Beautiful Front Porches

 
I am in the mood to spruce up my front porch.  I cannot tell you how much I do NOT like the brick on the exterior of our home.  Hopefully, we will be able to finally paint our brick soon.
exterior 001
 
Until then, I am doing the best to make the porch look a little better.
So I have been searching around the web looking at beautiful front porches.  I wanted to share some of them with you today.
 
I love the lanterns in the picture below.  I am hoping to get a lantern for our front porch.  I also love that large welcome mat. 
Entry traditional entry
The next porch has a different type of hanging lantern, and I like them too.  I love the wood ceiling, but I’m not loving the wreath on the wall.
Anita Diaz eclectic porch
 
 
This may actually be a back porch, but either way, it’s beautiful.  Isn’t neat to have a little table and chairs on the porch?
I love the hanging ferns and the stone columns too.
Anita Diaz eclectic porch
 
 
The next home has a large lantern on the steps.  Do you like that look?  I like the large glass doors that will let a lot of gorgeous light into the home.
Lake County Builders traditional exterior
 
 
This next picture may be a back porch too, but isn’t it quaint?  I love a swing on a porch, don’t you?  And rocking chairs!
Rear Porch traditional porch
 
 
 
One way to add color to your front porch is by painting the front door.  I have always loved a bright red door.
Front Porch Bliss eclectic exterior
 
 
 
 
Though I am not a fan of our brick exterior, the brick in the next picture is gorgeous.  And look at that copper lantern!   I also like how they painted the wood ceiling a light blue.
Quinlan Residence traditional porch

 

I would love it if we could have a brick walkway up to our front porch like the picture below.

Montclair Nj traditional porch

 

Here is another porch with a blue ceiling.  I love the huge ferns by the front door and the white painted floor.

Acadian Home traditional porch
 
 
 
The pops of red are what stand out to me in this picture. I love the tile-looking floor too.
From Kids to Quiet traditional porch

 

 

This picture just calls my name.  I love the gray painted wood floor, the lanterns on the sides of the door, the glass front door and transom window, and the brick walkway.

Swoon.

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Lastly, I like this small front porch.  It looks like the porch has a red brick floor or maybe red tile?  And there are those great lantern lights and glass front door again!  Love it.

Modern Bungalow traditional exterior

 

These pictures really have me wanting to get my front porch looking good. 

Do you have any inspiration pictures you want to share with me?

I am going to host a linky party on my facebook page where you can share you favorite front porch with me.  It can be your own front porch or one you have found online. 

Come on over and share!

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17 Comments

  1. I’ve read somewhere that by painting your porch ceiling a sky blue bugs are less attracted to the space. It seems like open sky to them and that means predators to bugs. I haven’t had a chance to test this but I’m going to try it out.

  2. Ha, ha…I heard basically the same about the porch ceiling painted blue. But I heard it was to keep the birds from nesting. Either way, it is pretty painted blue! I have been out getting our porch put together little by little. We are still experiencing cold weather, so can’t go all out, but it is fun to spruce it up either way! Nice post, have fun prettying up your space!

  3. I love this! We are building a house and are set to move in just two more weeks. We picked a red front door and of course its set to be the last thing they complete, I can’t wait to see it! Thanks for the inspiration photos, I’m bookmarking this post to come back to after our move.

  4. Traci,
    I love all of these inspiration pictures…so wonderful & inviting. I wanted to share a little information with you that you may or may not find helpful to you in place of painting your brick. We built our house 8 years ago & they did a terrible job on our brick (among other things). It was just a really sloppy job-we had red brick & also red mortar. On top of that some of the mortar had begun to fade to pink…so NOT the look we were going for. We had been so unhappy with it and had discussed painting it but we had also seen a treatment that is called slurry (here in Mississippi) or mortar wash in other areas.

    I am not sure if you are familiar with this application but I looked it up on the internet and here is the best definition I could find: The technique called “mortar wash” involves placing a coat of mortar over a brick, stone or concrete surface to either conceal the underlying material or partially conceal it. When used on brick, the technique results in a “painted” look that some homeowners find attractive. A mortar wash can be applied in thick or thin coats, with or without tint, to achieve a specific look.

    We decided to do the slurry and had it done just a few weeks ago. We could not be more pleased. We used buff colored mortar so the red & pink are gone! The outline of the brick is still visible but I just love the texture that the slurry added. It was slightly more expensive than painting but we have been told that we will not have to do any additional work in years to come. Had we painted then we were looking at having to repaint every 8 to 10 years so in the long run it will save us money & lots of work. We feel like we have a brand new home:)

    Anyway, sorry for such a long comment. It may not be something that you would be interested in but I just wanted to share. Love your blog.!!!

    Stacey

    1. Stacey, I just read your comment. I dislike the color of brick on our house, though I love brick. I had pretty much decided to paint it. I was wondering if you would consider posting a picture of your house (or part of it) to show what the slurry/mortar wash looks like? I am considering all options. Thanks in advance for considering it.

  5. I’m totally agreeing about the mortar wash. You see it a lot in New England, but rarely in the Midwest. It’s really a beautiful look and very natural. Paint often just looks plasticky (although your examples from a while back were lovely.)
    I like the example with the brick path…your house would look charming with dormers if the roof were a bit steeper. I’m also loving the example with the two matching painted rocking chairs, except the porch swing must be for show. I’d hate to think of swinging into all that glass. My Dad has those nautical hanging lanterns in ex. 2, but he lives in Maine. I think the other angular kind looks more “Southern.”
    Lastly, I love red doors, but definitely NOT with brick, unless it’s in the same muted tone. Very hard to achieve. You should check out my favorite colorist’s website…mariakillam.com
    She just had a feature on front door colors. If you’ve never checked out her site colormehappy you MUST. She’s fabulous with the best advice and a rockin’ ebook on avoiding color mistakes.
    Glad you were able to get away and refresh your batteries.
    CTD

  6. Oh, I am so glad that you posted the inspiration picture with the red brick and the blue ceiling! I’ve been dreaming about front porch updates, too (though there a few projects that need to be completed inside first!). I have a brick exterior, and I actually like, but the wood door kind of blends right in. I’m planning to paint that a beautiful light aqua, but now that I saw that photo, I want to paint the wood ceiling the same color, too. Right now it’s white and chipping and peeling, so it needs to be painted anyway.

    Thanks so much for the inspiration!

  7. I love a cool and inviting front porch and loved the examples you have shown. There is not much that can be done to my porch but I have a couple of ideas. I am looking forward to he results of your porch make over. Please share.

  8. Why don’t you like the brick? I wish mine were brick instead of siding. We have painted our siding twice and it needs it again. I love your site and look forward to your finished project.

  9. I just LOVE front porches. I soooo wish I had a porch on my house. Can’t wait to see what your porch renovation will look like. BTW I loved your old porch and pinned it to my pinterest.

  10. Oh how I love a roomy front porch. We live in a front porch neighborhood where people regularly hang out and visit. These beautiful porches make me realize mine needs a facelift!

  11. Whatever you end up doing with the porch, don’t forget some good comfortable rocking chairs so that you can spend lots of time enjoying what you have created. Also, you might want to take a look at Houzz (www.houzz.com) they have a very wide variety of photos that you can browse for ideas.

  12. Beth beat me to it! Blue porch ceilings are definitely a Southern tradition. I also love a porch swing but don’t understand the purpose of hanging one so close to a wall that you can’t swing in it. Have fun with your porch.

  13. These are all gorgeous! In fact, I had put the one with the beautiful lanterns in my first post on my new blog a week or so ago. That one is pretty, but my favorite of all the ones here is the back porch one (although a swing next to a glass window sort of scares.) That house is my DREAM house..the whole thing is unbelievable gorgeous…and to think that it is on the water is even more dreamy!

  14. I think the idea of a red brick porch is interesting. It looks really good with the rest of the house though. I like the matching planters and matching wooden rocking chairs. That is the type of porch I can picture myself having with just my wife and I as a retired couple.

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