16 Amazing Small Front Porch Ideas to Make Guests Feel Welcome

There are many ways you can decorate a front porch. If you don’t know how to, you can use some front porch ideas as inspiration to decorate your own.

The key to decorating your front porch is to make it as comfortable as possible. Of course, there will be plenty of ways to do so. Below, we got some ideas to inspire you to create your own front porch decoration.

Sytlish Front Porch Ideas That Will Inspire You

‘Living Room’ Front Porch

Do you have a small family? If you do, you’d like to create an extra living room from the porch. Take a look at the front porch above. It looks very simple and yet, it is able to accommodate a small family. With such decoration, the front porch becomes a comfortable place to spend your time in.

Note that there are two curtains behind. These curtains can be used to block sunlight as well as provide some privacy when you need it. Either way, they are good additions to have.

Cozy Front Porch with Twinkle Lights

There is no time limit to spend your time in your front porch. That’s right. As we have said earlier, you can even enjoy your evening on your porch. However, if you intend to spend your evenings there, there will be some adjustments you need to make.

For example, you can make your porch more interesting and cozy with twinkle lights installed on the ceiling like in the picture. For the best effect, install lights that are neither too bright nor too dim. If you like to spend your evening on the porch, this is one of the best porch decorating ideas for you here.

Front Porch Idea for Porch with Stained Concrete

Front porches come in various sizes and designs. If you have one with stained concrete, you can ‘soften’ it using these pieces of furniture

• several pillows
• a rug (you can use more than one as long as you place them properly)
• cushions

You can also install curtains if you want. Curtains, especially a bit thicker ones, can help ‘soften’ the look of the porch further. Just remember to use curtains with earth tone or slightly darker colors.

Farmhouse Porch

As farmhouse designs becoming quite popular today, it would be unfair if we don’t include farmhouse porch idea in our front porch ideas list. Just like for the other parts of the house, farmhouse porch will use lots of wooden surfaces and gray and darker colors.

The above porch is a good example. Since the house is designed in a farmhouse design, the farmhouse porch is the ideal addition. It isn’t a must, though. You can use farmhouse design for your porch even if your house is not designed in farmhouse design.

Cape Cod Porch

It is true that Cape Cod design is old. And yet, the design is quite timeless. It still looks good even today. Of course, this applies to a porch in Cape Cod design as well. As you can see above, a Cape Cod porch looks quite simple but very inviting.

To decorate your porch in a Cape Cod design, you will need to use lots of white, several bright colors (like bright red and green in the picture) as focal points, wooden colors and wooden surfaces. You will need porch railing, too. In case you need inspiration, we also have porch railing ideas to inspire you as well.

Dogtrot Front Porch

The dogtrot design is another rural design in our front porch ideas. Similar to the farmhouse design, the dogtrot design also features lots of wooden materials, wooden surfaces, and earth-tone colors. In the dogtrot design, however, earth-tone colors are prominent.

The front porch in the picture above is a good example of how you can decorate the porch in dogtrot design. Notice that most parts of the porch are made of wood with earth-tone colors. For the focal points, you can add bright colors to the porch.

‘Southern’ Style Porch

Want a porch that is both beautiful and relaxing? Try the ‘Southern’ style porch. The style utilizes high ceiling, allowing the porch to catch the breeze. Add proper pieces of furniture like in the picture above and you will get a beautiful and relaxing porch you want to spend your time in.

Notice that the porch is quite open. There is little to no obstruction for the breeze to flow into the porch. If you have a porch with a high ceiling and minimal railings, this style is a good choice to consider.

Bohemian Porch

Greeneries are always nice to have. Can they make your front porch look great? Well, of course, they can. If you don’t believe it, just take a look at the porch above. Bohemian design, other than being interesting, is also among most relaxing front porch ideas. With so many greeneries, you can’t help but feel relaxed.

Bohemian porch works both for large and small front porches. So, there is no need to worry about not having enough space for this design. That being said, you will still need to be a bit creative if you have a small porch.

Porch with a Swing Sofa

Who doesn’t love a swing? A swing in a front porch is a great idea. It gives you a ‘floating’ place where you can rest, sits, and even sleep comfortably. Add some soft pillows and cushions and you are set.

Unlike other front porch ideas in this list, a porch with a swing sofa requires lots of preparation. You must have a ceiling that is capable of supporting not just the swing sofa but also the people who will rest on it, for example.

Open Porch

If you have an outstanding outdoor view outside your house, you’d want to consider having an open porch like the above. Such open porch allows you to get an unobstructed view of your front yard. Not only that, but it will also allow you to enjoy the relaxing breeze.

As good as it is an open porch may not be suitable if you live in an area where rain pours often or an area with extreme weather.

Summer Porch Design

When summer is coming, what can you do to your porch? Well, why not turn it into a summer-friendly porch? A porch with a summer-friendly design will certainly enable you to enjoy the season fully. Don’t worry. You don’t need complex things for that.

Simple decorations like those in the picture will be sufficient to prepare for the season. Some greeneries here and there, rugs, comfortable chairs to sit on, and curtains will be more than enough.

Cozy Screened Porch

If you have a large porch, why not try to create a cozy screened porch? A screened porch allows you to enjoy the outdoor view without having to worry about the weather outside. Really nice isn’t it? Put comfortable pieces of furniture inside, a TV, and a table and you will have a cozy extra living room outside.

A cozy screened porch is great but it will likely be more expensive than other designs as you basically create a small house. Is it worth the cost?

Comfy Small Porch

Front porches come in various sizes and not everyone has the luxury of large porches. If you have a small porch, don’t worry. There are front porch ideas for a small porch, too. You can still decorate it to make it more appealing. For example, you can add a swing sofa like the above.

In designing a small porch, you should also make it as open as possible. That is, avoid including porch columns as they will make the porch look cramped. Using white color is also a good idea, as it makes the porch appear larger than it really is.

Long Screened Porch

Not everyone likes the idea of a fully-stuffed porch. If you are in this group, consider having a long screened porch with minimal pieces of furniture inside. A long screened porch like in the picture above allows you to really enjoy the scenery outside while not feeling too cramped thanks to the minimal pieces of furniture inside.

A long screened porch with minimal furniture is also a good idea if you have children and need an extra playground where they can play.

Deck Porch

A porch can be turned into a deck as well. A deck porch provides you with more privacy while still allow you to enjoy the outside view. Properly designed, it can be a great additional entrance to the house, just like the example above.

Do you want to turn your front porch into a deck? If so, you should check our deck railing ideas as well. We have some designs that will help you create your own deck.

Shed-like Porch

Last but certainly not least in our front porch ideas is the shed-like porch design. Unlike many of the previous porch design ideas, this design is very, very simple. You just need a small area, a roof, two porch columns, and flooring. That’s all.

While it may sound and look very simplistic, a shed-like porch looks very inviting. This is especially true if the porch is in tune with the overall design of the house.