We Southerners need our porch time, that's a fact! Is there anything better than relaxing on the porch after a long day with a glass full of sweet tea? Want to get your front or back porch prepped for relaxing with friends and family? We’ve got some ideas on how to do it without breaking the bank!
Whether y’all have a small porch, large porch, or an area around your front door that you want to decorate, we’ve got you covered! Down South we just LOVE our porches and are always looking for new and cheap ways to liven ‘em up.
Hop to it and share photos with us on social media @sbreezetea! We wanna see how y’all decorate your porches for sweet-tea sippin’ days in the sun!
Add a Pop of Color
No matter the theme y'all are going for--rustic, shabby chic, country style, modern, classic...you won't go far unless you add color! Luckily, this is SUPER easy to do!
- Paint your front door
- Painting your front door is probably the easiest way to add a very noticeable splash of color. Don’t be afraid to get bright n’ sassy with your color choice! This will be an “accent” color—a color that’s bold and vivid but not used much! Have fun with it!
- Paint your furniture
- Got a wicker chair or coffee table in need of a little uplift? It’s easy and inexpensive to paint them yourselves—no need to buy new furniture!
- Never painted furniture before? Here’s what you gotta do:
- Sand it with sandpaper
- Wipe it down with a tack cloth
- Prime it with a base primer and a mini roller
- Apply 3 coats of paint
- Coat with a protective finish
- Pick your colors based on your house’s location and surroundings
- Got some magnolia in your yard or potted geraniums? Try matching your porch colors with the flowers around it!
- Add a colorful welcome mat
- Y’all can’t go wrong with a colorful mat by the front door!
- Add colorful throws and pillows
- Use bold colors for these because they’re smaller items—this is the perfect way to add in accent colors that’ll be super eye-catching!
Reclaim and Rehab
Got some old pieces of furniture lying around the house? Shelves, chairs, boxes—anything can be rehabbed and made to look fabulous. Pick a few pieces and, when you’ve chosen a color scheme for your porch, start painting!- Tip: Plastic is hard to rehab, so stick with natural materials like wood and metal!
- Use spray paint on wood or metal pieces to liven them up
- Reupholster chair cushions and couches. It’s a cheap and fun way to spruce up an outdated piece of furniture
- Adding a slipcover is probably the easiest way to change up a look!
DIY Vases
What’s a porch without potted plants and vases? Not worthy of a Southerner, that’s for sure! But what to put your flowers in? Well, you can make a pot or vase out of almost anything and a little imagination. After y’all know this, you’ll never buy a vase again! Here are some ideas for what you can use...you may already have these lying around the house!
- Mason Jars
- Add color by spray painted the jars
- Cans
- All you need are tin or aluminum cans, pretty paper, scissors, and tape or glue to make a few gorgeous, colorful pots for smaller plants!
- Glass bottles
- Have empty bottles lying around from the last dinner party you hosted? Spray paint them and turn them into beautiful, chic vases!
Light It Up
If y’all are sweet tea sippin’ on the porch past dusk, you’ll need to add some pretty lighting!
- String up lights—of the Christmas variety—along the open spaces or over railings
- Use mason jars as candle holders and hang them above the porch
DIY Sweet Tea Cart
Set up your porch with a PURPOSE! Ours is always sweet tea-related, so our ideal porch doubles as a sweet tea station!
- Salvage or purchase an old bar cart—you can spray paint it in metallic colors or cheerful, summery tones! Then all you’ll need is:
- Ice bucket and tongs
- Beverage dispenser—get one with a spigot so it’s easy to fill your glass!
- Mason jars for sweet tea sippin’
- Fresh flowers to pretty it up!
- Want friends and family to make your porch THE hangout spot? Keep your sweet tea cart stocked with Southern Breeze for easy, breezy sweet tea sippin’—it’ll keep ‘em coming back for more!
What do y'all think...all in a day's work? We know you can make your porch the sweet-tea sippin' porch of your dreams!
We wanna hear from YOU - what's your ideal porch? COMMENT below!