Spruce Up Your Exterior For Summer! (5 Ways to Transform Your Front Porch)
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I spend SO much time working on the inside of our home, that I’ve been completely neglecting the outside— it’s starting to get a little embarrassing! You definitely don’t want to be the people on your street with the worst curb appeal!! I’ve slowly been doing small (and inexpensive) things to help make our exterior a little more appealing.
Here are some easy things you can do to dress up your exterior for summer!
1 ) Paint your front door
This is probably one of the easiest updates you can do that will make a big impact! Two or three sample sizes of paint is really all you’ll need to complete this project. Just make sure to get paint meant for exteriors! About a year ago, I used a brand of paint that said it was meant for painting front doors— but it started chipping almost immediately. Next time I’m just planning to use an exterior paint from Home Depot. I’ve been loving muted tones like in the examples above- soft blue, sage green, and terracotta are a few of my favorites right now!
2 ) Add a Variety of Plant Pots
Plants can make all the difference in a space - both indoors and out. I personally love when people group different sized flower pots in the same or similar colors together. You also can’t go wrong with two bigger planters on either side of your front door (unless you’re like me and your front door is perpendicular to the street)! DIY TIP: If you love how aged terracotta planters look (right photo), you can buy cheap ones from any craft store and lightly rub white paint or chalk on them until you achieve the desired look!
3 ) Layer Your Doormats
Another super easy way to dress up your front porch area is to layer two doormats! I started seeing this trend a while ago, with everyone using a buffalo check rug under their doormat, but now I’m loving seeing new variations of it! You’ll want to use the same principle for pairing your doormats as you do for pairing throw pillows: similar color scheme + mix a bigger print with a smaller print.
4 ) Stencil Your Patio
I actually did this to our front patio! I found the stencil at Michaels and used outdoor white spray paint (using paint and a roller would have been a lot easier though). I did it over the course of a couple days and we love how it turned out! In the photos above, it looks like they did a layer of gray paint first to get a more crisp look. For my house, I wanted a worn in/ vintage vibe so I just spray painted right over the concrete as it was.
5 ) Update Your Lighting / House Numbers
I made a house number plaque pretty soon after we moved in, and it was super easy! I used wood from the craft wood section of Michaels, some numbers I picked up at Home Depot, and faux greenery! One thing we haven’t done yet is update the wall light that is next to our front door. It’s so tiny and old, you can’t even see it from the street. I have been wanting to get something bigger to make a statement. I think updating it will make a huge difference in the appearance.
So those are my top tips to updating your home’s exterior easily and on a budget! I’d love to know if you try any of them!