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Enliven Your Porch With Color
Napworthy doesn't have to mean snoozefest. Turn a drab porch into a dashingly designed outdoor room with these ideas for adding color
Houzz Contributor. Hi There! I currently live in a 1920s cottage in Atlanta that I'll describe as "collected."
I got into design via Landscape Architecture, which I studied at the University of Virginia. I've been writing about design online for quite a few years over at Hatch: The Design Public Blog.
Houzz Contributor. Hi There! I currently live in a 1920s cottage in Atlanta... More »
If you're looking to add vibrance to your porch, amp up the color. We've already discussed how to do this using plants, and now we're ready bring in color using furniture, accessories and architectural accents. If you're looking to just dip your toes into porch color, stick with smaller accessories at first. As you start to crave more color, you can work your way up to painting the floor, architectural elements and furniture. These ideas will enliven your front, side or back porch.
More Porch Life: Wraparound Porches | Sleeping Porches | Screened-In Porches | Modern Porches | Banishing the Bugs | Dining on the Porch
More Porch Life: Wraparound Porches | Sleeping Porches | Screened-In Porches | Modern Porches | Banishing the Bugs | Dining on the Porch
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| Get all color from the home's exterior. The exterior palette on this house is all the color this porch needs, especially because the floorboards and risers were painted to match the trim. |
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| Match a color from the architectural elements to furniture. This perfectly aligned row of chairs coordinates with the columns and beams, resulting in a balanced and appealing facade. |
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| Bring in color through smaller pieces of furniture. Modern metal tables contrast with this more traditional furniture. |
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| When seaside, consider matching your colors to the water. A view this gorgeous needs to be celebrated. The hues on the upholstery, accessories and ceiling color embrace the water's beautiful colors. |
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| Likewise, inspiration from the dune grasses and sand pay homage to a seaside setting. |
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Embrace the exterior wall color. A lake house's brilliant green board and batten siding is almost all the color this porch needs; pops of raspberry are the finishing touch.
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| Paint a few wooden pieces. The bright turquoise chairs and buffet on this porch stand out next to all the crisp black and white everywhere else. Using paint to spruce up some flea market wooden chairs is an easy way to add color. If you have several different styles of chairs, it will unify a mismatched group as an eye-pleasing group. See the rest of this home |
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| Play off your plants. The stripes on these pillows coordinate perfectly with the hanging impatiens. |
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| Fall mums inspire a few autumnal red accents as the seasons change around this porch. |
by Joel Snayd
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Turn your hues up a notch or two. Brilliant blue and cheery pops of yellow turn up the volume on the usual coastal palette for this Tybee Island, Georgia, screened-in porch.
See the rest of this home
See the rest of this home
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| Pay attention to the floor. A lively cardinal and gold checkerboard pattern unifies the different spaces on this long porch. |
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Use throw pillows. Switch your throw pillows around on the porch just as you would on your sofa or bed. These brilliant tones add Moroccan style to this porch. Use weather-resistant fabric like Sunbrella's to keep colors bright.
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| Choose painted wicker. While I'm usually a sucker for black wicker, these reds and yellows show off the owner's personal style and make this porch seem like a very happy spot. See the rest of this home |
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Use an outdoor rug. Not so long ago, the only outdoor rug option was a close relative of AstroTurf. Now there are a staggering amount of styles available. Ground the space with one and pick up on its palette. Here pops of robin's egg blue from the rug, upholstery and ceiling unify the space.
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by Sara Hopkins
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| Add an awning. Not only will it provide extra shade as needed, but an awning provides color and pattern to play off of, as these coastal seat cushions show. More: 12 Ways to Prep the Porch for Summer 10 Ways to Bedeck Your Deck |
Comments
Rough Linen Maybe I'll do something with MY floor - love the checkerboard!
12 months ago · Like
pattimay Tricia Rose - I say go for it! We did our deck last year in two tone colors. We've lived here for years and so regret not doing it earlier. Now that we are putting the house up for sale we are sure it will help. It adds personality, looks great instead of just being a boring deck and it makes it even more enjoyable being out there. And if you don't like it, you can always paint it back the old way. Good luck!
12 months ago · Like
Elevations Another way to add color is through a cedar ceiling. Exposing a cedar beadboard ceiling really adds beauty to a porch, especially when using the cedar color to accent window trim. 
12 months ago · Like
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lanncasey Where can I buy the chairs and square table in the first picture?
9 months ago · Like
Ideabook published on May 20, 2012.
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