Our modern front porch design is a project that I almost thought would never happen. Partly due to budget, partly due to design. Joel and I knew that we didn't want the original look that the house had when we bought it, see the before photos in this post. I talked all about our process of putting together a plan as DIY designers in the post linked above. Once we had an inspiration board, the vision really started to come together and we started work on the renovation immediately. However, it was a struggle to get there!
I KNEW we could find the perfect design for the front porch, I just had no idea what that would look like.
Joel had an idea of the design that he wanted, but I knew that we could go a little more modern than his original idea. Our struggle was balancing where we live with my love of modern desert designs. We can't have a flat roof, we have to have proper draining elements from the amount of rain that we get, so my biggest design challenge was making everything look modern while facing necessary elements that could distract from my modern design ideas. We have finally finished our modern front porch design and I can officially do my reveal!
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Our Front Porch Design Reveal
PAINT COLOR
We chose Benjamin Moore White Dove and we love it. It's a warm white, which I prefer over a cooler white. We knew we wanted cedar beams, so the warmth of the white compliments the natural wood of the cedar for our overall front porch design plan.
FRONT DOOR
Our home originally came with black french doors which everyone loved, but they brought in absolutely zero light and were really scratched up. We went with a private company to design a custom door with two sidelights and we finished it with a natural wood sealer and installed the door ourselves. Sealing wood always takes a while and you have to know what you are doing, especially on a project this expensive. Our door was one of the highest ticketed items we have purchased for our home, but well worth it, and even the mail lady compliments it. The door really is the show piece to bring the entire modern front porch design together.
DIGITAL LOCK
We went with a keyless entry and I am so glad that we did! We still have the handle that we have a key to, but the top deadbolt has been easy for us to use having an electronic entrance. We love it!
DOOR HANDLE
We went with a modern handle to match the nickel look of the electronic lock box. We also use this handle on all of the interior doors of our home, so I bought an exterior handle to use for the front door to match.
WOOD BEAMS
We went with a friend that has a wood shop within the area. We ordered two large cedar beams and installed them ourselves. Joel's brother works in home building, so we had a contractor helping us with this part of the project to support the roof since we had to build the roof and wait for the cedar beams to be ready. We need to clean them because they have been weathered. We wanted to let them weather to see if we would prefer the crisp natural cedar look, or let them have a more natural weathered look. Now that we have let them weather, I'm ready to wash them and restore them back to their natural color because they match our front door perfectly.
LARGE WHITE PLANTER
I bought this planter and have it sitting inside. As I mentioned before, we are on the East Coast, so it limits the type of real plants that I can put in the planter. I need low-light plants since the porch is covered, but a lot of plants have to come inside during the winter months. For now, it's sitting inside empty until I figure out a plan to flow with our front porch design.
CONCRETE
We hired a professional team to install the concrete and we are very happy with it! We designed the look ourselves, drew it up, and gave them our design plans. We had to be our own general contractors since this was a project we did ourselves and hired people directly, meaning we had to keep an eye on measurements and make adjustments to ensure it was being done the way that we envisioned.
ROCK BED
We installed marble rocks around the concrete squares and they have worked out great! They have held up nicely and still look great one year later. This was the closest that I could get to a desert look with how the rain falls and our slight incline with water coming towards the house ever so slightly.
PLANTS
We are still working on plants, but for now, we have four large hardy lavender plants planted directly in front of the concrete squares (not pictured). They are mostly for the summer, but their green holds up nicely even through the winter. I wanted a plant that wouldn't look too dead in the middle of winter.
HOUSE NUMBERS
I bought simple modern house numbers for the aesthetic. Our house is set in the woods, so no one will use them to identify our actual house number!
BLACK LIGHTS
We haven't installed these yet, but my plan is to either put them on the porch, possibly on the beams or use one to replace our current light post situation in the yard. We need a new post and the wood shortage has caused a delay, but we are in no rush.
RECESSED LIGHTING
These LED lights were so easy to install and easy to use! They clip inside the hole which makes them easy to pull out and adjust if needed. They have a switch that allows you to control the warmth of the light. We have ours fairly warm, but not quite the warmest setting.
DOOR BELL
I went with a very simple yet modern doorbell. We have never used the doorbell until now because it's been broken all of these years. We had the wiring setup, so I figured I would keep the doorbell, but replace the button with something simple. It works and matches our door handle! People actually use the doorbell now, but mostly just delivery drivers.
WHAT WE HAVE LEFT TO DO
FRONT PORCH DECOR
I want to add more decor and bring the entire look together. Things such as the planter and anything else that I can find to make it feel modern, welcoming, and designed.
LANDSCAPING
We still have A LOT of landscaping to do. They graded our yard to put the concrete in, but the rest of the yard needs to be graded to match. Our yard overall slopes every so slightly down toward the house because our property is on a slight incline. Once we grade the yard, I want to put in more gravel and make it look as much 'modern desert' as we can get, while still maintaining fresh grass for Thea.
POWER WASHING
This is a consistent necessity, but since Joel owns his own power washing company, it's easy for us to get this done. It's just a matter of setting aside time to do it, especially for the beams.
SHUTTERS
We will probably put shutters on at some point. We are just unsure what type we want to get!
