Warm up Your Porch for Fall

Layer up your porch with rich textiles and rustic accents to make it a warm and welcoming spot for fall entertaining. Photo by Bryan E. McCay in Nell Hill’s Feather Your Nest (Published by Andrews McMeel Publishing).

Simply said, I’m passionate about screened porches. When you live in a climate where freezing cold winters and blistering hot summers drive you indoors far too often, you learn not to take this outdoor sanctuary for granted. So when the broiling Midwestern summer gives way to fall, I’m thrilled to take the party back outside and enjoy my screened porch once again.

My zealousness for porch living is met, and perhaps even exceeded, by my friend Jean, who has created a three-season screened porch that’s to die for. All it took was some careful planning, the right furnishings and killer seasonal accents to make her outdoor room the place to be for the whole family, from the moment the first snow melts until the flurries start to fly again the next year.

Jean’s ranch home backs up to a wooded glen and brook, so one of the first major projects she took on after purchasing the home was to add on a large screened porch so she could drink in the view.

Since Jean loves to entertain, she knew the new porch had to be located near the kitchen and other common rooms in her house. It had to be spacious enough to hold a crowd, be filled with the kind of comfy furnishings she enjoys inside and reflect the casual yet sophisticated style that marks the rest of her home’s interior. It was a lot to ask from a room made of timber and screen, but her wooded retreat meets her criteria perfectly.

The porch is situated just off the dining room, so all you need do is open the lovely French doors and the al fresco room is ready for business. Jean then filled her outdoor retreat with rustic and refined furnishings as wonderful as the pieces she has indoors.

My favorite addition is the set of brown wicker chairs dressed up with sink-in-soft reversible down cushions that sport an English hunt scene on one side and soft gold chenille on the other.

For every day use, Jean creates a conversation cluster with the chairs along the porch’s outermost wall. But when she hosts a dinner party outside, she pulls the wicker chairs up to a dining table to make an opulent but comfy dining group.

When summer’s through, Jean remakes her porch for fall by layering up the cozy seating arrangement. She drapes the table with a quilt topped with a dreamy paisley throw. She further plays up the warm brown tones and twiggy texture of the wicker chairs by adding accents like a birch basket tray used to hold dishware.

This fall, you can become a Porch Potato like Jean and me. Just layer up with the rich tones and textures of autumn. Cover your outdoor dining table with a quilt. Set each place with gold, green and brown majolica. For a centerpiece, fill a squat iron urn with a bevy of gourds. Decorate your outdoor hutch with a phalanx of pumpkins, a basket filled with hedge apples or a cluster of lanterns.

Finally, replace the summer cushions on your outdoor seats with pillows made of paisley, checks, stripes and floral fabrics. Toss a shawl over the arm of a chaise for chilly evenings.

Once your porch is a yummy, layered up extension of your home’s interior, snuggle in and enjoy the cool breeze. And if you can, plant yourself there until the snow starts to fly.

Written in collaboration with journalist Micki Chestnut.