A green lawn, a white picket fence, and a red front door surrounded by a pretty little front porch are all the essential features that make up the perfect American home.
In many ways, these American ideals for houses have remained the same. These features are still essential, albeit for different purposes.
For instance, back in the day, the front porch was often a spot for socializing with neighbors. In fact, it was quite the status symbol. And in Southern states, it also had another purpose. It was meant to obstruct the direct sunlight on the house façade.
But today the front porch is more or less just a design feature. It’s meant to boost the home’s curb appeal and could also serve as a canvas for your creative instincts.
Here are a few ideas to vamp it up.
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Add Greenery for The Perfect Ambiance
Using plants and flowers is a great way to uplift the entire house. And your front porch is definitely the perfect spot for them.
You can use chic planters and color coordinate them with the front door. Use lots of different shapes for the planters and include colorful flowers as well. If you’ve got arched double doors, then tall planters flanking either side will look great!
Also, if you’ve got plants around the front porch, make sure they’re small, trimmed shrubs and bushes that are not blocking the view.
Create an Outdoor Seating Area
Even though front porches aren’t really used for socializing anymore like they were used back in the day, but they’re still a great place to sit with a cup of coffee on a cool spring evening.
Moreover, you can do a lot with a seating area to make the space look aesthetic. For instance, you can add a single seat with cushions. This can be a wooden structure or a petite wrought iron set to match the wrought iron doors of your Indiana home.
Update the House Numbers for A Personal Touch
Did you know that house numbers are no longer just restricted to front doors? You can display them in creative ways anywhere on your porch.
You can go all out with a house number post complete with a hanging planter on the side or be more subtle with the house number encircled by a pretty wreathe to add a traditional touch to the modern iron doors.
Add A Porch Swing
A porch swing on the side can add a lot of character and old-world charm to the front porch. And contrary to popular opinion, it’s not just for the kids. It’s a great place for you too, to curl up with a book on a warm summer afternoon.
And while you can of course substitute this with one of those modern hanging egg chairs that are getting popular, if you’ve got contemporary iron doors for your home, then consider an old-school wrought iron swing with bright cushions to tie the whole space together.
Place A Witty Doormat and Colorful Rugs
Have you seen some of the doormats that are available these days? They say more than just “welcome”, and we love that they’re not stating the obvious. Here are some of our favorites that you can get customized, while you wait for your custom steel door:
- DEFINITELY NOT A TRAP DOOR—Because that would be a bummer,
- Hi, I’m Mat—Because why not state the obvious?
- Hello From, The Other Side—to set the tone for what lies beyond the entry doors i.e. total madness!
And of course, this one takes the cake:
- If you’re Pizza, Amazon, or Ryan Gosling, I’M HOME—Because who wouldn’t want to see these come through the front doors
Also, if you’ve got the space and flooring you don’t care about flaunting then cute rugs can also be used to accentuate the seating area.
Light It Up
What’s the point of putting in so much effort if nobody can even see it? Great lighting is essential whether isn’t an Instagram selfie or your front porch.
From hanging lanterns to decorative outdoor torches to mount on either side of the iron doors, there’s so much to choose from. You can also use some of the outdoor floor lamps available these days.
We personally love the idea of large hanging pendant lighting in the center to play up the iron doors with glass—it looks absolutely magical!
Make A Statement with The Entry Door
The front door is definitely the centerpiece of your front porch and you need to go all out with it. Whether you’ve installed French doors, or wrought iron doors, or simple black steel entry doors, they need to work as the focal point in the whole decor.
This is why it’s a good idea to start your front porch renovation by selecting the perfect front doors for your Indiana home.
If you need to look at a lot of different design options, you can check out the iron door and interior door collection at Pinky’s Iron Doors. They have modern iron front doors and other kinds of interior doors including steel sliding doors, patio doors, and more for your house in Indiana.