DIY Ideas To Steal From 5 Easy Porch Makeovers
—Caylin Harris
If you’re lucky enough to have a porch to kick back and relax on, don’t let it waste away in these precious warm months unused and unloved. Make it the place you want to spend your morning, noon, and night! You’d be surprised how much more inviting it can become with just a few small changes, like a paint color. For a little inspiration, learn from these five porch-dwelling families, and take some tips home with you from their own problem-solving porch makeovers.
Before: A Little Too Much Privacy
Photo: simplestylings.com
Here at the home of the Simple Stylings blogger, waist-high railings created a visual roadblock and hid any personality-packed porch accents she wanted to bring in.
Related: Â Own Your Open Floor Plan with 8 Smart Design Tricks
After: Break Down the Walls
Photo: simplestylings.com
Removing the railings made some fun details like turquoise folding chairs visible to complement the freshly painted front door—not to mention made the space feel more open for guests to dine al fresco. Here, too, the installation of a basket pendant light and white string lights the rest of the way down the wide porch only up the charm.
Related:  Eating Out—10 Essentials for Alfresco Dining
Before: All Washed Out
Photo: thepenningtonpoint.com
This narrow porch over at The Pennington Point, with murky blue-gray floor and straw yellow walls, needed some serious cheering up. Without too much contrast, the muted colors left the whole structure feeling a little wishy-washy.
Related: Â 9 Bright and Bold Colors for Your Front Door
After: Classic Contrasts
Photo: thepenningtonpoint.com
Fresh coats of crisp and bold neutrals really woke up this sleepy porch. Black paint leftover from other house projects now makes the shutters pop and even graces the floor in a painted-on black and white rug at the top of the porch stairs. (How’s that for a totally free outdoor accent that won’t trip anyone up?) Finally, the homeowners paid attention to the scale of the furniture, keeping it slim as opposed to oversized to fill out and fit the long space.
Related:  The New Neutrals—9 Colors You Can Trust for Today’s Home
Before: The Great (Outdated) Outdoors
Photo: www.designmom.com
While stunning in its own right, a stained wood door that was too traditional for this modern abode from Design Mom left this whole front porch feeling a little mismatched.
Related: Â Curb Appeal to Steal from 12 Hollywood Homes
After: New Door, New Style
Photo: www.designmom.com
The new streamlined, gray front door feels more compatible with the modern lines of the rest of the house. Other small additions—like geometric, neon-dipped concrete planters; white, playful outdoor seating; and wooden slat doormat—make this space feel homey without creating any unnecessary clutter.
Related: Â Cement Your Place in DIY History with These 9 Easy Concrete Projects
Before: Shabby, But Not So Chic
Photo: www.lesleymetcalfe.com
Despite the good bones on this porch, a serious lack of color and tired furniture really aged the space out front of interior decorator Lesley Metcalfe’s home.
Related: Â 12 Ways to Wake Up Your Tired Outdoor Furniture
After: Make it a Hangout
Photo: www.lesleymetcalfe.com
There’s nothing a little paint can’t handle! A cheerful blue on the railing and black around the window breathe life back into the once worn-down exterior. But what really makes bringing in a comfy white couch, billowing curtains, bistro-style white lights, and a couple of outdoor rugs make the porch an extension of the rest of the home’s interior design.
Related: Â The 9 Rules for Rugs That Everyone Should Know
Before: Time for a Change
Photo: looklingerlove.com
While this front door on Look Linger Love already donned a lovely shade of mint, it was a design decision made by the previous owners—one that stuck around for four years!
Related:  In Living Color—7 Tips for Brightening Your Home’s Palette
After: The Power of Color
Photo: looklingerlove.com/
Bright color changes the entire vibe of this front porch, taking it from a cool mint to a warm and inviting coral. Framed with a pair of mini palm trees with new bucket planters and a graphic black and white doormat, this entryway makes every season feel like summer.
Related: Â 10 Easy Ways to Bring Beach Style to Your Landlocked Home
