How to: Create a pretty holiday porch

Walking down a snowy street of lovely homes, each front porch beautifully bedecked for the holidays, must surely be one of winter’s best domestic pleasures. What could be more inviting than approaching a pretty holiday porch on Christmas day? Impress your neighbours and guests using this how-to guide.

1 How to clean up your porch
Cleaning your porch will make planning and decorating that much easier. Dirty glass surfaces won’t allow decorations and lights to really shine, so clean windows and glass doors inside and out. Shovel or sweep the porch and stairs, and give the railing a brush off and wipe down.

2 How to gather supplies
House the items you’ll need to securely attach your porch trimmings in a small box or basket so you’re not running in and out of the house. Scissors, garden pruners and snippers, florist wire or twist ties, and fishing wire or sewing thread are the basics you need.

3 How to decide on a colour scheme.
One of the secrets of a pretty front porch is a cohesive colour theme. Keep things sophisticated if you’re going with the trad Yuletide colours of red, green and white by using only two of those hues in your lighting and trimming choices. Or take some cues from the Style at Home gift wrap story “All Dressed Up” (December 2009) and opt for hot new holiday colour combos such as lime and pink, fuschia and turquoise, or red and soft blue.