Greening up your fall porch decor
Porch decor, do ya do it? I ribbed my mom about her exterior decorating for years but somehow, not only have I changed my tune but my front steps now eclipse hers in seasonal changes. I’m not sure how it happened, but here we are. Last year, I went all-out decorating for Halloween, all the while thinking about something that’s become important to me: keeping my environmental footprint tiny. Sure, I coulda hit up Home Sense or Michaels, do a big ol’ shop, and slap it all up. But using what I had around the house, adding some creative touches, and thrifting bits of spookiness was so fun and effective, I was keen to make it happen again this year in autumn vibes. So, I enlisted the help of my friend, home decorator Abbey Lee Grace, and we put our minds together. I’m pump(kin)ed to show you what we came up with, and to share some tips in making your own porch a greener shade of fall.
self timer fails are really wins
Go locally grown. Lots of store-bought pumpkins are driven ages from Mexico and the US, so how fortunate that there’s a beautiful pumpkin patch ten minutes from my house! Black Fox Farm & Distillery is an absolute gem of a place on Valley Road where you can pick your pumpkins and other seasonal goodies (follow their instagram to keep up with what’s in bloom). Not only will you be supporting local, it’s also a way more memorable experience than grabbing them at a grocery store.
Keep it compostable. Not only did Black Fox provide the pumpkins, they gifted some of their gorgeous dried grasses to the project. They’re so pretty, I’ll be keeping them in the garage for next year. But if you don’t have room, into the green bin they go. No landfill endgame for those beauts!
Rework what you have. This is Abbey’s specialty; she gives items new lives all the time by painting, adding trim, or like she did to my Christmas wreath, wiring in leaves. If you don’t follow her on Insta yet, here’s a ticket to seeing some great transformations. Get the most out of what you’ve got by looking for possibilities.
Thrift it. I did a round at Value Village and picked up a few throw blankets, a couple of baskets, and some fun faux foliage. On the Buy & Sell, I scored a basket of plastic gourds. And my rocking chair was a Kijiji find.
Bouquet allll day. One of my favourite parts of this display is the dried flower arrangement which was actually just a normal flower arrangement a couple weeks back. I left the florist tape on to keep the shape and transferred it to a wicker basket for a more rustic look.
Bring the indoors out. If your porch is covered, you can bring a chair, blanket, or other piece of decor otherwise in your house. Even a pair of cowboy boots would look cute on my rocking chair. Hmmm…. mental note.
Think outside what things “are”. My broom acts as decor but, you know, it’s just my broom. The sash above my door is from the scarf section at a thrift shop. The tree was a broken branch on the sidewalk. Use your imagination and bring uniqueness to your porch.
And a couple more tips that are less about being green and more about being seen:
Layer. Everything, everything looks more styled when you layer it. Got a short basket and a tall basket? Stack em. A box or chair? Drape those blankets. I’ve even seen a few plaid-mat-under-welcome-mat pictures and lemme tell you, it’s cute.
Look for how to frame your faves. Your door is an obvious framer (we chose grass from Black Fox, a scarf, and a tree branch to frame it up) but don’t be shy about tipping apple boxes, crates, or baskets to make an in-depth frame that will highlight a pumpkin or two.
Thanks so much to Black Fox Farm & Distillery for their contribution and to Abbey Lee Grace for her awesome eye for placement and talent of re-imagining. We had a lot of fun putting it together and I hope you enjoyed the little tour today!
xo
