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6 Small Front Porch Ideas on a Budget to Add Instant Curb Appeal

6 ways to add instant curb appeal in a day with these DIY small front porch ideas on a budget with paint, plants, and decor.

This post is sponsored by Better Homes & Gardens at Walmart.

A few weeks ago, I pulled up into our driveway, glanced at our small front porch, and went, “Woah. Holy winter hangover mode, Batman.”

The January through March timeframe was not kind to the front of our house, and since we had not-so-fun foundation repair work done to our front facade last fall (old houses are super fun, ya know), our flower beds were destroyed alongside the porch.

small front porch before

So Robert busted out the trusty power washer, and I busted out the usual bucket of limewash to make our front door feel welcoming again using planters and flowers from the Better Homes & Gardens line at Walmart.

small front porch ideas on a budget
bhg live better

The flower beds still need a lot of love, and the patchy grass is still a little worse for wear, but just these 6 small front porch ideas on a budget made a massive difference.

And it most definitely can be achieved on one sunny Saturday to bring a gloomy winter porch back to life (or help add curb appeal when selling a house) as an inviting first impression.

6 Small Front Porch Ideas on a Budget to Add Instant Curb Appeal

urn planter with boxwood topiary on porch steps

1. Choose Large Planters

Opt for just a few large or oversized planters instead of multiple small planters to help a small porch seem stately without adding clutter.

I love the look of these traditional urn planters that I never would have guessed were only $30.

I also found these fluted resin planter sets from the Better Homes & Gardens line to attempt a faux DIY concrete planter look with leftover cans of spray paint.

fluted resin terra cotta planters

They totally look like the more expensive designer versions I’ve seen!

Doesn’t it look like concrete? I can’t even believe that’s just spray paint (see the faux DIY concrete planter tutorial here).

faux concrete planters on a front porch with purple hydrangeas

2. Make It Symmetrical

Especially if your house’s architecture is symmetrical, mimic the symmetry with your decor to make a small porch seem inviting.

It’s hard to go wrong with a planter on each side of the steps, a planter on either side of the door, and a simple wreath.

colonial small front porch on a limewashed brick house with boxwood topiaries and hydrangeas in planters

3. Use Plants That Add Height And Color

I like to add 1 type of plant that adds height and one type of plant or flower that adds a punch of color. Boxwoods, cedar trees, and topiaries draw the eye upward.

Add a bright pop of seasonal potted flowers like these hydrangeas, begonias, geraniums, or azaleas from Better Homes & Gardens to highlight the front door.

boxwood topiary in an urn planter and fluted concrete planter with purple hydrangeas on a small front porch stoop
purple hydrangeas in a fluted concrete planter on a painted stenciled porch floor

4. Add an Extra Wide Welcome Mat

Just like the right sized right can make or break a room, I swear by using an extra large welcome mat to make a standard sized front door feel a little more grand.

black front door with white columns on a small front porch with magnolia wreath and purple hydrangeas and an extra wide welcome mat

5. Limewash Steps or Paint a Worn Porch Floor

I refresh our limewashed steps every couple of years, but that one simple change makes such a difference to brighten up our porch.

You can add some personality and pattern with a stencil using this DIY painted porch floor tutorial too.

Or if you’re a minimalist, stick with plain. But in either case, painting a porch floor that looks old and worn out is a total game changer.

limewash brick steps on a colonial house with small porch decor using symmetrical planters

6. Avoid Clutter and Keep It Simple

Less is more. As fun as it is to put small ornamental outdoor decor on a front porch, it can start to feel junky really quickly. And when viewed from the road, that porch decor can often just look like a heap of stuff.

Going oversized and using less instead of using more of smaller sized items always pays off to make a front porch’s decor feel intentional.

limewashed brick colonial house with boxwood topiaries in urn planters and fluted concrete planters with purple hydrangeas on a small front porch with a dog

By the way, Lola totally poses herself when I’m taking pictures and I’m not making this up at all. Haha! Our extended family and friends have witnessed her in action any time we pull out a camera, and it’s hilarious watching her try to photo bomb us.

She just turned 11 years-old, and after nearly 9 years of being a “blog dog”, I’d say she’s far beyond figuring out her job description at this point. 😉

Got any other small front porch ideas on a budget you’d add to the list?

Have you pulled your porch out of winter hangover mode yet? The next outdoor project definitely needs to be the grass and the flower beds now that contractors are finished plowing it over.

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22 Comments

  1. Your porch looks so fresh and springy now! Perhaps one day I, too, will have a porch 🤞🏻😂. Back in the fall, we had our old wooden porch torn out and a frame built in preparation to have it poured in concrete. A few weeks later, the guy came and filled it in with chert. Stillllll waiting for the ground to dry out enough for the cement truck 🤦🏻‍♀️. We’re having the concrete tinted and I’m feeling kinda anxious about how it’s going to look. Any tips or advice while I still have time to change my mind??

    1. I do not have any tips. We had DIY’d our back yard cement around the pool and painted it. We love it. I hope yours turns out just the way you intend.

  2. What a beautiful transformation! I love the wreath on your door as well. Do you have a link for it? I must have missed it somehow.