5 Easy Steps for a Festive Fall Front Porch

Oh the crisp cool air and beautiful colors of Fall!! Decorating our front porch for Fall has become a tradition for Josh and me. We just love it!

We usually start itching to decorate for Fall at the end of August, but force ourselves to wait until September 1st. However, this year was totally different. Since school started about 3 weeks later than usual for my girls because of COVID, I didn’t get into the Fall spirit until the end of September. We were still swimming in the pool and living up summer break through September 8th!

It seems like as soon as school started, the air got cooler and crisp and I was more than ready to get my house looking festive. We decided to decorate differently this year and change things up. Decorating your front porch can feel overwhelming, because so many people drive past your house and you want it to look good for everyone else to enjoy, not just your family. But it doesn’t have to be hard if you follow these steps!

1. Garland

Choose your color scheme and be consistent with it for the entire porch/entry. If you are choosing a sophisticated look with muted colors or whites and golds, stick with it for all of the pieces you choose. If you choose a spooky Halloween theme, use blacks, purples and oranges to convey that. We did a traditional Fall look with bright reds and oranges for our porch, because I knew that inside my house I would be doing more muted colors this year. The key to making garland look good is that it has to be really thick. Sometimes the garland that you buy at the store can be sparse, so for this look, I doubled it up and used 6 strands of 6 foot garland. Simple leaves can look so festive when they are plentiful! I found this red and orange maple leaf garland at Hobby Lobby.

2. Wreath

I always struggle with finding the perfect wreath! I knew I wanted something large and I had something in mind, but couldn’t find it. So, while shopping at Kirkland’s, I found a beautiful white monogram as well as this buffalo check wreath hanger and took them home with me. I was so excited to put them both up, but something was definitely missing. Long story short, I ended up disassembling last year’s wreath and attaching these faux orange buds and some bittersweet to the monogram with some floral wire. I was so happy with the final result!

3. Pillows

Throw pillows are always that added touch needed to enhance your theme! I chose a buffalo plaid pattern and carried that theme throughout the porch, especially the pillows. I bought these reversible pillows from Kirkland’s. My favorite pillows are these pumpkin shaped stuffed pillows with stems! They come in 3 different sizes and both orange and black buffalo plaid. I love how 3-dimensional they look on the chairs and porch swing! Another fabric that I love for fall is burlap and I was able to get these jack-o-lantern burlap pillows from the dollar spot at Target…SCORE!!! Kirkland’s fall accent pillow game was strong this year so I also purchased this oblong pumpkin patch pillow from there!

4. Rugs

When decorating a front porch, rugs set the stage for both theme and coziness. I purchased this large buffalo plaid carpet for in front of my furniture set and a smaller one for my doorway to place underneath the doormat. Two rugs are not necessary, but you should at least get one to make your porch an inviting place to sit and hang out this fall! Click here for the larger rug from Amazon and here for the smaller one from Kirkland’s.

5. Pumpkins & Props

Get lots of pumpkins!!! Lots!!! They can be used on either side of your doorway, around your furniture, lining the sides of your entry stairs or even stacked in a planter like this!

Lanterns are a beautiful prop to add to a fall front porch and they add an extra glow on those crisp evenings. I bought this one at Target and it is perfect, because it is on a timer. It turns on every evening and turns off by itself, so there is no thinking involved after the first time it’s switched on!

We also like to add corn stalks as a center piece on our porch. We buy these from a local Farmer’s Market and usually purchase 5 bundles each year. The other 4 are placed on our columns and they cast beautiful shadows at night when our spotlights are on.

Mums are also beautiful and there are such beautiful colors! I love the purple ones, but I always end up purchasing the traditional colors like yellow, rust, and burgundy and I’m never sorry! Just don’t forget to water them like I do!

Some other prop details we liked were this large galvanized jack-o-lantern candle holder from pottery barn and this gorgeous monogrammed pumpkin with a buffalo plaid bow.

I hope these ideas are helpful when you are decorating your own home this Fall. Tag me on Instagram @the.sugarplum.palace if you use any of these ideas!

Happy Decorating, friends!!