As most people, this summer we are spending the majority of our time at home and I wanted to make it an enjoyable experience, as much as possible. My house has a large wrap-around porch, which is the perfect space for outdoor living. I have been dreaming of such a porch for most of my life and was very excited to decorate it and turn it into an outdoor oasis. I have spent the last week or so transforming this space into a comfortable and inviting area for my family and I to spend our days. It's my favorite part of the house, especially since the inside is still half empty as we wait for our furniture. I look forward to decorating the inside as well, but until then we do a lot of outdoor living and front porch sitting.
During the quarantine, before the stores reopened, I began to order online many of the furniture pieces, rugs, and pillows that I wanted. I had a clear vision for this space but still needed plenty of plants and smaller accessories to make it a reality. Last week I spend a couple of days driving around from store to store buying everything on my list. I love the way the porch turned out! The results exceeded my expectations as well as the picture I had in my mind of how it would look.
We have one main area that serves as an outdoor living room with a couch, 2 chairs, a coffee table, tray table, and porch swing. I chose a slim simple acacia set with white cushions and a classic white wood swing that matches a set of rocking chairs by the front door. I love the black and white rug that coordinate the shutters on the windows and also the abundance of plants that ties the whole space together. The living room area has a ton of shade and stays relatively cool no matter how high the temperatures get. It's our favorite spot to sit with a cold drink while working, reading, snacking, or just daydreaming.
The front of the house has a couple of white rocking chairs, an accent table perfect for setting down a drink, and lots of plants and flowers, especially mosquito repelling ones. I added a second tray table which currently holds potted plants and herbs. I also hung ferns all around the porch because the house just begged for them. You can't have a front porch without hanging ferns!
The front door area has a rug that matches the one in the outdoor living room, layered with a coir mat. I placed two large wicker plant stands on each side and filled then with blooming plants to add a pop of color. This area by the door looks especially beautiful and welcoming!
There is one last area of the front porch that still needs decorating but I have not purchased the furniture yet. It will serve as our outdoor dining space. I plan on purchasing a dining set to coordinate with the rest of the furniture, as well as some outdoor curtains for privacy and shade. All in due time! I hope you enjoyed all of the pictures and found some inspiration to decorate your outdoor space for an enjoyable summer at home. Below you can find shopping links to many of the furniture pieces that I have purchased to create my outdoor oasis.