Room Design
Outdoor Spaces
By
Kristin Hohenadel
Kristin Hohenadel
Kristin Hohenadel has written on design for publications including the New York Times, Interior Design, Slate, Fast Company, and the international editions of Elle Decor.
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Updated on 03/01/23
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Your front porch is your home's best chance to make a good first impression. No matter how big or small it might be, whether it is showy or unassuming, and regardless of the style of architecture, your front porch deserves as much attention to design and decor as your interior space.
A front porch can function as nothing more than a pass-through space or double as a second outdoor living room. It can create a convenient landing space for comings and goings, or simply sit there looking pretty, inviting passersby to wonder what else you have going on inside.
Whether you are looking to enhance your home's curb appeal, create a welcoming portal for both you and your guests, or make life a little more pleasant for all of those hard-working delivery people who visit your doorstep every day, check out these front porches in a range of layouts and sizes that don't skimp on style for some clever ideas on how to beautify your own outdoor space.
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Add a Golden Mustard Door
The front porch at this New England Shaker-style home in Montauk from Studio Robert McKinley is a summertime dream with its golden shingled siding, jumble of plants, and welcoming mustard yellow door.
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Create a Conversation Zone
If you have a large front porch, create individual zones. This sprawling Hudson Valley front porch from interior designer Ghislaine Viñas has open and accessible wrap-around sides that allow for a number of seating areas to be set up around the periphery. In one corner, a small seating area with two chairs and a table creates an intimate conversation area while leaving plenty of open space.
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Keep It Cool
This open surf ranch front porch designed by Raili CA Design for Kelly Slater has a casual Southern California appeal, with reclaimed wood planters filled with matching greenery, flat wood plank flooring, and plenty of space for a bike or a surfboard.
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Decorate With Dried Flowers
This snow white front porch from Leanne Ford Interiors is warmed up with a few burnished accents, from the warm porch light to the welcome mat and two oversized bunches of dried flowers flanking the door.
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Zone It Off
This homey Hudson River Colonial front porch from Becca Interiors has simple seating areas using traditional furniture that matches the style and black-and-white color palette of the facade. Some potted greenery sprinkled throughout softens the space but leaves the view through the neighboring porch open for admiring the water.
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Use Contrasting Colors
In this front porch from Martha O'Hara Interiors, a pair of terracotta urns filled with potted plants flank a pink door that contrasts with the deep blue/greeno' siding and stone facade of the home. An adjacent seating area is accessorized with the same warm corals and pinks to tie it all together.
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Keep It Simple
This minimalist front porch from Chango & Co. has an open layout, slate flooring, and a pair of black Scandinavian style rocking chairs perched on either side of the front door that add a graphic element that makes the small space look finished.
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Embrace Color and Pattern
There's no point outfitting a large front porch with outdoor seating if you don't plan on using it. This front porch from Maestri Studio is styled for looks rather than function, with dramatic cement tile patterned flooring, manicured plants, and a fresh mint green paint color on the decorative double doors that adds relief to the black-and-white color palette.
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Hang Moroccan Lanterns
This Spanish-style front porch from Marie Flanigan Interiors has a simple bench and a row of perforated metal Moroccan lanterns with an aged patina that produce arresting shadows when lit.
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Use Warm Lighting
When decorating your front porch be sure to install plenty of lighting evenly spread throughout the front (and sides if you have a wrap-around porch) so that it feels comfortable and relaxing in the evening, and feels welcoming for passersby and guests approaching the front door. And be sure to use warm lighting rather than harsh cool light so that it glows like this front porch from Lisa Gilmore Design.
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Add Colorful Deck Chairs
This retreat on the edge of a state park in central Michigan from Chicago-based Searl Lamaster Howe has a shady front porch that is clad in both untreated and charred cedar and obsidian lap siding. The porch overhang protects a stack of firewood, and a pair of rose pink deck chairs adds a warm dose of color.
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Plant an Indoor Outdoor Garden
This Santa Monica new build front porch from Hamsa Home has a midcentury modern-inspired cactus garden that is carried into the front entry—separated by a large pane of glass—to create the illusion of an indoor/outdoor garden.
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Make Space For Everyone
On this spacious and breezy Florida front porch from Lisa Gilmore Design, a pair of rocking chairs is accompanied by a small stylish daybed that assures that every last member of the family has a comfortable place to hang out and while away a summer afternoon.
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Use A Bold Color Accent
This modern farmhouse in upstate New York from NYC-based Chango & Co. has bright cherry red double doors that add punch to the black and white porch. Matching black rocking chairs with red-and-black check throw pillows, red side tables and gray throw blankets and a pair of sconce lights make it inviting and practical.
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Add Sculptural Seating
This light and airy front porch from Studio Robert McKinley has sculptural seating and casual landscaping that carries onto the steps with potted plants and onto the porch with hanging planters that help fill the empty space without blocking sightlines.
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Paint the Furniture
This Cape Cod style home from AHG Interiors has a small and cozy front porch with stone pavers on the floor that match the walkway. A small bench painted in the same navy shade as the siding blends into the background, providing function while maintaining an uncluttered look.
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Use Your Words
You can add personality to your front porch with just a few small decor moves. This front porch from Raili CA Design has a white stenciled lowercase greeting on the wooden steps and a sculptural olive tree that casts alluring shadows against the clean white facade, creating a memorable signature that doesn't detract from the minimalist vibes.
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Scale It Up
This monumental high-ceilinged front porch from Heather Hilliard Design is filled out with a pair of large-scale potted plants that add balance and make the imposing facade softer and more welcoming.
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Send a Message
Leafy palm plants and a surfboard leaning up in the corner of this front porch from Christina Kim Interior Design set the tone for this coastal Sea Girt, New Jersey home.
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Add Double Porch Swings
This spacious front porch from Chango & Co. has a pair of hanging porch swings on either side of the front door that add symmetry and extra seating.
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Use Modern Furniture
This front porch from Martha O'Hara Interiors has modern furniture and a large potted cactus that creates a seating area that works with the style of the home.
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Emulate Victorian Style
This 125-square-foot Victorian-style cottage in the Catskills of New York from Sandra Foster has an open and airy front porch with delicate turned painted wood columns that gives the miniature space some extra breathing room.
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Create a Reading Area
Blogger Leslie Saeta of My 100 Year Old Home outfitted the front porch of her Waco, Texas vacation rental home with a double outdoor living room on either side of the double glass front doors, allowing guests to relax and admire the view of a giant oak tree. The black-and-white palette mixed with the raw wood flooring of the front porch is true to the home's modern farmhouse style.
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Use French Doors
The front porch entrance to a historic restoration and design project in Nantucket, Massachusetts from Allison Babcock Design has glass-paned French doors and simple painted white railings that contrast with the shingle siding. The porch itself isn't big enough for a seating area, but a pair of plants in navy pots flanking either side of the wide entry steps creates a sense of welcoming, and double porch lights ensure that the entry is well lit after dark.
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Accessorize It Like a Living Room
This front porch from Sho and Co. was designed to feel like an extension of the interior, with modern, clean-lined furniture and seating upholstered in soft fabrics grouped in an intimate conversation area. Greenery in modern planters that can be switched out seasonally and some oversized outdoor vases that are heavy enough to withstand winds add to the indoor-outdoor look.
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Mix Old and New
This elegant front porch from BASE Landscape Architecture has classic proportions, painted moldings, arched windows, and a retro pendant light. A pair of simple pale wood benches on opposite sides add a modern touch and a practical space for resting a farmers market haul, putting on shoes, or waiting for the locksmith to arrive when you lock yourself out of the house.
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Add Can Lights
This front porch from Laura Brophy Interiors has a small overhang with built-in can lights that save space on the limited facade and allow for a larger window. A simple wooden bench offers extra seating.
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Add Curtains
This spacious front porch from Martha O'Hara Interiors is equipped with billowy white curtains that can be tied back as seen here or closed to provide shade or privacy from onlookers.
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Line the Stairs With Potted Plants
This Orange County, California front porch is filled with pots of purple, white, and blue flowering plants and garden sculptures that extend to the front steps, giving it a lived in feel.
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Add Black and White Stripes
Blogger KariAnne Wood of Thistlewood Farms chose a black-and-white striped outdoor rug to jazz up her front porch, accenting with planters and baskets full of bright fuschia flowers.
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Move Things Around
Playing around with the style and placement of your home's street number is one of the practical and aesthetic decisions you can make about the design of your front porch. On this Sea Girt, New Jersey front porch from Christina Kim Interior Design, the street number is placed beneath the front door in a way that mimics the way some cities mark street numbers on the curb, making it visible to visitors as they approach the short flight of steps up from the winding front yard walkway.
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Keep It Open
While your front porch design should feel comfortable to use and welcoming for friends and visitors, if your front porch is visible from the street, you should also consider what the view is like for passersby. This front porch from Lindye Galloway Studio + Shop has an open format and a seating area that includes a comfy hanging porch swing and two chairs in neutral tones that blend into the home's facade and front landscaping for a manicured modern look.
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Try a Faux Painted Floor Runner
This faux painted floor runner in a classic checkerboard pattern from blogger KariAnne Wood of Thistlewood Farms adds some graphic black-and-white punch to her modern farmhouse front porch.
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Blue Door
This spacious Costa Mesa, California front porch from Mindy Gayer Design Co. has an open design and symmetrical matching seating arrangements on either side of the blue front door.
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Add Hanging Plants
This front porch from A Beautiful Mess has a hanging swing that anchors a small outdoor seating area, while a row of hanging plants add a virtual green screen that virtually separates the cozy space from the neighboring house.
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Make It Graphic
This front porch from Most Lovely Things has a comfortable outdoor living room decorated with a striped rug and patterned throw pillows in a black-and-white palette that modernizes the space.
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Tile the Steps
This tiny front porch from interior designer Michelle Salz-Smith of Studio Surface is more of a landing space, but graphic tiled steps that are visible once you open the gate is a stylish surprise that makes it feel decorated and finished.
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Add Cozy Accessories
This front porch from Inspired By Charm has a wooden bench accessorized with a long pillow with a crocheted cover and a light striped throw, making it a cozy perch to enjoy a morning coffee and wave at the neighbors.
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Light It Up
This Texas front porch from Martha O'Hara Interiors has minimal seating that blends into the background, and powerful porch lights that illuminate the facade after dark.
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Accessorize Your Porch Swing
This dramatic modern black porch swing from Lisa Gilmore Design is hung from long black chains and accessorized with patterned throw pillows that gives it a contemporary look.
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Add a Dutch Door
The star of this small front porch from Mindy Gayer Design Co. is a pale blue Dutch door whose open top allows air to flow into the house and makes visitors feel welcome on arrival.
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Embrace Symmetry
This front porch from Lisa Gilmore Design uses simple furniture and potted plants to create a simple, symmetrical front porch that looks polished and timeless.
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Make It Patio Style
This front porch from Mindy Gayer Design Co. is more of a patio than a porch. But positioned at the front of the home it is styled like a front porch with a seating area that is accessible from double French doors on the facade a step up from the adjacent front door.
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Add Tropical Vibes
This festive front porch from Casa Watkins Living has the same tropical colors and maximalist approach to accessorizing as the interior of the home.
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Paint the Steps
Charles Almonte Architecture / Interior Design created a sense of presence on this small front porch by using deep red paint accents. Warm porch lighting and plants in raised planters on the porch and at the base of steps adds polish and a sense of occasion to a modest space.
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Add a Floral Element
This covered front porch from Maite Granda isn't largely visible from the outside, but flowering vines in a vivid purple climbing the white facade adds softness and a welcoming feel.
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Stick the Landing
This Florida front porch from interior designer Maite Granda is more of a landing, a place to get some fresh air while sheltering yourself from the beating sun, or shake yourself off after a Florida downpour before going inside. A glass and metal pendant light gives the covered front porch a room-like quality while providing even lighting after dark.
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Add Some Art
Not every front porch faces the street, but you should still mark the entry point to your home. This front porch from Leanne Ford Interiors has a casual off-road feel with its white seating area, black lantern, and simple wood-framed print hanging by the door.
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Embrace Open Space
If you know you're not going to use your front porch as an extra living space, feel free to keep it bare. Just be sure that it doesn't look neglected and add a touch of decor if needed so it looks like someone lives there. Interior designer Maite Granda took a minimalist approach to this spacious Florida front porch, adding a pair of topiaries on the landing and two steps up that makes the empty space look intentional.
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Add a Bistro Table
This 10x12-foot Catskills, New York tiny house from AHG Interiors has a generous open front porch that creates extra outdoor living space when weather permits. Classic decor choices and a tangle of climbing ivy create a lush, romantic setting.
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Use Vintage Pieces
A hanging porch swing, vintage style rattan chairs, and a mix of blue and green throw pillows give this small front porch from Chamberlain Interior an easy natural feel that invites lingering and conversation.
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Paint the Door Pink
This cheerful Venice Beach, California Spanish-style bungalow from White Sand Design Build has black-and-white patterned floor tiles, a tall drought-friendly cactus, blond wood frame posts, and a candy-colored pink door that spreads the positive Southern California vibes.
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Echo the Interior
Well groomed topiaries, a black-and-white palette, and a small seating area give this suburban front porch from Michelle Berwick Designs a sense of polish and grandeur that echoes the interior that is largely visible through the glass windows.
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Use Warm Finishes
The small front landing on this modern Maine house designed by Tyler Karu has warm wood cladding, a casual assortment of house plants, and a vibrant coral-colored front door.
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Keep It Traditional
A completely renovated early 1900s farmhouse from Michelle Berwick Designs preserved original features like the classic small front porch, which is furnished minimally with some rattan seating and a warm sconce light.
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Be Yourself
Your front porch is an opportunity to reflect your sensibilities and highlight your personality. A welcome mat saying "Howdy" on this front porch from A Beautiful Mess sets the tone and puts guests at ease.
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Dress It Simply
This breezy Spanish-style front porch from Blanco Bungalow is located on the side of the house, with a glossy black door flanked with a mismatched pair of plants, a natural door mat, and an industrial style sconce to give it a casual but polished modern feel.
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Fill Empty Space With Plants
There's nothing wrong with some empty space on a front porch, but you can make a small front porch feel bigger and cozier by filling up blank space with plants, like this front porch from Kate Marker Interiors.
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Create an Oasis
This Spanish-style Los Angeles front porch Julian Porcino is more like a covered patio that opens onto a private courtyard. But just because your space isn't visible from the street doesn't mean it shouldn't be decorated and outfitted for use. Here, a wire chair and matching side table placed under the arched facade, scattered plants, and a pair of outdoor sconces create a private spot for morning coffee or an after-dinner drink.
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Skip the Welcome Mat
This small, deep front porch from A. Naber Design is big enough to house the mailbox and could have been a forgettable space. But a graphic black-and-white tile floor in place of a welcome mat and a large wind chime hung on the periphery add just enough attention to make it memorable instead.