Spring Front Porch
Happy spring, friends! The weather is warming up ever so slowly and the days are feeling much longer thanks to good ol’ daylight saving time. To celebrate the season and since I’ve been itching to get outside, I put together and styled our Spring Front Porch!
Also, I’m joining up with my friend Kendra from Joy In Our Home, as well as a bunch of other talented bloggers for the Spring Festival Blog Hop. Each day this week, there will be new posts featuring DIYs, vignettes, styled front porches (that’s today!), decorated mantels, and recipes just for spring. Make sure to check those out at the end of this post!
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission if you click the link and purchase. Please check out our disclosure policy for more details.
Our Spring Front Porch
After all of our Christmas decorations came down, our front porch was looking pretty blah. And since there is no better way to welcome people to your home than a good first impression, it was time to get this area spruced up.
We first had to do some intense pressure washing, thanks to all of the mud our pup drags up here when the ground starts to thaw. Once that was done though, I was able to start gathering the pieces I wanted to use to decorate with.
There is just enough of an area to pull together a small seating arrangement and add a few decorative items around the door. I always add a new small door mat each season and I love the layered look with the bigger striped rug.
doorbell | welcome mat | striped rug
When the weather is warmer, we enjoy sitting outside in the mornings and drinking a cup of coffee. This little seating area will be perfect for quietly soaking in the sounds of nature. Well, at least until the kids wake up. *wink* As a last minute project, I found and painted this old stump to serve as mini table.
pillows | chairs – Ikea | throw blanket
I also love to add wreaths to the front door seasonally. This is one I whipped up just this past week to welcome spring! It was super easy to make and only took a few minutes to put together. Plus, the wicker is very similar to the chairs which helps tie things together.
Since the weather is still a bit chilly here, outdoor plants are hard to find in stores. I wanted to add a little life to this area, so I incorporated this mini button fern and a few small boxwoods. (The button fern will have to spend its nights inside.) However, there is nothing wrong with some faux plants to get that spring feel. Especially if you live in an area with frigid temps during this time of year!
Have you noticed all of the little bunnies around our porch? I thought they were a fun little find at the Target dollar spot!
It didn’t take much to get this area ready for spring! Now excuse me while I wait inside for warmer temperatures to enjoy it.
DIY’s on Monday
Joy In Our Home | Timeless Creations | The Tattered Pew
CityGirlmeetsFarmboy |Life on Kaydeross Creek
Vignettes on Tuesday
anderson + grant | Follow The Yellow Brick Home | White Arrows Home
Worthing Court | Camelot Art Creations
Front Porches on Wednesday
County Road 407 | Elizabeth Joan Designs |The Crowned Goat
2 Bees In A Pod | Sanctuary Home Decor
Mantels on Thursday
DIY Beautify | The Painted Hinge | Making It In the Mountains
Grey Birch Designs | The Homemaking Momma
Recipes on Friday
Guest Room Welcome Basket Essentials
“This post is part of a social shopper marketing insight campaign with Pollinate Media Group® and NicePak, but all my opinions are my own. #pmedia #nicencleanwipes http://my-disclosur.es/OBsstV”
The holidays are almost here and like many of you, we are gearing up for house guests. YAY! I even put together a fun little Guest Room Welcome Basket with all of the essentials. Yes, I know that we don’t have a designated guest room (sorry, family!), but this container of goodies will work perfect on an air mattress or next to the pull out couch. *wink*
One thing that has been on our minds lately is trying to avoid the massive amounts of sickness that our family experienced last winter. (Can you say flu, strep, ear infections, pneumonia, and even a broken foot? Yikes.) So, we’ve been using Nice ‘n Clean Antibacterial Hand Wipes on pretty much everything. Hands. Hard surfaces. You name it.
As I was putting together our Guest Room Welcome Basket, I knew I had to throw some wipes in. Our guests certainly don’t want to get sick while traveling and if we can help them minimize that, we are glad to. So, what are these essentials that guests may need?
Well, for starters…
- Towels – Everyone needs to shower at some point.
- Toiletries – Shampoo, soap, toothbrush, toothpaste, floss, razor, lotion.
- Tissues – Can always come in handy.
- Water – Thirst quenchers.
- Snacks – Midnight munchies, anyone?
- Candle – Ambiance.
- Books – Late night reading.
- Wifi Password – Of course.
- Nice ‘n CLEAN wipes – For extra clean hands and surfaces.
So what’s with the hand wipes?
You are probably asking yourself why I didn’t just include some hand sanitizer gel instead? Well, these natural, moisturizing wipes are actually better than gel because they can kill 99.99% of germs. Plus, they can be used to remove soil and bacteria from not only your hands, but also hard surfaces, such as door knobs and switch plates. Even high chairs! You know that germs can certainly hang out there.
These hand wipes are great to have around the house and will help keep the germs away for the holidays. I found mine at Walmart, so head over there and grab a 5 x 20ct. Family Value Pack for yourself and your guests!
I hope that our guests like the little basket we have prepared for them!
I believe it is important to make your house guests feel welcome. Sometimes guests may feel uncomfortable asking for items they may have forgotten or need, so this little bin makes it super easy to have all of that stuff in one spot, ready for them to use. Would you add anything else?
No Mantel? No Problem.
I’m joining up today with my lovely friend Kendra of Joy In Our Home and 23 other amazing bloggers for the 2nd annual Christmas Festival Blog Hop! If you are stopping by from White Arrows Home, WELCOME! Isn’t Kristin’s mantel festive? Love it!
This year I also decided to share how to decorate a mantel for the holidays. (Last year for this hop I showed our Holiday Front Porch, which was so fun to put together. )
The only problem is that we don’t have a mantel!
Disclosure: This post may contain affiliate links, which means we may receive a commission if you click the link and purchase. Please check out our disclosure policy for more details.
As much as I would love to have a beautiful and cozy fireplace with a chunky wood mantel to decorate for the holidays, that just isn’t our reality. So what do I do? Improvise, of course.
Last week, I showed how we created extra storage in our entryway with these hacked Ikea shoe cabinets. This welcoming area right inside our front door is the perfect place to decorate and hang our stockings for Santa.
Stocking Style 1 | Stocking Style 2
I used this DIY stocking hanger that I made several years ago to hang all of our stockings on. We are so happy that we were able to add a 5th stocking the the bunch in 2018!
The shelf on top of the shoe cabinet is perfect for decorating with fun holiday tchotchkes.
These cute wooden nesting houses are one of my favorite decor items to use year round. They fit in perfectly with the little evergreen trees!
Nesting Houses | Lantern (Similar) | Small Evergreen |Large Evergreen (Similar)
I love this welcoming little space spruced up like this.
So, if you are a member of the “no mantel club”, don’t hesitate to get creative with your holiday decor and stocking hanging skills. A shelf, a piano top, and even a decorative ladder can serve as a place to decorate and hang your socks up! No Mantel? No Problem.
Thanks so much for stopping by and don’t forget to head on over to City Girl Meets Country Boy to see how Kelly decorates her mantel. Oh, and check out all of the other creative holiday ideas below!
Christmas DIYs on Monday
Joy In Our Home | 2 Bees In A Pod | My Creative Days
County Road 407 | Chatfield Court
Christmas Front Porches on Tuesday
The Tattered Pew | The Crowned Goat | Little Brags
Follow The Yellow Brick Home | The Painted Hinge
hristmas Recipes on Wednesday
Crisp Collective | Love In My Oven | Countryside Cravings
Walking On Sunshine Recipes | Beyond The Butter
Christmas Mantles on Thursday
anderson + grant | White Arrows Home | Elizabeth Joan Designs
City Girl Meets Country Boy | Red Brick On The Lake
Christmas Tablescapes on Friday
The Inspired Hive | Curly Crafty Mom | Making It In The Mountains
Holiday Gift Guide – Etsy
The holidays are fast approaching and this year I wanted to put together a gift guide of some of our favorite home decor products exclusively from Etsy! As you already probably know, Etsy is an online marketplace where you can buy unique, custom, or vintage items. All of the following products are items that we own/love and are featured throughout our home.
Lila & Lola
Aren’t this calf and donkey the cutest? While coming up with a design plan for our little guy’s nursery, I came across these fun digital download prints and knew that I had to incorporate them into the room.
PCBHome
I have admired this shop for several years because of the pretty calligraphy that they do for all of their pieces. They sell many different kinds of handmade home decor items, but I think I love the throw pillows the best!
Carpenter Farmhouse
What better way to invite someone into your home than a pretty welcome sign? This shop creates beautiful laser cut, letters/words, as well as fun cake toppers.
Bubs & Windy
We have loved having this play mat so much! Since I pretty much decorate our home with neutral colors, finding baby items that don’t jump out and scream “day care center” was important. Our little guy has loved hanging out on this soft mat and learning to roll/play here.
Cherie Kay Signs
Cherie is one of the sweetest shop owners that I’ve met and she creates the loveliest of signs. This one in our master bedroom is huge and such a simple, but beautiful design.
Linen & Ivory
The owner of this shop, Kendra, is also just a sweetheart. Her shop has so many fun designs for almost any holiday/season/occasion. I think we have at least 10 of this shop’s pillows and hand towels!
Save the Empties
Speaking of shop owner’s, I had to add my step-brother’s amazing candles to this post. I love the he hand cuts and reuses empty beer/wine bottles to make all of his 100% premium soy wax, scented candles. They are a fun and unique gift for sure.
Vivid Atelier
Something about cute animal prints always pulls on my heartstrings. And this beautiful digital download deer print did not disappoint. This shop also has cool typography, botanical, and other prints for awesomely inexpensive prices.
