Since moving into my new Toronto Victorian home, I have been so eager to start decorating from scratch. Unfortunately, with plans to renovate the main floor starting soon, decorating my front door for fall may be the only chance I get to do something festive before the end of the year! So, upon the immediate arrival of pumpkin season, I decided to take the liberty to start decorating my fall front door right away!
In preparation for this exciting occasion, I took to my favorite social media platform - Pinterest - for some holiday and fall decor inspiration. However, It didn’t take me long to notice that many of the doors and stoops I saw didn’t really resemble mine. Thankfully, my expertise in photography and food styling kicked in and I realized that if I applied the same styling principles from taking photos of food, I should be able to create something eye catching and tailored for my space. Now having gone through the process, I also have come to realize how much easier this made procuring decor items in the proper proportions and quantity as well!
If you are starting to feel festive and have plans to decorate your front porch for the upcoming holiday season, here are some basic styling principles to take into account when creating your perfect fall front porch setup. These simple tips can easily be applied to anything you are working on and when done right, will always result in a super cute and unique holiday setup curated to your taste and style. Happy decorating!
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5 TIPS FOR STYLING YOUR HOLIDAY FRONT DOOR
Layer in the decorations - No matter what I am styling, one principle I always keep top of mind is to layer in items. In the case of my fall front door I started with the two flower pots I bought a few months back and separated them to draw the eye from ‘top right to bottom left’ in the same direction and flow of the staircase. Next I layered in my larger sized pumpkins, staggering the amount on each side to avoid too much symmetry. Following this, I added in my medium sized pumpkins and small hay bales making sure to separate the white pumpkins and use the hay bales in spots that needed elevation like behind a large pumpkin or in front of a flower pot. Next I added in the remaining small and mini pumpkins, making sure to stack a few of the mini ones on top of each other to acheive an additional element of elevation, and staggering the rest to fill in empty pockets. Lastly, I added in my lanterns/lights. In this case I had two kinds - two big lanterns and 3 small tealight lanterns - which I staggered once again in spots that either needed a pop of black or steps that felt a little bare. Layering items like this always helps me to visualize how things are looking every step of the way while also making the result look more natural and less staged.
2. Always buy decor in odd amounts - Aside from the flower pots which I already had, everything else I bought was purchased in odd numbers. 5 large pumpkins, 5 lanterns/t-lights, 5 medium pumpkins in a mix of colours, 5 small orange pumpkins and 13 mini pumpkins in a mix of colours. Doing this automatically helps me avoid to much symmetry and always yields a more natural looking setup. When it comes to photos, the rule of odds states that having an odd number of objects in a photo produces a more appealing composition than an even amount, and clearly this rule works just as well for front doors as it does for food!
3. Add in a little greenery - Greenery is an important element to any festive decor you are styling, and not only adds colour and texture to whatever you’re working on but also adds another vibrant festive element to the overall look. Usually at Christmas when creating a centerpiece I start off with a lot of greenery as a base before adding additional candles and decoration on top. In the case of my front door, the flower pots add a pop of colour and texture while also breaking up the pumpkins. Just make sure you use resilient greenery that thrives in colder weather like purple cabbages, ornamental peppers or chrysanthemums for maximum longevity!
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4. Add some lights for additional night appeal - You didn’t create a beautiful fall front door only for it to disappear out of sight as soon as the sun sets. Adding in some lights to your fall front porch decor will not only give it some life but it can also help visitors notice your new setup while also helping them avoid tripping on a pumpkin. In the case of my front door I used tealights lanterns, but battery operated fairy lights are another great inexpensive alternative that dazzles.
5. Stay away from kitsch… unless that’s the vibe you are going for - The number of times I had to stop myself from picking up Halloween decor while shopping for this project was hilarious. I knew I wanted to decorate my front door with pumpkins but that didn’t mean I wanted to go full on ‘Halloween’. Reminding myself to stay away from anything too kitschy like scarecrows and jack-o-lanterns helped me avoid getting to wrapped up around one festive occasion and instead made achieving a fall front door that works for the entire fall season way easier. If you are like me and want your front door to last all season long, make sure to avoid purchasing any decor that confines you to a timeline.
