19 Must-See DIY Porch Ideas for Your Home

Decorate your front porch with custom DIY additions. Let these 19 fantastic ideas inspire you to pump up the pretty (and the practical) on your porch.

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Build Your Own Railing Planter

BRIE PASSANO

A custom railing planter is your summertime solution for curb appeal that lasts all year. Our DIY design can be adjusted to fit your railing and your style, unlike many store-bought options. In just a few hours, you'll have instant curb appeal with this project using two window boxes.

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Add Style to a Porch Swing

ADAM ALBRIGHT

Few things are more inviting than a porch swing. Pile on the pillows and a light blanket to ward off any chill, and you've got a bona fide crowd-pleaser on the porch. Paint it a cheery color, and keep a table or ottoman nearby to hold drinks and snacks.

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Replace Your Outdoor Lights

JAMES NATHAN SCHRODER

When the sun goes down, the party doesn't have to end. Enjoy socializing on your porch long after dark with outdoor lighting. Exterior light fixtures add safety and beauty to both the architecture and the landscape. Here's how to replace an exterior light to add curb appeal to your home.

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Paint Your Stained Concrete

JEAN ALLSOPP

When your porch concrete gets stained, there's no need to fret. Just paint it. A coat of paint will help disguise repairs and provide a clean, finished look that will give a home's entrance great curb appeal. Here's a step-by-step guide to help you paint your concrete stairs and walkways.

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Drinks on the Go

ADAM ALBRIGHT

What could be more versatile—or more adorable—than a traveling cart on casters bubbling with drinks, snacks, and other party essentials? Its wheels let it roll from the kitchen to the porch with ease, while its shelves can hold all manner of goodies for guests.

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Curtain Call

BRIE WILLIAMS

Whether a porch needs privacy, shade from the sun, or a little of both, cloth curtains are an airy answer to both desires. Choose clean, cream-colored fabric, like the ones on this sunny stucco porch, so they'll disappear into the background. For a louder style statement, opt for curtains in a vibrant pattern.

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Perk Up with Pillows

ADAM ALBRIGHT

Refresh your porch furniture by updating existing pillows with easy-sew pillowcases. For bonus savings, utilize fabric left over from past sewing projects. Pile the newly covered pillows onto a porch swing, loveseat, or outdoor sofa for a new look.

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Rustic Charm

TRIA GIOVAN

Unfinished walls and exposed studs can be quaintly endearing under a coat of whitewash and decorated in a few beloved collectibles. Use the wall's horizontal members (they're called stiles) to prop up a couple of framed pieces, books, or shapely bottles. Slip a humble tension rod between the window frames and thread on a breezy curtain.

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Paint Your Front Door

RICHARD LEO JOHNSON

Of all the colors in the spectrum, red grabs our attention the fastest, so it's a savvy choice for a front door. (There's really no missing it, is there?) Learn how to paint your front door for a quick exterior facelift. A nearby length of driftwood, mounted on the wall and drilled with hooks, catches towels, hats, and other items before they make it inside.

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DIY Outdoor Seating

ANN VANDERWIEL/THE WILDE PROJECT

If you're lucky enough to have a protected porch—enclosed on all sides with screens and walls—options for furnishing and decorating it are almost endless. Even indoor pieces, such as this loveseat and fabric ottoman, can comfortably nest without fear of damage from sun or rain. Make your own pouf ottoman for a footrest that can double as seating when needed.

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Perfect Pallets

ADAM ALBRIGHT

Available for a song—or even for free—wooden shipping pallets find a useful second life as durable outdoor furniture. Assembled two high, screwed together, mounted on casters, and protected with glossy white spray paint, these pallets transform into a wide coffee table sitting at just the right height and stacked with built-in shelves.

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Prepped to Serve

HELEN NORMAN

Who says indoor furnishings have to stay inside? Let their form and function spill onto the porch. Here, an all-weather metal table in zingy lime-green serves as a sideboard of sorts for drinks, napkins, and plates. A pair of movable seats—logs made mobile with casters—can scoot around the space as needed for extra seating or as a spot for setting glasses. And for an eye-catching centerpiece, a giant glass cloche encases a couple of houseplants on a wooden tray.

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Inspiration Underfoot

RICHARD LEO JOHNSON

A striped rug in saturated hues enlivens this screened porch and provides a color palette for the rest of the room. (Notice how pinks pop up on cushions, pillows, and plants.) Furnishings like a floor lamp and flea-market side tables give the impression of indoor living.

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Book Pocket

ADAM ALBRIGHT

If you're lucky enough to have a porch swing—or any comfy seating, really—it can seem impossible to resist reading outdoors for hours on end. Keep books on hand by gluing a clear acrylic magazine holder to the side of the swing. Use construction adhesive for good grip.

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Paint Stripes on a Wall

ADAM ALBRIGHT

It wasn't daring enough to paint this porch's ceiling sky blue (a Southern tradition). This room goes full-tilt with two walls of blue and white stripes, which somewhat resemble outdoor siding. It's an eye-catching accent that revs up the room despite its otherwise neutral palette.

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Add Playful Color

BRIE WILLIAMS

Because porches often bask in sunshine, they can usually handle strong color. For proof, see this screened porch, where one wall is sheathed in pink paper printed in botanicals. The play between pink and green delivers a vivacious contrast made all the more lively by the leaves and flowers (both real and printed) on the two walls.

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Living It Up Outside

CAMERON SADEGHPOUR

Decorating an outdoor porch with all the comforts of home will stretch your living space beyond four walls—in fact, you might want to stay outside all day. Lavish a porch with sturdy, weatherproof chairs, colorful pillows in outdoor fabric, a breezy ceiling fan, and nubby rugs to give it all the amenities of a living room—and with fresh air to boot. Make a mobile coffee table out of metal basins (available at garden centers and refreshed with spray paint), a pair of salvaged doors (or plywood slabs cut to size), and casters. A hedge of chrysanthemums in tall containers provides a privacy barrier.

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DIY Hammock Seating

ADAM ALBRIGHT

Conventional practice says to string a hammock between two trees, but that means you'll have to contend with bugs and sunshine while you're trying to kick back and relax. Mounting a hammock on a screen porch eliminates any airborne pests or risk of sunburn—while still letting you sway in the breeze. Install hooks in your porch ceiling or on walls to accommodate a hammock, or make your own hanging swing.

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Add Interest Overhead

TRIA GIOVAN

Paper lanterns in a rainbow of hues resemble a bundle of balloons when strung from the ceiling by ribbons, but they're much sturdier and longer-lasting. They're not at all expensive, but they deliver a lot of bang for your buck. This stylish porch makeover is easily accomplished—just choose lanterns in your favorite colors and use a few different sizes for visual dazzle.