Welcome to the Harvest Home Tour! I can’t wait to share with you how I decorated my front porch for fall. I hope you will continue the tour when you reach the end of this post. There are posts shared by 30 talented bloggers on every harvest-worthy topic from outdoor décor to tablescapes to crafts. Many thanks go out to Kristi from French Creek Farmhouse for organizing this tour. In my post, Create An Inviting Front Porch For Fall, I’m sharing with you how I created a welcoming look for the harvest season for our tiny front porch.
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Inspiration
My first source of inspiration was the theme of this tour- Harvest Home. The harvest season is a time to enjoy and appreciate the gifts of nature, whether it’s a basket of apples transformed into apple pie or the beautiful rustic botanicals of autumn that adorn our homes. In the area where we live, sunflowers and fall mums are the quintessential flowers of fall.
I own a wreath shop and create several new sunflower wreath designs every fall. This year, I knew I wanted to have a yellow sunflower wreath on our door. Yellow is the perfect compliment to a blue door, but also looks amazing with many other colours including black, grey, beige, and orange. So, I designed a wreath with plenty of yellow sunflowers as well as some smaller white flowers. You can purchase this wreath here.
I also knew I wanted to include fall mums as a main design element for our front porch décor. My idea was to have several smaller containers and baskets rather than a couple of large planters.
Colour Palette
The main colour palette is yellow-blue-orange-black plus a few beige and ivory neutrals. The brickwork of our home consists of shades of beige and golden beige, so yellow and orange flowers are right at home with these warm tones. Our front door is a muted shade of blue, Silver Streak by Benjamin Moore. I always love a pop of black in my décor, so I opted for a black and ivory buffalo check doormat, a black lantern, and a couple of black planters. I also used yellow in my kitchen this year- you can visit my sunflower yellow kitchen post here.
First Steps
I ordered the buffalo check doormat months ago because I thought it was the perfect size for layering with a smaller mat. Buffalo check really sets the tone for casual and fun décor and works well with farmhouse and country style décor. I also created the wreath about a month in advance, and I was glad to have these two elements in place in advance.
As soon as fall mums appeared in our local stores, I headed out to Home Depot to make my selections. In our area there are four main colours of mums available- yellow, orange, white, and violet. I knew I wanted yellow and one additional colour. Violet doesn’t look great with our brick and I wanted something richer than white, so I chose the rusty orange colour. Home Depot had three different sizes of mums, so I bought all three. Four small and two medium ones for the porch and two mini ones for our planters on either side of the garage.
All the other items used for this fall porch look where things I had stored away in our home.
Prepwork
On the day I decorated our porch for fall, I spent an hour prepping the space. I removed the summer décor, washed the windows and door, and swept the porch. I also gave the planters a fresh coat of black spray paint.
We’ve slowly been upgrading our front porch area over the past two years. I painted the door and got new door hardware a couple of years ago. Last Christmas, we replaced our exterior lights. And this spring I added the Hello decal to our front door and gave the doorbell a fresh coat of paint. I recently found a plain pine storage box and transformed it into a planter box by painting it a pretty shade of beige and filling it with two pots of the smaller mums. I’ll be sharing how I transformed this piece in the next two weeks.
Arranging The Florals
I placed the medium-sized yellow mum in my largest pot, an old iron urn. I decided to leave the medium orange mum in the pot it came with but gave the standard brown pot a quick update with a coat of black spray paint. The two smaller mums were placed in the planter box side by side. One of my summer plants was still flourishing so I included it in my fall porch décor. The galvanized metal container adds a little contrast.
Cozy Accents
I added a soft yellow blanket and Welcome Fall pillow to the small chair on our front porch. It adds an inviting touch and the neutral tones ground the more colourful floral accents. I really like the idea of taking indoor décor items (ones that can withstand the elements) and using them in outdoor décor. It makes the outdoor space feel more inviting and it invites you to stop and sit for a while.
The black lantern ties in with the other black accents used in this outdoor space. Additionally, it provides a soft glow in the evenings. Our family enjoys evening walks and it’s so inviting to come home to a well lit and cozy looking front porch. It beckons us to stop and enjoy the evening for a few moments longer before heading inside.
Layered Mats
Layering mats is a big trend that I especially love in the fall and winter. When textiles are layered it adds depth, interest, and of course, coziness. I used a large black and white buffalo check mat as the base and added a “hi friend” coir mat on top of it for a whimsical touch.
The Other Side
The left side of our porch is even smaller than the right side, but I didn’t want to miss an opportunity to further enhance the autumn look. I started with the tall “Harvest” sign, adding a bundle of wheat to the left side and a demijohn of pampas grass on the right. These stems add a natural touch and lots of texture without introducing new colours.
Baskets
I think baskets are a great alternative to plant pots for displaying mums and other plants. I placed a small mum in each of these baskets. They add a rustic touch and an additional layer of texture. I would use these cute basket mums inside our home too. Mums like cooler weather at night (but not frost) and they are fairly picky about watering. I test the soil with my finger before deciding if it needs water each day or not. If the soil is dry or almost dry I water, if it’s wet or medium dry, I’ll wait until the next morning to check it again. If you follow these guidelines, they should last through the fall season.
Alternative Arrangement
I tested another front porch arrangement using mainly the same elements. In the group of images below, you can see that I omitted the urn and placed the planter box at the back of the arrangement. It’s a simpler, less-is-more kind of look. Which do you prefer?
Summary
I hope you have enjoyed this home tour and learning about how to create an inviting front porch for fall. Please visit all the lovely participants in this tour (see below). Happy dreaming and decorating!
Shawna,
I loved seeing your porch ideas. So fun doing these together.
Thank you Rachel! I love home tours and fall is my favourite time of year.
Your front porch is stunning! I love all the beautiful touches of fall. Your front door is gorgeous, I love the color mixed with the brick, so pretty!
Thank you Kristin! We have the tiniest front porch, but it’s fun (and quick) to decorate.
Your porch is so inviting! I especially love that sunflower wreath!! Thank you for the inspiration.
Thank you Meeghan! I’m so glad you like the wreath.
Beautiful Fall Entryway Shawana! I’m planning to make a new wreath for my front door this week. I will definitely be using sunflowers! So pretty
Thank you Lynn! I love that there are so many different sizes and colours of sunflowers to choose from.
Shawna, your porch is beautiful! I love that sunflower wreath and all of the mums give this such an inviting feel.
Thank you Becky! I’m glad you liked the wreath.
Love your fall porch Shawna! Normally I’m a less is more person, but since you asked, I really like the look of the planter with mums on the step. Sensational looking either way!
Thank you Michelle! I appreciate you weighing in on the less or more question.
I love the way that you decorated your porch for fall. I do love the porch with the planter box best. Great job.
Thank you Sherry! I appreciate you weighing in on the two options- it was so hard to decide!
Your fall porch is beautiful, Shawna. I love the buffalo check rug and all of the pretty mums!
Thank you Jen! I’ve never decorated with that combo before so it was fun.
That doormat is so sweet–I love it! And mums are my favorite this time of year…I get so excited to see them everywhere. Love everything you did, Shawna–so gorgeous! xo, Kristi
Thank you Kristi! This was such a fun tour- I loved seeing how each talented blogger decorated their porches and homes.
Such a beautiful fall porch, Shawna. I’m jealous that we can’t get mums yet where we are…yours are so pretty! So happy to be on the tour with you. Happy Harvest Season! xoxo, Kristi
Thank you Kristi! I got them just in time for this post! I’m sure yours will be available soon.
Love the buffalo check rug and all the fall flowers!
Thank you Kathleen! I’ve been wanting a buffalo check rug for years now.
Your front porch is so welcoming and cheerful, Shawna!
Thank you so much Mary Beth!
Shawna, your porch is so cozy and welcoming. I love all of your flowers. The colors look perfect with your front door and your mats.
Thank you Angie for the sweet comments!
Yes, I so agree with you-adding soft pillows and throws to your porch decor makes everything more inviting! Love how all the Fall colors pop against your blue door; so pretty:)
Thank you Lora! I’m glad you think the space is inviting.
What a sweet fall porch, and your sunflower wreath is stunning!
Thank you Cindy! I’m so glad you like the wreath.
I sure would want to spend a moment or two on this stoop! Great vibe my friend!
Thank you Jess! That’s great to hear.
Oh the mums and the brick together are fabulous!! Love it 🙂
Thank you Tanya!
Your porch is so pretty! I love all the mums and the sunflower wreath!!! everything is so perfectly fall!!
Thank you Emily! I was happy to find the mums at the right time.
You nailed Fall! Love your layered door mats!!
Thank you so much Jennifer! I’m kind of obsessed with layered door mats.
Your front entry is so inviting! I love the mix of yellow and bronzy gold. So pretty!
Thank you Suzy! I appreciate your lovely comments.
Hi Shawna! Your front porch is just darling and so very welcoming, perfectly Fall!
Thank you Laurie! I’m so glad you like it.
Your fall porch is lovely! I can barely wait for the weather to cool off enough to put mums on our porch.
Thank you Elaine! I hope that is soon for you!
I love all the pops of yellow! Great job!
Thank you so much Christin!