other worthwhile home update to consider is adding transom windows. Transom windows are windows above the door, and bring in a lot of extra light into your entryway. Transoms are a great way to make a small entryway bigger. Some can also be opened to let in a breeze.

Sidelights are similar—they are windows that are on one side or both sides of the door. Some people worry about a decrease in privacy, but you can always choose window panes that are frosted or buy a window tint or window frost stickers that will help you maintain privacy while still letting in the beautiful afternoon sun.

3. Lanterns

Lanterns are a really fun way to decorate your porch because they come in a wide variety of sizes and finishes, and you can place them wherever they fit best. You can add one on each side of the door, and then one on every other step leading up to the porch. If you have a larger walkway up to your house, you can line it with solar lanterns to light the path for your guests in a warm, welcoming manner. Some people even use lanterns around flower beds and trees in the yard.

4. Furniture

If you have enough space on your porch, consider incorporating furniture to make the space feel fully decorated and complete. Add a porch swing, a rocking chair, or wicker furniture with some throw pillows, and you’ll have a place to curl up with a good book as you watch the sunset.

Make sure the furniture you buy is rated for outdoor use. If it is delicate, you will need to cover it while not in use. Most outdoor furniture is made of thicker material, and either has covers that can be removed and machine washed or can be sprayed off with the hose.

There’s no shortage of furniture you put on a porch, whether it’s rocking chairs, swings, couches, or a cozy little bistro table with iron chairs. Just be careful not to stuff it with too much furniture, or else the porch will appear small and cluttered.

5. Plants

You’d be surprised how much adding potted greenery boosts your curb appeal, and it’s easy to change it up to keep the look fresh all year long. We recommend using seasonal potted flowers if you are using real plants, like tulips in the spring, and switching to mums with a pumpkin or two in the fall.

You can also use fake plants. You can find a wide, seasonal variety at any home goods or craft store. Some people prefer fake plants, especially if their porch gets too much or not enough sunlight to maintain real plants. Plus, they’re easy to wash and keep looking new.

Plants are fantastic if you have a small porch because you can hang them or set them in pots, and they don’t take up too much real estate when you’re doing a little porch decorating. It’s a great way to make the space look finished when you only have a finite amount of space to work with.

6. Wreaths

Wreaths are one decor item that is easy to switch out from season to season. You can easily buy a wreath at any home decor or craft store, but many people choose to make their own too!

If you’re wanting a seasonal wreath, you’ll want to include elements that are predominant during that time of year. Fall wreaths will include colorful fall leaves with a mini pumpkin (or five). A spring wreath will usually include buds, berries, or eggs. Sunflowers are a popular option for summer, while winter wreaths typically boast ivy, holly berries, and pine.

If you’re looking for a wreath to display year-round, you can’t go wrong with some sort of greenery—boxwood, eucalyptus, and magnolia leaves are all popular options.

7. Welcome Signs and Miscellaneous Decor

What does every good mom and pop shop have going for them? Their outdoor decor! It might seem random when you piece it out, but all together, an outdoor rug and a welcome sign with a galvanized bucket next to it can really pull an entryway together. Don’t overlook the small rustic front porch decor items. The best farmhouse porch decor ideas come by combining things like wicker chairs, gourds, braided rugs, and old, vintage knick-knacks.

Welcome signs don’t have to be posted on the door either; they actually look better when casually leaned against a corner or potted plant.

8. Holiday Decor

If you’re struggling to come up with front porch decor ideas, think about the most popular holidays celebrated each season and decorate accordingly.

Front Porch Decor for Spring

In spring, the most popular holiday celebrated in the United States is Easter. This means egg and bunny decor is hitting the home craft stores in droves. One popular way to decorate a front door with eggs is by adding a decorative egg wreath. Don’t forget to incorporate lots of pastel colors—think yellow, blue, green, pink, etc.

We also love adding twigs with buds on them and spring flowers like the Easter lily, Easter cactus, daffodils, tulips, hydrangea, etc. If you are using live flowers, be sure to check the care and watering instructions to make sure your porch has adequate sunlight for the plant.

Front Porch Decor for Summer

Summer means popsicles, lazy days on the porch, kids riding their bikes down the street, and barbecue season. The biggest summer holiday is the Fourth of July, so most Americans like to display a flag or two on their porch.

Good old-fashioned sunflowers are also popular. Whether it’s on a wreath for the door or a welcome sign with sunflowers painted on, you can’t go wrong using sunflower decor throughout your porch during the hot summer months. Adding decorative pillows with a pop of yellow will tie it all together.

Fall Front Porch Decor Ideas
Fall is probably the most popular season for porch decor, as there are just so many fun, creative options. There’s the obvious use of pumpkins for Halloween, but you don’t have to use just any old boring orange pumpkin. You can use a white pumpkin or heirloom pumpkin to create a rustic fall porch look. Add in a hay bale, some corn stalks, and a DIY scarecrow, and you’re set clear through Thanksgiving!

Winter Front Porch Decor Ideas

If you’re on the hunt for Christmas front porch decor, you can’t go wrong with holly and berries, pine cones, live evergreens, birch branches, and some seasonal signs hanging around the front porch.

If you’re feeling up for a little DIY, you can create a Christmas light tree by taking two tomato cages and flipping them upside down. Wind a few outdoor-rated LED string lights around them in a circular pattern from top to bottom. Plug them in, and you have your very own, one-of-a-kind winter front porch decor.

Make Your Porch a Happy Place

We hope that no matter the season, you’ve found a little bit of inspiration to make your porch a happy, inviting place to spend time. It doesn’t have to be a major renovation, either. Sometimes all you need to spruce up a front porch is a little paint and holiday porch decor.

And, if you’re ready to take the plunge to truly transform your entryway with a new front door, transom windows, or sidelights, be sure to check out Rustica.com. We’d be honored to help you transform your front porch into a place you’re proud to show off.