When you’re entering your home after a stressful day, there is a feeling of relief. You’re walking into your sanctuary, the safest, most comfortable place on earth. This is one of the reasons why you shouldn’t ignore your front door when it comes to decoration.
You can make your home more stylish, but also more inviting, safer, and warmer for you and your visitors, with just a few things, and without spending a fortune. And, best of all, you can do it with items that you need anyways. A nice letterbox, a piece of outdoor furniture, decoration and of course, lighting – the smallest things can make the biggest difference.
The Letterbox
Rarely anyone ever thinks about letterboxes, until they see one that stands out and shows them how much more they can be besides just temporary storage for letters, post cards, or promotional materials. Placing a wall mounted letterbox with a slick design right outside your doorstep could very well be just the thing you need to create a stylish and welcoming area. Yes, something as simple as a letterbox can add style to your home.
But letterboxes are also things that bring joy. They are where you find the Christmas cards and travelling postcards from your loved ones So, being the place where love, turned into words, used to be delivered, it makes people see them as meaningful items, almost memorabilia. Even if they seem like an outlived concept to some, the truth is, electronic mail will never have the same romantic charm as traditional mail, and more importantly, some things simply can’t be sent digitally, making it impossible to ever completely replace it. So, since you are going to need one anyway, why miss out on the opportunity to use this purposeful item as a nice decorative addition to your home?
Though letterboxes come in different styles, including custom made, the wall mounted option is ideal if you want it to double as décor. You could use a wall mounted letterbox to add some accent on the wall, same as art is used to decorate interior walls. You can also add some greenery, wall mounted pots, or other decorative elements around it to make it stand out even more.
Or you can make it stand out by being in contrast with the surroundings, like for instance by choosing a wall letter box in bold colour. However, if you want more flexibility so that you can repaint your wall in the future, it’s best to pick a letterbox in a neutral colour. But whatever you do, make sure to pick a weather-resistant material, such as stainless steel or durable Accoya wood.
Finally, when you are selecting a letterbox, also take into consideration how much mail you and your family are receiving and try to get the appropriate size.
The Lighting
The lights on your front yard don’t just have to be about lighting the entryway to your home. Rather than just being installed for the sake of convenience (finding your keys, unlocking the door, so your guests or delivery people could see your house number), illumination is also an opportunity to add another architectural element to your home. It can be used to highlight and to improve the look of your front porch, as well as the entire house.
Lighting has always been essential for design, and outdoor lighting is also crucial to the overall feeling your house provokes. Lights alone can make your doorstep feel inviting and safe. So, besides the practical use of outdoor light, they could also be used set the mood for a sitting outdoor area on your porch, or accent the door and the decorations, create some drama, add some breath-taking shapes, colours and shadows.
The lights you choose will mainly depend on your taste, and the size of the porch. Two identical sconces on both sides of the door, for instance, can look intriguing, and add a luxurious touch to your home. Or, if you don’t have the place, you could also opt for a wall sconce on one side of the door. The simplicity of a single sconce creates a minimalist vibe that can look beautiful. Simply match the style of the light to the architecture of your home.
Alternatively, you could light your front door and the entire porch with a ceiling-mounted light, a wall bracket or even a nice pendant. Exterior pendants could also be a great choice for a bigger porch, to place over your outdoor furniture. If you go for something more elaborate, and you need to light a larger area, try being consistent, for instance, by adding matching lights throughout your outdoor area. You can go with the same lights, the same lights in different sizes, different lights in the same shape, style etc.
Finally, remember that rules can and should be broken sometimes. And with the help of quality and stylish outdoor lighting this can result in some beautiful illumination solutions. You could play with symmetry, with contrast, you can try mixing and matching styles, you can play with the light colours – it’s all up to you.
The Decorations
There are many ways to adorn your front porch. A nice doormat, cute ornaments, small rugs, seat cushions for outdoor use, throws, pots even curtains can all be used to make your front porch inviting, and to create a small outdoor haven. If you need some advice about decorating your front porch, a good rule is to try not to over-clutter, and keep the colours simple. The key, as always, is balance.
Furthermore, with outside areas, it’s always a good idea to try finding items that will be both useful and decorative at the same time. For instance, you could buy a doormat that will go well with the surrounding colours, without drawing too much attention to it. Or if you find a unique doormat you love, you could even decide to make it an accent piece. If you have a nice bigger decoration or an art piece, like a statue you want to leave on your front porch, make sure you don’t put too many things that will distract the attention away from it.
You can use garden pots and urns to create a green area on your porch and draw the eyes away from something you don’t like or towards something you do want to showcase. You can use them to mark an area, like the sitting area, an outdoor bar, the stairs, to create a pathway towards the door, or another part of the yard with them etc. You could place two identical garden planters beneath two identical scones on both sides of the door and create symmetry.
