The Porch - Preparing for the Fall Season

While most people spend plenty of time outdoors in the warmer months, they feel compelled to head indoors during fall. However, with a few changes in décor and furniture you can make your porch, deck, balcony, or other outdoor spaces welcoming and usable in fall as well. All it needs is a few touches and some additions and changes to convert your airy summer porch into a warm and welcoming fall porch.

Fall Porch Decorating Ideas

To make your porch more welcoming as the weather cools, add plenty of warm colors to your porch. You can do this by covering benches and chairs with warm throws in orange, yellow, and red as well as place pumpkins, dried flowers, wreathes, and apples in bowls and other arrangements to provide color to the space. Fall-Porch-Decorating-Ideas

Place pumpkins in wicker baskets, apples in glass bowls, and hang wreathes on the walls to enhance the porch and make it glow with fall colors. You can also cover pillars with straw or other colorful natural materials. Your porch will be more welcoming in fall if you can add more depth to it. Place wickerwork chairs and recycled wooded furniture covered with cushions in weather proof material to provide a cozy appearance to the porch. While summer décor should be light and airy, fall décor and furniture should have deep browns and natural materials. Use dried flower arrangements, throws, and rugs as well as arrangements of pumpkins and other gourds to add texture to the porch. This will help make the place inviting even as you provide other comforts to the space.

Porch Lights and Additional Lighting

As the days become shorter, you will need additional lighting to make the porch usable for longer. This can be done by using camping lanterns placed strategically around the porch. These lanterns will provide sufficient light while enhancing the rustic appeal of your décor and create the right ambience for fall. Depending on the décor you are using you can also use scented candles or even string fairy lights on one wall to brighten up the porch and make it attractive.

Porch Ideas To Keep Warm

Fall evenings can be cool, especially in the northern parts of the country. While throws and rugs can be used to provide a warm and comfortable feeling, a portable fireplace, a fire pit, or even an outdoor built in fire place can be a great way to enhance your porch in fall. Porch-Ideas-To-Keep-Warm

If you are building an outdoor fireplace, you can do so on against the wall of the house. A stone fireplace can be used during fall to keep you warm and can be filled with a basket of flowers in spring and summer to enhance the décor. If you are not comfortable using a fireplace or the porch does not provide the space for this, you can install a space heater to keep you, your family, and guests warm and comfortable during the cool fall evenings. Fall breezes can be cold and quickly chill people trying to spend time outdoors. To prevent this install screens and other wind breaks around the seating area. Even a simple tarp covering can help make your porch warmer and more enjoyable during fall. Keeping movable screens and tarps around will help you quickly covert your summer porch for fall, ensuring that you can spend time outdoors even as the weather cools.

Outdoor Porch Entertainment

Entertaining outdoors can be a joy when you prepare properly. While everybody enjoys a cool drink in summer, fall evenings call for warm drinks and foods. Stock up on hot cocoa and cookies that can be warmed up quickly. Keeping an electric kettle close to the porch or a food warmer to store pies and other baked goods will enable you to serve hot drinks and warm food to your family and guests on fall evenings. Freshly heated apple pie and similar foods will be welcome on cool evenings as you enjoy time amidst nature. While spending time outdoors will help you appreciate the sounds of nature, you can also fix a music system close to the porch. This will enable you to play soft music of your choice as you enjoy the mellowness that fall brings to nature.

Keep Insect Repellants Handy

Many insects mature during fall and can still be found outdoors. To keep them at bay, keep insect repellants handy. You can light incense sticks around the porch or spray repellants on yourself to keep the pests away.

Stock up on Fall Themed Plates and Cups

To enhance the mood of fall evenings, stock up on fall themed plates, cups, and napkins. This will add to the ambience of gatherings and set the mood for fall festivities such as Halloween, Thanksgiving, and so on. By preparing your porch for the transition to fall, you will be able to prolong its use during the cooler months.