Decorating the Front Porch for Christmas

Welcome to the 254th Metamorphosis Monday!

For this week’s Met Monday, I’m sharing how I decided to decorate the porch for Christmas this year. But first, let’s take a quick look at the previous three years.

For Christmas, 2010 I purchased a fir wreath and pine garland and embellished both with magnolia leaves from the magnolia tree in my front yard. It was also the first year I decorated the columns with my Pottery Barn inspired garland.

You’ll find the tutorial to make your own here: Make Your Own Garland Inspired by Pottery Barn

Porch Decorated for Christmas with Pottery Barn (Knockoff) Garland

 

The Christmas, 2011 porch was Grandinroad inspired as I decorated the front door with three wreaths. I used cedar garland around the door. You may also notice, I almost always use a vintage sled and skates on the porch each year.

Front-Porch-Decorated-for-Christmas-with-Three-Wreaths-on-Door-and-Pottery-Barn-Knock-off-Garland

 

The following year, for Christmas, 2012, I fell in love with this snowflake-shaped wreath and loved it for the front door. Every year, I decorate with a live wreath and garland.

I loved the snowflake wreath so much, this year I went back to the store where I purchased it to get another one. Unfortunately, they aren’t getting them in for this year.

Christmas-Porch-with-Snowflake-Wreath-and-Lit-Garland

 

So I decided to decorate with triple wreaths again, except this time I’m using boxwood wreaths.

Porch Decorated with Pottery Barn Inspired Garland 2a_wm

 

I couldn’t decide if I wanted to use pine or cedar around the door so I ended up buying some of each. I love the fullness mixing two different types of greenery gave to the look of the garland.

I didn’t place the sled or skates on the porch this year. They have ended up on the screened-in porch, instead. I hope to share the screened porch decorated for Christmas, soon.

Porch Decorated for Christmas with Pottery Barn Inspired Garland and Boxwood Wreaths_wm

 

Remember this fun guy–he hangs above the mirror in my office? (See the post where I added him to the office here: A Bit of Whimsy for the Office.)

Deer head with Rosemary Wreath 6_wm

 

I decided to use him on the porch this year.

Red Front Door with Three Christmas Wreaths

 

In each corner I wired in a shed deer antler along with an acorn mercury-glass ornament.  Here’s the left side…

Deer Antler and Mercury Glass Acorn for Christmas Porch Decorations

 

…and the right side.

Deer Antler for Christmas Porch Decorations

 

I also placed another shed antler and mercury glass ornament in the center just above Mr. Deer. Here are a few close-ups of this handsome guy.

Deer Head Wreath

 

Instead of regular ribbon, I linked the wreaths together with burlap ribbon this year. I started to weave the burlap ribbon throughout the pine and cedar garland surrounding the door, but I wasn’t that thrilled with how it was looking so I removed it and left the garland unadorned.

Wreath with Deer Head for a Christmas Porch

 

I love how he looked surrounded by the boxwood wreath. He’s hanging on a nail that’s in the wood door, but he’s also wired securely to the scoop/hook on the long wreath hanger thingy from which the top wreath hangs. He isn’t that heavy but I just didn’t want him to fall off the door if a gust of wind caught the door and slammed it shut.

Boxwood Wreath for a Christmas Door with Deer Head

 

Mr. Deer got a festive red bow for the season.

Boxwood Wreath for Deer Head

 

 

Christmas Porch with Boxwood Wreath on a Red Front Door

 

I also added a pretty planter filled with cedar, fir, pine cones, berries and a tiny little tree in the center. It has the “Fill, Thrill and Spill” factor going on that we talked about in THIS post.

Christmas Plant for a Front Porch

 

Pssst: I finally got around to adding a brief tutorial showing how I hung the triple wreaths on the door a few years back and kept them from sagging in the center from the weight. You’ll find it here: https://betweennapsontheporch.net/christmas-door-ideas-decorate-with-triple-wreaths/

Christmas Porch Decorated with Pottery Barn Inspired Garland_wm

 

So that’s the porch for this year!

Porch Decorated with Pottery Barn Inspired Garland_wm

 

Looking forward to the Before and Afters linked for this Met Monday!

One on sidebar

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Comments

  1. Susan,
    Your porch and door look so pretty! Love how you used the shed antlers. Very nice!!

  2. Swoon Susan! LOVE your deer with the boxwood wreaths on the door! What a beautiful display with the swags of garland and ornaments!

  3. Thanks so much for hosting Susan! Your porch is gorgeous…
    Blessings,
    Cindy

  4. Beautiful, I especially like the burlap tying the three wreaths together, it goes well with the deer.

  5. Susan,
    I love the Snowflake wreath on the door. . .
    but with all your gorgeous window wreaths above. . .
    I agree the deer in your circular wreaths is stunning!!!
    I’m quite smitten with your planter on the porch, also!!!
    Thank you for hosting Metamorphosis Monday each week, dear friend!!!
    It’s official “Party~Time” here on the Prairie. . .something most every evening!!!
    Fondly,
    Pat

  6. I always love what you do with your porch every year. It always looks so timeless and stunning. Thanks for hosting a great link party!
    XO,
    Christine

  7. Thanks for hosting. Your porch is gorgeous and looks like something out of a magazine. I hope your Christmas season is not so fast past so that you enjoy all your hard work.

    Shannon ~ bohemianjunktion.com

  8. Susan, your wreaths and porch look great! I really like your snowflake wreath from last year. I hate it when you really love something, and then can’t get it at the store again.

    • I know…I was afraid that would happen. They sold out of them the year before so kind of surprised they didn’t get them in. I just loved that silly thing. 🙂 Oh, well. At least I have some pics to remember what it looked like. 🙂 Thanks, Jann!

  9. I love your use of the boxwood wreaths. With the two boxwood planters in the front, it makes for such a balanced arrangement that draws the eye in.

  10. Donnie Mills says

    Susan,
    The porch look gorgeous,s as it does each year. Can I ask, how did you attach Mr. Deer to the door? I have the same deer and would love to “copy” your idea next year, but I hate to put a nail in the door.
    Merry Christmas,
    dgmills

  11. Susan, your porch is truly elegant and a delight to the eye. I love the boxwood wreaths….they really are the elegant touch and the deer…oh my! You have such a way of making your porch not only gorgeous but warm and inviting too. It’s perfect!!

    May this season of Advent be filled with Extraordinary moments.
    ~Diane

  12. I love the new look of your blog! And your porch is drool-worthy. Thanks for sharing and thanks for hosting a great party!

  13. Peggy Thal says

    Looks so beautiful! Love the added deer and all the pretty lights. Very festive.

  14. Your front porch is so welcome and so festive, Susan. Love the buck!…Christine

  15. The door looks magnificent! I love Mr. Deer adorned with a boxwood, and the live garland makes such a difference. I think I’m going to have to ditch my artificial garland next year. Thanks!

  16. Just as lovely as always, Susan! Thanks for the party! XO

  17. Wow, Susan, it’s definitely all in the details, and I love what you’ve done. I was immediately drawn the center antler and acorn ornament at the center of the door – that’s really clever! Do post more, showing the corners too, please! The natural greens are the top, most-favorite of all my decorations and yours are so nice and plentiful. Just gorgeous. You can tell you put a lot of thought (and probably work, too!) into your entry – very inviting.

    Thanks for hosting and allowing us all to share our homes with your readers too. I’ve posted my 2013 holiday tour, with new photos of areas of my home, transformed for the holidays. Have a great week.

  18. Your porch is amazing ! Love all the greenery and your garlands !

  19. It’s beautiful of course Susan, all that live greenery~the deer head is so different, an unexpected surprise! Those triple wreaths are gorgeous, you are ready for a grand event!

  20. Your porch looks so lovely! Love the bow on Mr. Deer. 🙂

  21. What a beautiful front porch! Thanks for hosting 🙂

  22. Wow, that is beautiful- your porch is so inviting and I love each one you’ve create. I do like how you added Mr. Deer this year- nice touch!

  23. Susan, your porch is gorgeous! I love all the natural elements you have chosen.Thank you for hosting another fun party!

  24. Susan, I always love your Christmas front porch. And, you must be enjoying it even more this year with all the wonderful changes you have made out front.

    I started my holiday home tour today. Please come by and visit my front porch, too.

  25. It looks beautiful, Susan. The addition of the “deer mount” is brilliant. What a gorgeous garland around the door. So lush and so elegant. Thank you for hosting. laurie

  26. Susan, your porch is gorgeous! I love Mr. Deer sporting his red bow! He looks quite charming! Also, thanks for hosting Metamorphosis Monday . Enjoy your week.

  27. LOVE that triple wreath and all of the greenery! Beautiful! Merry Christmas! Melissa

  28. Your porch looks beautiful, as always. I love the addition of Mr. Deer. He is perfect there and the ornaments are too. I love the antlers, who knew they would become so darn popular!! Thanks for hosting, Susan.

  29. Stunning and such a festive welcoming! I just forwarded the picture of your planter to my daughter to give her an idea as ‘to how’ it should be done. ☺ Just yesterday I made her a grapevine globe/orb/sphere/ball (whatever you wish to call it) as a starting point to create an arrangement for herself. -Brenda-
    Footnote: As she needed one quite large, I used a Beach Ball for its basic frame which was tied off first where sections crossed. Then I deflated it and added more vine. Turned out okay regardless that it was a little wonky in one place as the vine was difficult to wrap because it wasn’t what you would call ‘fresh’. (One of the draw backs living in the Great White North as it is really WINTER here as we have all kinds of snow and everything but the coniferous trees have pretty well died off.)

  30. Hi Susan,

    Love your front porch. I am eagerly awaiting photos of the screened porch decorated. It always brightens my day when I see any of your posts relating to your beautiful porch. Thanks for sharing!

  31. I love this time of year. Your porch is wonderful. I can almost smell the pine. I love all the beautiful natural elements with all of your creativity added to them. It’s just beautiful.
    Hugs
    Becky

  32. I love your porch, Susan! It is grand and very festive! I have a triple wreath on my front door as well…except mine is cottage sized! 😉 Thanks for the party!

  33. I love your decked out deer! Beautiful front porch! Thanks for the party. Have a great week.
    Blessings,
    Nici

  34. Your front porch looks great! Thanks so much for hosting.
    KC

  35. I absolutely love your porch–and Mr. Deer is too sweet! We happen to live in one of the few “porchless” houses in our neighborhood, so I love looking at other people’s porches instead. Thanks so much for hosting the party! Dee 🙂

  36. Oh Susan, you win the prize for best porch. I am so inspired! Where, oh where, can I get a deer head like yours? Wow! Now I can’t wait to see your screened porch. Thank you so much for sharing and for hosting your great party.
    Blessings,
    Patti

  37. Luv your dear sentinel! ***** on the boxwood wreaths, too! franki

  38. Susan ~ you truly know how to embrace the spirit of Christmas, girl! Wow! You should have a career in interior/exterior design! I love Mr Deer on your front door. He adds so much earthy charm! 🙂

    xoxo laurie

  39. Hi, Susan
    You’ve done it again!! Your porch reminds me of one you’d find on an English estate and the basis for an olde English novel! I have never heard of boxwood before, but LOVE it as a wreath. You must smile with pride every time you drive up to your beautiful home and see what you’ve accomplished. Bravo! Rosie

  40. Susan, your porch looks so beautiful & I love the deer peaking through the wreath! I know you are featuring your porch today, but I was hoping to see a picture taken from the street so that we could see how all of your decorations look with less trees after your large tree removal project. Maybe you will post one of those on another day.

  41. Susan, your porch is beautiful! Thank you for hosting! Have a grand week. Toodles, Kathryn @TheDedicatedHouse

  42. As always, your front porch is just stunning! Thanks so much for sharing your creativity and for hosting this wonderful party!

  43. It’s just gorgeous Susan! I adore the triple wreaths. I found a similar idea in a Southern Living book a few years ago, and have been hoping to do it one Christmas. Maybe next year will be the year. 🙂

    Thank you for hosting Metamorphosis Monday and have a good week!

    Denise

  44. Susan, your porch looks great! I especially love that you put Mr. Deer on your front door. Thanks so much for sharing and thank you for hosting this week.

    K.

  45. Hi Susan: Your front entryway looks gorgeous! I like the deer head especially. Thank you for hosting the party today for us!

  46. Beautiful! So welcoming!

  47. SharonFromMichigan says

    Susan – Another beautiful front entrance! I’ve read in some of your posts that in the south magnolia leaves are used in decorating. I have to tell you that my church does a Greens Market every year selling fresh wreaths, roping, etc. and this is the first year that I saw what a southern magnolia leaf looks like up close. I thought the magnolia leaves the ladies were using were artificial. I was so surprised (and delighted) to see that the back looks and feels like suede. Is that common for magnolias down south? Maybe you could do a separate post on that because the magnolias we have up north look nothing like yours.
    P.S. Mr. Deer looks very regal on the front door!

    • Thanks, Sharon! It’s kind of confusing…I don’t quite understand all the varieties myself. When I’ve gone on local home tours, sometimes they have beautiful magnolia garland and wreaths that are made with magnolia leaves that are dark green on one side and dark brown on the back. Those are so pretty. My magnolia, which is a “Southern Magnolia Grandiflora,” doesn’t have the brown-backed leaves. I sort of wish it did because the contrast is so pretty in a wreath. The back of the leaves on my magnolia are green. You can see a blossom and some leaves up close in this old tablescape post: https://betweennapsontheporch.net/tablescape-for-bridal-shower-or-mothers-day-happy-100th-tablescape-thursday/

      I’m not sure which variety has the brown backs but it may have been the one you saw with the suede-like back. So they do grow like that down here, too…but not all of them. There are also tulip magnolias that are smaller, have pink blossoms that look nothing like the blossom on my tree and I think those are deciduous. My tree is an evergreen.

      That would make an interesting post!

    • Sharon, check out this link…http://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/PlantFinder/PlantFinderDetails.aspx?kempercode=a345 I think the magnolia with the brown-back leaves is a Bracken’s Brown Beautify. I would love to have one of those in my yard, too. Magnolias are pretty slow growing, though…takes a long time before they are big enough to use in decorating. But the flowers would be wonderful to enjoy in the meantime. 🙂

  48. Love the addition of the deer to your porch this year, Susan…beautiful as always! Thanks for hosting!…hugs…Debbie

  49. I love the deer this year Susan. Great look!
    Sherry

  50. Juanita in OH says

    Everything is so wondrous! Your blog posts always make me very happy and joyful!! TFS, it is so appreciated.

  51. I think your porch is just too pretty. Love the door with the 3 wreaths but the deer sets it off!!! Love it…….

  52. Linda Page says

    Absolutely beautiful and I love the deer in the wreath! Your talent is endless! I love your porch.

  53. Susan, your porch is gorgeous! Really just so simple and elegant! I’ll need a chair pad for the front step and a steaming cuppa hot cocoa (heavy on the marshmellows!) just so I can sit and gaze….thanks ever so much!

  54. Hi Susan, I have to say there is no way I could pick a favorite year, but I must say that the deer this year takes it so way over the top fabulous. If I came to a gathering at your house and this was the entrance, I would die over what might be inside. What love you put into every detail, it’s just so obvious. So lovely. And thanks for hosting. I can’t believe I found you only a few weeks ago! I’ve missed out!

  55. The porch is gorgeous! I love how you used three wreaths – it makes such a statement!

  56. Your porch is beautiful, Susan. Thanks for hosting the party each week.

  57. Thanks so much for the party, Susan! Your photos of your home are always gorgeous!

  58. Like your tablescapes, your front porch is stunning! From the greens, to the triple wreaths, pops of red, etc. etc. etc. Thanks for hosting another great party this week Susan!

  59. Love wood doors and what you’ve done with yours thru the years. Always GORGEOUS!

  60. Once again you have “out done yourself”….everything is beautiful. Share a little about yourself and your family. Will grandchildren be coming for Christmas or maybe kids home from college? Will you be cooking a big dinner, go to someone else’s home? Your home is so beautiful I hope you’re having a party or two to reveal all your hard work.

    • Thanks, Kathy! I thought about a party this year but I’m giving myself a little break and not doing as much as I normally would this year. My son and his wife are normally here for Christmas but they are expecting (you can read more about that here: https://betweennapsontheporch.net/a-treasured-heirloom/) and have just purchased their first home, so they’ve asked me to come there to help them get ready for the move. So Christmas will be a little different this year, but I’m looking forward to it. 🙂

  61. Looks like the carolers should be on your porch singing and waiting for you to come out with hot cocoa.

  62. Gorgeous as always. love the triple wreaths. It’s looks like Christmas at your lovely home.

  63. I must say that you nailed it…it is so beautiful Susan…love the triple wreaths on the door. There must be many cars slowly going by to see your fabulous porch!…you knock it out of the park every year!!!

  64. Love the 3 boxwood type wreaths the best. Would have spread the garland out further surrounding the door to show the wreaths off better and the reindeer. Like your simpler arrangement this year and all the wreaths in your window look stunning because you have sufficient space between them to show them off. Lovely.

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