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Small Front Porch Makeover

Use Your Porch To Help Sell Your Home

Mary and I were asked to add curb appeal to a small front porch. The homeowners wanted to sell their home and needed front porch decorating ideas to add instant curb appeal for prospective buyers.

Like most of us, they didn't want to spend a lot of money and they needed their small porch to be appealing right away. And remember a first rule of business - you can't sell until you get them in the door!

So we got right to work! Follow us as we use a few of our 'front porch ideas' for spring to transform this small front porch.

Start with color: This particular home was a light yellow with white shutters and white trim. It was also the beginning of spring. What better color to complement yellow and white than purple. Once we decided on the primary decorating color we needed a focal point.

Small Porch Wreath

Focal Point: We knew a beautiful spring wreath on a white front door would stand out on this small front porch.

So off to Michael's we went and luckily their wreaths were on sale.

We quickly saw a beautiful wreath that had just the right colors, purples and yellows.

We contemplated making the wreath ourselves but the sale price made it an easy decision. Plus it saved us time for another project we had in mind.

Use the senses: Since the porch sits some distance from the street we wanted to have something to catch people's eyes as they drove by.

Another very good front porch decorating idea is to create movement.

The human eye is very susceptible to movement and quickly locates objects that move. A colorful spring flag would do the trick.

We chose this pretty spring flag because of its colors, purple,yellow and green, to carry our color theme throughout the small porch.

Our flag pole was a boring brown. A few minutes with a can of purple spray paint quickly color coordinated the pole to complement the flag's colors.

Nice touch Dave!

We still needed a little more pizzazz. The owners had planted pansies, violas and snap dragons in a planting area adjacent to the small front porch. We carried that theme to the porch by planting pansies and snap dragons in, you guessed it, purple pots.

Painted pots

We purchased some inexpensive pots at Home Depot, and with our trusty purple spray paint, transformed the pots into a color coordinated array. Once the flowers grow a little, the porch will be a mass of great color. To make a nice grouping of flowers, Dave built a small shelf for the horizontal planter to give it more appeal.

Colorful Door Mt

We removed their standard black outdoor door mat and replaced it with one with vibrant spring colors to add just a little more appeal as they enter their new home!

To bring the colors higher on the porch we chose a hanging basket. We used silk flowers to add immediate color and virtually no maintenance. We wired the flowers into the pot to withstand the spring rains and wind.

Small Porch Basket

Small Porch Bench

Comfort: Even a small front porch can accommodate some creature comforts.

Hence, the bench.

We had several reasons for making the bench.

First, we wanted to add another spring color, green, to complement the purple and yellow.

Second, we needed something with a little height to visually balance the flag.

Most importantly, we wanted a place where parents could sit and visualize their kids playing in the driveway. Remember, our purpose was to help sell the home.

The bench cost less than $25 to make and I designed it so anyone could easily make it. It took just a few hours to make and only requires cross-cuts. You only need a hand saw, a drill, and screw driver or hammer.

Not quite there yet!. After we did all of the above and stepped back to take an overall gander at our efforts, we realized we had to address the concrete porch floor. It really detracted from the overall look. So off to Home Depot for concrete paint.

Paint for Porch

We also needed to break the large wall-look from the door to the picture window. It was just too much vacant space and drew your eyes away from the porch itself. We found this sign at Michaels on sale and knew it would do the trick. Mary added the porch colors to it using craft paints.

Small Porch Sign

OUR RESULTS

This is a lot more inviting to someone looking for their new home and it definitely makes it more appealing compared to it's competition below.

THE COMPETITION

It's always a good idea to see what you competition looks like when selling a home. We drove around the immediate neighborhood and found these homes for sale. Perhaps they'll give us call to see if we can give them some front porch ideas!

Poor Curb Appeal

You Can Do It

We had a great time adding some curb appeal to this small front porch and know it will draw the eye of potential buyers. Whether you are selling your home or just want to add appeal be sure to check the many decorating and design ideas on our site.

Looking for a home in the Nashville, Tennessee area? Contact Julie Johnson with Your Move Real Estate. Let Julie find you a home with a perfect porch.

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