5 Tips to Get Your Porch Ready for Summer

Summer is officially here with school out and this past week I spent a little time sprucing up our front porch. It didn’t take long but the payoff makes me smile, so I thought I would share with you my 5 tips to get your porch ready for summer.

1. Wreath or Hanging Basket

This is a great time to freshen up your front door for summer by doing paint touch-ups and hanging a new wreath. A new door hanging is an essential part of your summer front porch!

I got online and was inspired by a summer wreath with lemons and magnolias, so I went to Michael’s and picked up the supplies to make my own! Here is what I came up with:

The lemons were a lighter color that I wanted. Since I wanted to repeat the marigold yellow color in the door mat, I took a bit of orange paint and dry-brushed the lemons. I love customizing store-bought items to get it exactly the way you want!

You can also hang a basket with flowers or plants like my friend Brooke did:

2. Layered Door Mat

Another way to get your front porch ready for summer is to add a bold-patterned or bright-colored rug under your door mat. If you have a door mat but it is NOT as wide as your doorway, layering it with a larger rug gives a more substantial feel since it matches the scale of the door. If you have a door with sidelights, you want the layered base rug to be as wide as the sidelights also.

I was recently sent this cute “Hello” Welcome-a-Cure Door Mat from CarpetOne that benefits breast cancer research (25% of cost is donated), so I layered it on top of a patterned yellow rug from Target.

The larger yellow rug is 2′ x 4′ which is the perfect size for the width of my doorway. I just centered the “Hello” mat on top and (the rubber grip backing doesn’t shift) the fun pop of color from the petals coordinates with the yellow rug bringing a nice summer vibe to our porch.

Here is another example from Life Love Larson, of a door mat layered on top of a bold-patterned larger rug and I love how she put potted hydrangeas on the corners of the larger rug.

3. Potted Flowers

Summer time means flowers! Brightly-colored potted plants and flowers is a fast and easy way to get my front porch ready for summer. For this pedestal urn pots, I got two small ferns and planted them in the center. Then I trimmed them up so they looked taller, and planted a bunch of these colorful trailing mini petunias.

I also put some of the same trailing flowers in my number sign planter. The repetition of the yellow makes it all feel cohesive and intentional.

4. A New Doorbell

Design is all in the details and doorbells are one of those fun details that are easy to upgrade. With warm weather here, replacing your door bell can be done in minutes and it adds the prettiest touch to your summer porch! You can pick something with a classic brass vibe like this one, a bronze vintage looking one, or you can more modern and craftsman style like what I chose here: (This doorbell just arrived on Saturday, so some of the pics above don’t include it.)

Here is an example of a cute brass doorbell button on a modern farmhouse:

Carmel from Our Fifth House lives in Charleston and replacing her doorbell to this one, was one of the first things she did after moving in:

This moody gray house has a large round cover plate to the door bell which adds a charming and inviting touch.

5. A Sittin’ Spot

A perfect addition to your summer front porch is a sittin’ spot to people-watch all the neighbors strolling by. 😉

We’ve had this little bistro set for a few years (similar here), so to make it tad more inviting I placed a vase of fresh-cut peonies and mini daisies.

A bistro set, a pair of rocking chairs, a bench, a porch swing… any of these options are great to create a space that makes you want to sit and enjoy the day, especially now that our lives have slowed down a bit.

My window boxes got a late start, but last week I finally planted some flowers and vines. To ease up on the weight, I cut up pool noodles under the soil to help with drainage, instead of rocks.

By adding a wreath, layering your door mat, adding potted flowers, switching out your doorbell, and creating a sittin’ spot, your front porch will be ready for summer and bring a smile to your face every time you come in your front door!

House color: Dove Gray by Behr (Brick and masonry paint)

Door and shutter color: Creek Bend by Behr

Faux brick tiles on porch

To learn more about our 60s brick ranch exterior makeover that we did a few years ago for less than $3500, visit this post.