Hey guys!
Fall is by far one of my favorite times of the year! One of my favorite things about this time of year is decorating my front porch! Before filming Unsellable Houses, I would decorate my porch at least six times a year. Yes, I know that sounds excessive, but honestly, if I could have had time to do it every day, I totally would have. However, now I have really had to tone it down, and I usually will change it out about three to four times a year, and I admit, this is much more manageable!
So! Let’s decorate for fall!
Now, I usually wait until fall has officially begun until I start to decorate my front porch. Oftentimes I will start with the inside of my home first and then move on to the outside. Wanna know why? Cause I am obsessed with real pumpkins! Now, don’t get me wrong, I do have my fair share of fake pumpkins inside my home, but I like to keep it real outside! Here in Washington, our real pumpkins last about 2-3 months if they are not carved, thanks to our mild temperatures and the fact that it doesn’t often get below freezing until after or around Thanksgiving. So, I usually get my pumpkins at the end of September to ensure that they last until I am ready to start putting up my Christmas decorations, don’t worry, I will do a blog about my Christmas front porch when the time comes too! But for now, let’s get back to fall.
To start my front porch, I often will look at what flowers are still alive and what ones I think will make it through the fall. Often, these are just my greenery and grasses, once I have established what is going to live, I go through and dig up the rest, even if they are still blooming. I know this sounds like a waste, but I hate having to go back through my flower garden after the fact, and I hate even more having dead flowers! Now, if you wanna keep track of that more, then go for it! Once I have cleaned out my garden, I will go back through, fill the holes, and add pops of color with mums and pansies! My favorite colors to use are orange and red. I love how much they make my porch feel like a fall color palette, but if you have a different vibe for your house, then totally go with that!
After I have all of my flowers added, I go ahead and add some height to my porch by adding in stocks of dried corn! I don’t know about where you live, but around here, you can purchase full stalks of corn at your supermarket, but if I can make a suggestion to ask to check out your local farm to see if they are, or will sell you any then it is definitely worth it! They are usually much cheaper, and we love to support our local farmers! When adding the corn stocks to my porch, I want to place them strategically in areas that I know I will place more decor pieces in front of. Think about a spot you plan to put a pile of pumpkins, or maybe a flower pot. The corn stalks will make a great backdrop while still adding height and texture.
Speaking of texture… Let’s talk about how much texture you can bring in by adding pumpkins to the home! I think everyone loves a perfect orange, round pumpkin, but I believe that pumpkins of all shapes, sizes and textures should be included for a front porch! I always get my pumpkins from Bob’s Corn here in Snohomish, and there we can have a huge variety of different types of pumpkins. I usually look at my porch, count how many pumpkins I think would fit, and then add a few, knowing I like to stack them or move them around. My favorite varieties of pumpkins are New Moon, Polar Bear, Apprentice, Blanco, Blaze, One Too Many (white & orange blended pumpkin). When I have returned from the farm, I place my pumpkins, often in Apple tins and bins, as the galvanized steel adds some more texture and a mixed metal to the porch.
Lastly, I love the look of jack o’lanterns, but I hate how fast the pumpkin will rot once it is carved. So, instead, I have found that placing candles next to the pumpkins in little glass jars can give the same cozy feeling without the rotting pumpkin!
And here is my finished product!
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Xo
Lyndsay
