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Conversation Station
When the warm weather comes around, the porch is where you want to be when you gather with friends and family. Get everyone mingling by creating an easy conversation zone for your guests to enjoy. Arrange furniture in small groupings, and balance the setup with a coffee table or ottoman that can hold food, refreshments, or your favorite book.
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Renewed Purpose
Outfitting a porch with bright, modern furnishings doesn’t have to be expensive. Instead of buying new, try updating items you already have. Bland wicker chairs become vivid statement pieces with a refreshing coat of paint, and cushions from an old dining set can look surprisingly at home in a porch setting. An old rug and a few festive flowerpots later, and you’ll have a front porch that feels like it was decorated from scratch.
Cabin Fever
Zillow Digs home in Chattahoochee Hills, GA
This rustic retreat combines two classic (and coveted) features: a wraparound porch and a log cabin aesthetic. To steal the look for your home’s facade, incorporate crawling vines and other plants to put nature front and center while accentuating architectural elements, and consider painting your door a bright color to take the style up a notch. Vintage sconces and wood furniture can also add to the flashback farmhouse feel.
Inside Out
Zillow Digs home in Mill Valley, CA
An porch can easily serve as an extension of your home, especially when you bring indoor decor outside. This porch is enhanced with accessories that are traditionally found indoors, including a rug, a pendant light, and a plush couch with a throw blanket and accent pillows. While the couch affords plenty of seating for company, the hanging wicker chair is an inviting place for one person to curl up with a good read.
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Linear Equation
Zillow Digs home in Seattle, WA
If you’re hoping to achieve a more secluded and simple vibe, consider this calm and serene scheme. The horizontal lines of the wood flooring complement the siding beautifully, and a wooden trellis ceiling provides coverage without confinement. A few sconces and a bench add elements of comfort and convenience, and tall plantings screen the porch from nosy neighbors.
Staycation
What’s not to love about a porch packed with potential for entertainment and relaxation? In addition to offering a bar and daybed, this generous space provides enough room to accommodate a couch, hammock, and coffee table. Plus, the yellow-and-turquoise color combo contrasts beautifully, and the bright colors encourage your friends and family to transition instantly from the summer heat to a tropical playground.
Natural Comforts
Zillow Digs home in Chattanooga, TN
A neutral color scheme can add a modern-country touch to your front porch. Here, shades of brown in the furnishings, planked ceiling, and rustic coffee table unify the space, while throw pillows in muted colors impart warmth and visual interest. By mimicking the comforts that are essential to a living room, a porch like this puts visitors instantly at ease.
Take a Load Off
A porch lets you enjoy the outdoors without being scalded by the bright sunlight, making it great for fresh air, but not so much for tanning. As a result, lounge chairs may seem out of place on a porch, yet they can be surprisingly successful additions, allowing you to literally kick up your feet and relax. Make these traditional sunbathing seats more front-porch appropriate by covering them with colorful fabrics and accenting with throw pillows.
The Big Screen
Zillow Digs home in Caldwell, ID
If you prefer to relax within an enclosed porch, then take a cue from this airy enclosure. The screen helps to keep bugs out while also letting fresh air in. And while the full roof offers protection from the elements, skylights admit an abundance of natural light that fosters a bright and breezy atmosphere.