Tips + Tricks for Easy Autumn Porch Decorating

There’s a few basic guidelines I follow in my porch decorating that can really help you no matter the season, size of your porch, or style of decor! Below I’ve outlined 6 simple tips and tricks that will help you get started and decorate your porch like a pro! I also try to make it as easy on myself as possible to transition my porch quickly and easily from fall to Christmas and beyond- and these tips are perfect for that too! I’ve covered everything from materials, to placement, and styling without making it too fussy or complicated, so ANYONE can create a beautiful porch! Find all my tips + tricks below and let me know if you have any questions along the way!

xoxo

Emily

I like to begin by placing the largest objects first.  It helps to have some kind of tall plant, sign, or statement piece on each side of the door to build the rest of your decor off of and balance the visual weight so that everything isn’t close to the ground.  For this setup, I used two 4 ft. trees and placed them inside vintage baskets as planters. You could also just gather some larger branches from the yard and place them inside planters for the same effect or use extra large planters filled with your choice of plants.  Whatever you choose, I prefer for these larger pieces to match, but it’s not necessary as long as they are similar in size and visual weight.

Lanterns are a great item to use for porch decor year round.  They add some height and you can get them in a variety of styles and sizes.  I used 3 dark metal ones (one in a larger size and two in a medium size) and also 2 smaller glass and copper lanterns.  You can place battery operated candles inside, real pillar candles, citronella candles, or battery-operated twinkle lights.  I also added some white rock at the bottom of my glass lanterns for extra texture and to make these feel more full and substantial.

After I place my larger objects and lanterns, I like to use a variety of smaller planters and plants clustered together to fill in the rest of the space.  I used a selection of vintage brass planters, plain terracotta pots, as well as antique concrete planters for this setup with a mixture of mums, cabbages, and kale plants inside.  The great thing about mixing and matching vintage planters is that you will get a variety of different sizes, patinas, and heights so your overall setup doesn’t look too matchy-matchy or boring.

Old wooden crates or boxes are perfect to use as risers so that you can place things at different heights and they aren’t all sitting directly on the porch.  This is an extra step that can really elevate (literally) your overall setup! You can play around with which items you place on the crates vs. on the ground until you find the perfect balance!

One of my secrets is to layer two wreaths on top of each other for your front door to make more of a statement piece.  For this design, I used a gold faux magnolia leaf wreath on top of a large dried autumnal wreath. You can use floral wire or twine to carefully tie the top wreath on top of the bottom wreath so it hangs right in the center.  It will end up looking like one wreath and will really make your front door pop!

Finally choose a fun doormat to add a pop of color to your space!  I actually layered two doormats on top of each other (the bottom one being just a little larger) for an extra dose of pattern and texture.  I kept in mind the overall color scheme of my wreath and plants when choosing the rugs so that everything would coordinate and blend together.