Textiles add visual texture and are an inexpensive way to change up your porch’s look from season to season. Photos: Spacecrafting
An O’Hara Interiors designer shares creative ways to design a front porch that’s welcoming in all seasons.
When was the last time you really lingered on your front porch? Do you make it a habit to sit on the stoop with a cup of coffee, or are you usually hurrying inside with an armful of groceries (or, even more likely, bypassing the porch altogether as you go from car to house via the garage)? In modern life, it’s easy to overlook the porch, where families increasingly spend less time. But the porch is all about first impressions. “It’s a tease of what’s coming style-wise on the inside of your home,” Emily Anderson, senior designer at O’Hara Interiors, says. “Personal style is such a big part of your porch décor.”
As spring arrives and it’s time to freshen up, we asked Anderson for her favorite recommendations for arranging and decorating the front porch.
Keep large pieces simple and neutral. Adding benches, chairs or small tables to the porch can be great, especially if you’ll actually use them. Anderson says, “But there’s no need to go nuts if it’s not being used that way.” (Recent trends on social media, featuring porches with overstuffed sofas, scads of planters and dozens of knick-knacks, can feel too cluttered in real life.) Invest in furniture that can be kept out all year and provides a neutral canvas for your seasonal accent pieces.
Welcome the seasons with smaller pieces. “Fabrics are full of patterns, colors and textures, and pillows are an inexpensive way to change up your porch’s look for the seasons,” Anderson says. Better yet, invest in good pillow fills (the cushions themselves) and find seasonal, washable covers that can be zipped on and off. Rework your neutral planters with seasonal greenery and flowers, too. In the winter, for example, look to deeper shades—like cedar boughs, holly or other evergreens—and transition to lighter greens and ephemeral flowers when spring arrives. Anderson recommends buying larger planters that can be used all year, rather than having to rotate pots and flower boxes.
Incorporate seasonal foliage for a natural look.
Don’t forget textiles. “I love using a throw blanket on a chair or sofa to create some coziness and add a splash of color,” Anderson says. “A low-pile, outdoor-rated rug is always nice to anchor a space as well.” Many homeowners are looking beyond the traditional welcome mat and adding a larger outdoor rug that covers more square footage and (again) plays well year-round with neutral hues. You can also try the layering trend, where a more practical mat goes on top of the larger, decorative rug and catches dust and mud from shoes.
Bring the outdoors up. Whenever possible, use real foliage, whether that’s cut greenery and flowers or potted ones, instead of artificial. If you want to nod to an upcoming holiday, Anderson recommends incorporating more natural elements into your porch décor, rather than characters. In the spring, try pots of real shamrock plants or Easter egg-hued annuals, instead of leprechaun statues or bunny flags. If you work with a landscape designer, reach out to them to help you design seasonal planters and select your foliage. Uplighting around the porch and in landscaped beds is a sophisticated way to show off the front door and gardens.
Enlist the help of a designer. “We’re so concerned about making sure the whole picture makes sense,” Anderson says, even if the word “interior” is technically part of the job title. “When guests are standing there waiting for the door to open, having that connection with the inside of the house is really important.” A designer can also help find the right balance between “too cluttered” and “unfinished” and can help you choose a front door that jives with the style of your home and includes the right amount of glass to balance natural light with privacy. “Lately, a lot of our clients’ doors have been white oak,” Anderson says. “For doors, keep the colors classic—white, black or charcoal look nice.”
A well-styled front door sets the tone for your home. Photo: Strictly Natural Light
Protect your porch furnishings in the off-season. Whenever you change out your seasonal décor items, keep the retired ones in a dry storage area, like the garage or basement. “If you have a garage with some height, the rafters or a high shelf are good places for storing the items you don’t use every day,” Anderson says. “Another idea would be a small shed—having a dedicated shed for seasonal décor would be a dream!” Upholstered items—like cushions and pillows—should generally be put away during the winter, but furniture and rugs can stay out all year, as long as they’re designed for outdoor use. Lucky for us, as materials have evolved, those weather-safe pieces of furniture and rugs have become truly beautiful, durable and comfortable over the past decade or so—no plastic lawn chairs needed.
O’Hara Interiors
9950 Wayzata Blvd., St. Louis Park; 952.908.3150
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