A Collection of Porch Sitting Days

I am looking ahead to the warm and breezy days of porch sitting.  It has been a milder but definitely longer winter this year and at the end of a cold season, I am anxious to once again experience the relaxing and restorative days of having a meal or snacks on the spacious and tranquil front porch.  

Until we can get there with warmer weather, I thought it would be helpful to review and share my collection of our porch sitting days here at The Little Yellow Corner Store and gather up some new design ideas to create a new welcoming themed porch for this year.  

Lets start by previewing a collage of previous porch designs through the many years.  

Most of our time spent on the front porch here in Wisconsin occurs only during the warm weather seasons, like Summer and Fall.  The front porch can be utilized for dining or entertaining for only a short period of time in the year: June - October.  Serving an entire meal outside is pleasurable when the ideal temperatures are comfortable and the days are longer.

However, I have done one winter season porch design when we had some rare days of unusually mild weather in Wisconsin in that particular year.  By warm we define temperatures at freezing or slightly higher and not ones with sub-zero wind chills. This specific winter themed porch I am referring to had temperatures that, however mild they might have seemed, still resulted in serving only a minimal breakfast for a brief exposure to the outside.  Outdoor winter dining, if not entirely impossible, is so unlike summer entertainment when there is a plentiful and leisurely consumed meal that one can linger over for hours.  Wisconsin can be way too cold in winter to linger for very long.

Since I have just mentioned my winter porch and we are presently seeing the departure of another cold season, lets begin with the the gray, black and red plaid winter grouping.

This porch sitting arrangement, being displayed close enough to the holidays, combined outdoor winter elements and small details of Christmas, such as the red, reindeer "Believe" pillow and the gingerbread cookie on the cast-iron skillet.  

If you would like to see the full article and more photos of the 2019 winter porch sitting, you can visit:   Hot Chocolate on the Winter Porch 2019.  

When the final sigh of relief is given over Winter's departure and the fresh, fragrant air of Spring has returned, The Little Yellow Corner Store excitedly reveals designs for the Spring and Summer porch.  The bright and cheerful Bee Porch seems to be everyone's favorite.  

Yards and yards of this charming bee and sunflower fabric from Hobby Lobby was my inspiration and stung my creative heart.  I immediately knew the fabric was going to be a sensational showstopper against the dark logs on the porch.  

The sunflower and bee fabric made into toss pillows also inspired me to use some contrasting fabric I had available in my collection.  I used up the remainder of my small black and white polka dot fabric with my own yellow iron-on flower print and purchased felt bees surrounding the flowers.  I enjoy mixing patterns of various sizes and thought this worked well.

If you are interested in browsing through this 2020 porch design, you can visit at:  Bee Happy, Bee Grateful, Bee At Peace on the Front Porch

Although I love to play with vibrant colors during any time of the year, I particularly enjoy using bright colors and bold designs on the porch because the house consists of dark stained logs and a forest green roof and window/door trim.  So the opportunity to combine the colors of lime green, turquoise and chocolate brown resulted in the perfect summer porch in the posting, Bringing the Beach to the Front Porch.  

The lime green pop of color really plays up the soothing colors of water and sky (turquoise and cobalt blue) and in the neutral colors evident in sand and seashells.  I found this seashell pattern fabric at Hobby Lobby and had to sew the following two toss pillows to bring together all of these vibrant colors together.  

If you love a beach themed design and wish to see more details of the 2019 theme, just visit:  Bringing the Beach to the Front Porch.  

One cannot forget that summer can offer the perfect opportunity to decorate and celebrate the Fourth of July holiday.  My holiday porch in 2019 reflects much about the holiday, but with a twist.  Adding bright yellow to the mix of red, white and blue brings the colors to the next visibility level.  Definitely, these colors can be seen from quite a distance and has any neighbor and passerby sit up and take notice.

Even the floral arrangement is in keeping with the same bright color combination.

Celebrating the Fourth of July on the Front Porch post is available for further viewing, including some appetizer ideas perfect for a wine and cheese party on the porch just before the night fireworks.

Another nautical porch was done up in 2018 and I entitled it, Lets Go Cruising on the Front Porch.  Cobalt blue and yellow are combined with plenty of stars, stripes, starfish and nautical symbols like anchors, lighthouses, compasses and seashells to honor the tranquil lifestyle living near the shores of Lake Michigan.

Just visit this link for more details:  Lets Go Cruising on the Front Porch.

A much earlier summertime porch in 2017 was the first attempt at making the front porch a simple decorated and comfortable retreat from the busy summer schedule.  It began as a quiet sanctuary to read, gaze at the surrounding flowers and relax with some cold refreshments and table top grilled appetizers.   It was so successful that it inspired even more porch sitting themes through the years.

Click here for some great porch fun ideas:  Summer Time Porch Sitting 2017.

When we reach the end of hot summer days, porch sitting takes on new elements.  Fall is spectacular for decorating the porch, especially with plaid Autumn colors.  With all of the Fall elements to incorporate such as pumpkins, gourds, straw bales, scarecrows and, of course, elements of Halloween too.

View the entire collection of Fall pictures here:  Fallen Leaves on the Front Porch 

As evening approaches, the porch takes on a cozier feel.  Time to put on a sweater.

 

Scarecrows and a soft throw blanket adds warmth and cheerfulness to the porch on a sunny, but brisk Fall day.  A Scarecrow Time of Year includes the beautiful color of burnt orange on the porch. 

When it is close to the Halloween holiday, the porch transforms into all sort of ghoulish fun.  Visit:

Halloween Spooky Fun on the Porch 2018 for the eerie details.

 I am Batty for Halloween includes all of the Halloween party treats.........

.......and all of the scary night time essentials.  Maybe the porch becomes a little too haunted?

Thank you for joining me in the recalling the fun times on the front porch through the years.  I hope you enjoyed it too and have come away with some ideas of your own for your porch or patio.    Now after yesterday's four inches of snow, we just need to wait a little while longer for new porch sitting days.  Looking forward to it!