Welcome to the Fall Front Porch

Hi friends, Happy October! It's taken me awhile to get the porch decorated this season because it's been so warm around here and the yard has been a mess because of the drought we're in. No sense drawing attention to the porch when the yard looks atrocious. Although...  we have a long school pick-up line each afternoon at 3:30 on the street in front and I sort of feel an obligation to have something nice for them to look at. Nothing like a line of 40 cars coming by critiquing your outdoor décor each afternoon!

Christmas Front Porch

Invariably I get down to the last few days before Christmas and I start running out of time to share all my pics of Christmas around my house. So here are a few from the front porch. We went through a really cold snap about the time I was decorating it, so it sort of got lost in the fact that I wasn't going to turn into a popsicle working on more fluffing.

Early Fall Door Basket and Front Porch

Last week I shared my 5 Quick and Easy Ideas to Get in the Mood for Fall . I added a bonus tip and that was to do a mini refresh on the front door with a basket or wreath that bridges the gap between summer and fall.

Autumn Greetings from the Front Porch

Decorating the front porch for Fall has been a work in progress this last month since we were gone for a week. It started in early September with a change up for the pillows on the metal depot bench. By the end of summer the porch and flowers start looking a bit tired and in need of a pick-me-up. I like keeping a lighter look in September because the temps are still really warm, but I'll add a few darker colors as it gets further into October.

Summer Containers on the Porch and in the Garden

Hi Friends, I thought I'd share a quick post with some pics of my containers out back and on the front porch. These were taken a couple of weeks ago, so they are just barely blooming, not really filled out at all. This is my first time posting since I had the back surgery a week ago today. I had to have my husband help with all the "heavy lifting" to get these containers put together. He's not a gardening fan; I can barely wring enough sympathy out of him to water them while I've been "indisposed". He enjoys seeing how much color they add to the porch and the pretty blooms, he's just been trapped in an office for years, so his mind doesn't gravitate to extra stuff outdoors that might be considered work.

Christmas Mix on the Front Porch

Happy December, Everyone!

Hi Friends, are you having fun transforming your home to Christmas?

We had a couple of nice days over last weekend, so I wanted to get the outside decorating done while we wouldn't be freezing. Missouri weather is notoriously crazy at best, but after Thanksgiving it's just as easy to be a snowy wintry mix as anything above 50. So Thanksgiving weekend is when we all shoot for porch and outside decorating. 

Early Fall Color in the Entry

When the calendar flipped to September I knew it was time to change out my all white flower arrangement on the entry console. I had left the white flowers there all summer; (usually I'm not that lazy...) But changing up arrangements was on my to-do list and I thought I'd try a little more color for this early part of the month.

Mid-Summer Front Door Basket

In late June I "summerfied" the old bucket on the farmtable in the Garden Room with a wild "just picked" humongous bouquet. In mid-summer I like to have a crazy mix of sunflowers, hydrangeas, and geraniums that look like they just came in from the backyard. I shared the "Summer" ice cream bucket last week, so this week I gathered up some of the same faux flower mix and filled a gray wash wicker basket for the front door.

Christmas Door Decor and Porch Peek

Hi Friends, do you have your Christmas decorating finished up? I hope you've had some good weather to get you in the Holiday mood. I had to get busy this weekend and put together a few things for the front porch and a change up for my door basket so I could join in with Amber's Christmas Door Decor Blog Hop. If you're coming from Amber at Follow the Yellow Brick Home, I'm so glad you're here!

Front Porch Before, Before, and After

Welcome to the new and improved front porch!

I'm going to start this post with an "after" pic from this last weekend and not the "before" or the "before, before", because I don't want to scare you all off.  That's what the "before, before" look of this house did to me. I really didn't want to go inside, because I was so turned off by the dated ranch look of it. But thank goodness my husband forced me to. 

Porch Decor while in Transition

Hi Friends and welcome to the Spring Into Summer Porch and Outdoor Spaces Hop 

hosted by my talented, good friend Amber of  Follow the Yellow Brick Home. 

Are you needing some ideas to help spiff up your outdoor spaces? Put together something different? I know I am! We are in the middle of a facelift for our front porch and landscaping and sometimes it seems easier to just opt out of decorating an incomplete project. But I'm here to give it a try so I don't feel like it's a lost cause living with an outdated front porch.

If you're coming from Marty's at A Stroll Thru Life, I'm so glad you're here! I know the title to this post might seem a little strange, but it's an honest look at sharing the ups and downs during house renovations. 

New House Journal: Timber Frame Front Porch

I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving. We worked most of the weekend painting the laundry/bath and Hearth Room/Kitchen. One project we took on called for some study and investigation. Today,  I'm sharing a little Pinterest inspiration that I gathered, to help me find a solution for a front porch "mini makeover" on our new house. To say I was not a fan of the front porch is an understatement. The house is a long drawn out 60's brick "ranch" that has a lovely setting, but just left me lacking that home-y English Cottage feel that I love.

Pinterest

Finally... the Fall Front Porch

I was beginning to wonder if I was EVER going to get things together enough out here on the front porch to actually get a few pics taken, and call it a "post". I had my mums out and planted by the first week of September, found some fun pumpkins at the farmer's market down the road, and even had my door basket decked out for Fall with some new brown plaid ribbon. And then the unthinkable happened...

(It's a Chilly) Christmas on the Front Porch

Welcome to our Home for Christmas!

I think we're all having below normal temps this last week.

Actually, it's been pretty chilly around here for the last several weeks;

chilly enough to keep me from wanting to spend time outside

 fiddling with Christmas decorations and my camera.

Vintage Metal Bench on the Fall Porch

I finally have some pics of the front porch and the "new/old" bench dressed for Fall.

It's taken me long enough, if I'd waited much longer we could go straight to Christmas!

Christmas Entry, In and Out...

Hi Everyone, are you in overdrive this week, trying to get ready for Christmas? I'm making progress, but I need to start wrapping gifts. One thing I realized I needed to do was to share pics of my Entry and front porch. I've had to get them over a span of several days, and because of the blah weather they've not consistently turned out. So, again today, I gave it a try. I'm just an "accidental photographer", meaning it's an accident when I can get good photos...

Front Porch for Fall

I finally have the front porch put together.

It's a small little porch, and I've been warned  asked

not to cram too much out here.

That's a hard one...

It's Fall,

 and that means mums,

 pumpkins,

 and my black wagon.

Baskets for Spring Door Decor

I've slowly been putting "Winter" away, and bringing "Spring" into the house this last week. After Christmas I keep some of my winter faux greenery out as a backdrop and base for winter flower arrangements, and in baskets. Since snow covered trees and evergreens have been about the only landscape in sight, I've enjoyed my transition time from Christmas to Spring. But now that the sun is shining and the thermometer is going to be in the 50's and 60's we have a good chance that the worst of winter is behind us.

Fall Front Porch at the New House

The landscaping is in (except for the new maple we're waiting for) and I had time to run by the pumpkin market for a few mums and pumpkins. It's not a huge display, but just enough to make it feel like "home". It's pretty sparse compared to year's past, but all my concrete urns are still hiding out in storage. I also still have to figure out what will fit on the small front porch. I will probably just paint one of my wooden benches the charcoal gray like the door and new shutters. I need some little something out here, but I don't want to clutter up the small space. We still have to repaint the outside lanterns, they have a pretty tired finish that needs spiffing up.

If you missed the before shots of the sad shutters and front door, you can see how the new Benjamin Moore paint, Iron Mountain, really enhances the brick and railing, and pulls it all together.

before

As our contractor so aptly put it. 

"The shutters and door are beyond "distressed, this is "neglect". 

New paint and newly built shutters...so much better.

I had a few Fallish silk florals that I stashed in my basket, then grabbed some wide bright orange ribbon. It helps dress up the porch a little, give some Fall color, and it also keeps someone from being able to see inside, when you're standing at the door. Sorry, I don't like people peeking inside....eck. (I just used one of the large "Command" hooks for this basket)

Hubbs carted over my concrete bench for the rocked area... What do you call this space between the walkway and the garage? This is a popular landscape feature around here. Anyway, I'm hoping to plant some lillies and a few perennials out there when I get time. The boxwood shrubs are baby size, but will grow fast. Now you can see the rock accent areas under the windows, instead of ugly dead shrubbery. yay!

Just imagine that there are lanterns, my concrete squirrels, and a few watering cans... but since we haven't moved in yet, I didn't want to have too much out here.

I found this big concrete container at Lowe's, I hope to use it for seasonal flowers, maybe adding some perennial ivy, next Spring. I'd like to add more to the porch and stairs, but probably will have to wait for Christmas. 

We're just so happy to have all this cleaned up and replanted.

 It was such a mess with dead plants and shrubs. 

OK, that's the extent of my Outdoor Fall Decor, 

not much, but better than nothing...

joining in on these parties:

Treasure Hunt at From My Front Porch to Yours
Home Sweet Home at The Charm of Home
Feathered Nest at French Country Cottage
The Scoop at Confessions of a Plate Addict
Show and Share at Coastal Charm
Tweak it Tuesday at Cozy Little House
Inspire Me Tuesday at A Stroll Thru Life
Wow Us Wednesday at Savvy Southern Style

xoxo,