Welcome, friends! Fall is the season of cozy homes and fresh inspiration, and I’m excited to join a group of bloggers for a seasonal home tour. At the end of this post you’ll find the other participants. Today I’m sharing a simple porch project we recently completed at our current home. It doesn’t involve pumpkins yet, but the change made such a difference that I’m thrilled with how it turned out.
If you’re new here, I’d love for you to follow along on The Inspired Room blog and Instagram for the annual Fall Nesting series. I’m especially excited this year because we are moving to a small island home, and I can’t wait to share that cozy new space with you.
Late summer into early fall is the perfect stretch to tackle a few outdoor projects before cooler weather arrives. It’s a great time to clean, refresh, paint, and handle tasks that are less pleasant in cold weather. While adding seasonal decor is fun, I usually reserve pumpkins and heavier fall styling until October.
This transitional month is ideal for getting small projects done—think painting, power washing, or simple repairs. Even if your summer flowers are still blooming, doing these tasks now will make the holidays and colder months more enjoyable and less stressful.
Our exterior updates have been a steady series of improvements. Over the years we’ve painted the exterior, installed a Dutch door, added a seasonal lantern, and more recently repainted the door a cheerful blue. We even added a charming bunny door knocker that gives the entry extra personality.
With fall approaching and our house on the market, we finally crossed one more item off the list: painting the concrete porch and steps. The change is dramatic—the porch looks fresher and more welcoming. We’ve wanted to do this for years, so we’re grateful to have it done at just the right time.
If you’ve been thinking about painting your front porch, now is a great time. A fresh coat of paint brightens the entry, makes seasonal decor pop, and creates a welcoming backdrop for gatherings during the holidays.
We used Benjamin Moore Floor and Patio Paint in Ozark Shadows for the porch, matching the interior of our Dutch door. The exterior door is painted Blue Suede Shoes by Benjamin Moore, and the brick is Reserved White by Sherwin Williams. For a full list of our home’s paint colors, check the paint guide available on The Inspired Room.
After painting the porch, I was excited to refresh the lantern with fall flowers. My porch lantern is an easy and versatile way to add seasonal touches. I swap greenery or blooms in and out throughout the year. For this season I chose faux flowers so the lantern would look good for several weeks while we prepare to list the house.
To keep things simple and budget-friendly, we repurposed the existing black porch post as a trellis for a climbing vine. We placed a potted vine at the base and trained it to climb the post. It’s an easy, clever solution that many neighbors have commented on. Not every project needs to be expensive—small, thoughtful changes often have the biggest impact.
What fall projects or decor are you planning or excited about this year?
Thanks for stopping by—let’s stay in touch!
Follow me on Instagram and check out stories for more behind-the-scenes moments, and subscribe to the blog to get updates and seasonal inspiration.