My Front Porch Decorating Ideas for Summer

Today, I'm going to be giving you front porch decorating ideas for summer. I'll be taking you through my summer porch makeover. This is going to be a lot of fun, so let's get started.

Prep front door

For step one of the porch makeover, I want to paint the front door black to match our shutters. First, I'll remove the door's hardware.

Then I'll clean the door with a degreaser.

I'll sand the door with a very fine 220-grit sandpaper so the paint adheres better to the metal door. Then I'll wipe the sand off and let the door dry.

Next I'm taping off the lock in the handle because I don't want to remove them, but I also don't want to mess up my locks unintentionally.

Paint the door

I'll be using Rust-Oleum's oil-based satin black paint.

Using my paintbrush, I brush the paint in the areas that the paint roller can't reach, and then I roll the paint on the rest of the door. This door needed two coats of paint to cover the door evenly.

Set up plants

While the door dries, I'll place my plants in planters.

First, I need to place drainage holes in the planters I recently purchased.

Then, I'll add some potting mix to the planters.

Then, I'll add these beautiful tree-like Petra Crotons to the planters.

I'm adding these white Calibrachoa to brighten up the base. They're trailing annuals, so they'll begin to cascade over the side as they grow.

Next, I transplanted some of my Croton from a blue pod to a black pod to match the color scheme of the front porch.

Then, for a pop of color, I'll add these Asiatic lilies.

Mind you, these are perennials and will go into the ground in the next month or so.

Paint additional planters

These planters have been on the front porch for a few years now, and they can use a little freshening up, too.

So I'll spray paint them black and then fill them in with some Mammy Crotons.

Do you notice the Croton theme here?

Finally, I'll give all the plants a soaking and move them to the front porch.

Stage the porch

It's time to stage the front porch.

First, I'll lay out the area rug and then set up the planters and pots. I almost forgot to layer my rugs, so I went back and did that.

I'll add these outdoor candle lanterns for a stylish, decorative touch.