Easy front porch decorating ideas on a budget That Don’t Compromise Curb Appeal
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What does your front door say about you? Is it inviting and welcoming, or is it messy and littered with mail and other items that should be inside the house? If you’re not sure what to do with your front door, don’t worry. I’ve got some front door décor ideas you’ll love! On a budget? Not a problem because in this post I’m going to focus on front porch decorating ideas on a budget that won’t compromise curb appeal!
Best of all, you can transform your front door decor in just a few hours and buy nearly everything you’d need online! It’s almost TOO easy not to do it! (You can also craft some of it yourself like I do here!)
For years I’ve put off decorating my front door. As much as I love home decorating, I always felt like it was a low priority compared to the rest of my house so I put it off. Well, I finally did something about it.
I couldn’t believe how easy it was and what a huge impact it has! I’m kicking myself for not doing it sooner.
I’m going to share with you some of my favorite front door decor ideas and tips from all the research and trial and error I did!
In order to find the right front door decor for you you, we will need to determine two things – your style and your constraints.
Your Front Porch Style
The first step to decorating your front door doesn’t actually happen on the front porch at all!
Start by thinking of what you want your home and front entranceway to say – do you want them both inviting or more formal? Are there specific colors and styles that are important to you? Do you want to fit in with the neighborhood or stand out?
Do you want to have a modern front door style or maybe you prefer more traditional?
Your front porch style says a lot about you and your home.
For example, I wanted my front door to be inviting but minimalistic and easy to change up for each season and holiday. That’s why I chose to stay with my color pallete of gray, white and black. I can add some orange for the fall and halloween, some yellow for the spring etc. It provides a great foundation for every holiday and season.
Plus by decorating for each season, my front door decor becomes inviting and festive!
Front door decor constraints
Once you have an idea of what kind of style you’re going for we can look into your constraints. What do you need to consider when decorating your front door?
For example, do you have little kids that are likely to track dirt in the house and get it all over your front door area?
Or perhaps you’re in a neighborhood that has strict front porch rules and you can’t change your front door decor every week.
Do you need to leave room for boxes? (I do love my Amazon deliveries!)
Do you have an overhang that will protect your decor or do you need something that’s weatherproof?
Do you primarily use the garage to get into your home and the front door won’t see much foot traffic?
My front porch is completely covered which is great because it protects my decor from the elements BUT it also means that plants won’t get much sunlight or get watered by the rain.
How to plan a front porch on a budget
After you finish reading this post, I hope you’ll be inspired to jump right in! You can either make all your changes at once or if your budget doesn’t allow that, you can update your outsidefront door space a little at a time!
I’ve created a worksheet you can use to plan out how you’d like your new front porch area to look so you can plan it out, and then pick away at it a little at a time!
Using my worksheet is a great way to decorate your front porch on a budget! It will help you plan it out and stay within your budget and timeline. Fill out the form below to get access to the worksheet and the rest of my free resources within minutes! The worksheet is file D1 in my library.
Top front porch decorating ideas on a budget
If you’ve thought about what you want your front door decor to say, and you have a few ideas about what might and might not work, it’s time to look at the different front door decor ideas that can have a huge impact on the look and feel of your home!
Front Door Color
The number one thing I think about when it comes to decorating my front door is the door color! Even before I set out to decorate my front door area, I painted my door!
When picking a color for your front door, consider your front door style – what does it say about your home? What colors are you drawn to and do they fit with the rest of your front porch decorating ideas.
Did you know that colors have meaning?
A red front door for example, symbolizes a warm welcome.
According to feng shui front doors should always be painted black if you want luck and prosperity.
The meaning behind these colors doesn’t need to drive your decision in anyway, but when your considering all the possible front door decor ideas you come across, it can sometimes help to do a bit of research into these sorts of things!
Here’s a great list of front door colors and the message they send visitors.
For our front door we went with black stain and multiple coats of poly. Not only does it stand up against my kids but also all weather elements!
I would recommend that you paint or stain your front door area before moving on to any other front porch decorating ideas or tips. The little upgrade can have a huge impact on the look and feel of your front porch and could really drive how you decide to decorate the rest!
Front Door Mat or Rug? Or both?
Chances are you already have a welcome mat but does it really fit your style and how you want your front door to feel?
The front door mat or rug can be a focal point when people come to your home and can set the tone for what you want them to experience.
Is it inviting? Your welcome mat can be stylish, fun, artistic all while being functional! I have noticed that mats are getting more sophisticated than just plain doormats of course, you can find ones that help with keeping the dirt from your shoes out of your home, or so they have a cute sayings on them to cheer up those coming and going.
Front door mats are also great because they can be easily changed as seasons change and they are very easily customizable too!
They can also be very very budget friendly! Here are some of my favorite welcome mats for budget savvy people like you! Naturally, this list include one of mine too!
Front door rugs can also be great options.
Personally, I love the look of front door rugs because they are a great way to add some additional color or texture. Also, if you’re got a large entryway or double doors like I do, it’s a great way to fill up the space so that your welcome mat doesn’t feel lost.
If you decide to get a front door rug, I recommend having a welcome mat AND rung so that you still have a good place to scrape things off your shoes without putting it all over the rug. Let’s face it, the welcome mat will be easier to throw in the wash than a whole rug. Similarly, you want to make sure that you pick a run that is weatherproof and machine washable because it will definitely get dirty!
Now these rugs can get a bit pricey, so here are some options for different budgets and price points:
Welcome Porch Signs
What is a welcome porch sign?
Honestly, they are purely for fun and decor. I can’t think of any functional purpose they serve but they are a great way to express your style and personality.
Welcome signs come in different shapes, sizes, designs and materials too!
You can chose from ones that will adhere to the wall or porch with nails which is probably what most people think of when it comes to welcome signs. You could also use a vertical welcome sign that just stands up on its own.
These signs are incredibly easy to make and can be a really fun way to show off your crafting skills, style and have some fun! Want to make your own Welcome sign and save some money? Check out my DIY Welcome Sign tutorial which includes a how-to video tutorial and a free vertical welcome sign SVG so you can make it with a Cricut cutting machine. Don’t have a Cricut? I also have a PDF so you can hand cut the letters or make a stencil! It’s a super easy DIY and it’s made with any plank you can find and vinyl decal letters!
Psst… you cane ven make these welcome signs with things you can find at the dollar store! How’s that for front porch decorating on a budget?!
Don’t want to make your own? There are tons of really cute options online!
Don’t want a vertical welcome sign? That’s okay! There are planet of other DIY Crafts that would work great! you could make a wooden welcome sign using wood pallets, you could make round wood signs, or anything else really! And if crafting isn’t your thing, there are plenty you could buy!
Here are a few of my favorites:
Front Door Wreaths
Wreaths aren’t just for Christmas! When most people thing about front door decor, they think of wreaths! Specifically, Christmas wreaths. You can find or make wreaths for so many other occasions though like the Independence Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving and much more!
Wreaths can be made of many different materials. I have seen wreaths made of pinecones, sticks, paper, ribbons, flowers and even fruits! You can get really creative with it.
Wreaths are a great way to add color or texture to your front door area while being fairly inexpensive and easy. They are also a feature you can easily change up for each season or holiday!
Front door decor idea that pops – Front door plants!
When I think of front door decor ideas, plants are one of the first things that come to mind. This is because, a front porch never looks right without plants!
Plants can be chosen for a variety of reasons too.
You might pick plants specifically to deter bugs (yes! Some plants do that!) or maybe they could just be pretty! Maybe its something simple like having ivy leaves on your front door to give it some texture. It’s totally up to you!
I recommend having a couple of pots on your front porch.
If it’s not the season for any flowers, foliage is usually an easy option and ivy or creeping vines are always a great choice too. You can find some really cute planters and change up the plants in them throughout the year, or maybe hang some planters from the ceiling of your porch or overhang if you have one!
Mums are beautiful plants to use for fall decorating. If you’re looking for something simple, easy and inexpensive, forget about putting regular flowers on your front porch and go with mums! You can find them in so many different colors.
I personally love mums because they can be used as a centerpiece on your front porch table, as the plant pot coverings or even as part of an arrangement.
If you love real live plants, you can find some beautiful options at just about any plant store including home depot which is where I got my mums!
If real live plants at your front door isn’t right for you, there are tons of gorgeous faux plants to choose from!
Front porch decorating idea not to miss – Outdoor Lights
When thinking about your front door decor, you can’t forget about lighting! For years, we neglected the lights in front of our home but when we changed them, it made such a huge difference!
You want to make sure that the lighting in front of your home matches the the style of the outside of the home, fits the color scheme of the home and your front door decor, is in good shape, and is energy efficient.
It’s also really important to have a strong well lit front door because it will deter burglars and help you see who is walking up your driveway at night.
Here’s a photo of our decorated front door area before we changed the lights – you can see that they were old!
and this is what it looks like after we changed our lights for a more modern look – what a huge difference!
An often overlooked front door decor idea… a No Soliciting Sign
Lastly, you may want to consider a no soliciting sign. We have had some very aggressive solicitors and scammers come to our front door over the years and some have made us feel unsafe. While having a sign up doesn’t fix the problem 100%, it can help as a deterrent. Check the laws in your state and your HOA rules, but if you can have one and want one… think about the sign as part of your front door decor!
You’ll want it to fit the overall look and feel of your front door decor, and there are many different styles from super basic and to the point to very funny!
In fact, I have footage from our front door camera of kids on Halloween reading our no soliciting sign, cracking up, and calling other friends over to read it too!
Is any front door complete without a front door camera these days?
On that note, while you might not think about a security camera as “decor” it’s definitely an important part of your front door setup and something you’ll want to consider as you setup your new design!
I’ll admit that these new combination doorbell and front door cameras aren’t that cheap so it’s not the most budget friendly BUT it can be really important for home security.
Do you want a front door camera?
We have one for home security but also to help us spot when packages are picked up or dropped off. I highly recommend getting one and they are much less expensive than they used to be!
My current favorite is the Amazon Ring device because it’s sleek looking, a great value, and the Ring platform integrates really well with other devices. In fact, it even integrates with non-Amazon devices!
So what do you think about these budget-friendly front porch decorating ideas?
The front door is the first thing that visitors see when they come to your home. It tells them a lot about you before they even step foot in your house! If it’s looking unkempt or if there are any safety hazards, people will be less likely to want to enter your property. By keeping up with cutting edge trends and making sure everything looks great at all times, you can get more sales by having an immaculate front door decor. So what do you think? Have we missed any key details? Which products did you like best?
I’d love to see YOUR Front Door! Please share a photo in our Facebook group or tag me on social media with #analyticalmommycrafts or @analyticalmommy! I can’t wait to see how they turned out!
Love home decor? Here are some more great home decor posts!
- How to Decorate a Kids Room to Create a Calm and Intentional Place for Rest
- 13 Must Have Kitchen Features For Your Next Kitchen Renovation
- DIY Welcome Sign You Can Customize by Season or Holiday (With Free SVG!)
