5 Small Front Porch Ideas (on a Budget!)

It’s not a dramatic makeover, just a few budget-friendly, small front porch ideas that freshened up my home’s curb appeal. Our front door was chipping badly and in urgent need of a fresh coat of paint. It’s large enough to accommodate several planters (or some pumpkins and pink mums during the fall) and that’s about it. Anything I place on our small porch will experience the full impact of hot summer sun and long rainy days.

But even with a small space, no overhead protection, and while sticking to a tight budget, I was still able to refresh our home’s curb appeal with these simple ideas. Let’s take a look at 5 simple ideas that are budget friendly and will work on nearly any front stoop!

Inspired by the perennials in our landscaping, I’ve started to lean in to pinks, purples, and deep reds for exterior decorating, too. So, it made sense to use black, pink, and purple as the color palette for our front porch update.

Dark sweet potato vines and cordyline brought in this color palette to the planters.

So, I decided to buy an exterior-grade matte black spray paint to update the planters we already owned. : Years ago, I painted planters as a curb appeal trick when we were prepping to stage and sell our home. This trick isn’t new, but it is an effective decorating idea for a small porch.

Since there isn’t a lot of space on a small porch, layering rugs allows you to incorporate two textures and several colors. I’m not really sure why… maybe the seagrass rug is a fake fiber dyed to look natural, and so the color bled when it rained. The coir was old and falling apart, and was not proportionally sized to the door or the striped rug.

This might seem counter-intuitive, but pulling planters closer to the front and center won’t make your porch feel smaller (even though, technically, you are making the standing space a little smaller). It’s essentially a trick-of-the-eye, changing where your eyes focus, and making the entry feel more welcoming and cozy. You can learn more about our exterior renovation by visiting our home tour or by checking out the following posts:

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