A foyer gives guests their first impression of a home, and when a house has a big front porch, it's important to make it an extension of the home. Interior designer Nan Sloan shows Joan Steffend, host of HGTV's Decorating Cents, how to create a warm and inviting front porch that coordinates with the foyer. The big covered porch on this 10-year-old suburban home gives guests a less-than-great first impression. Quick and inexpensive changes take it from okay to warm and welcoming. The two arches that frame the porch are stained an opaque white to accentuate their graceful curves and provide contrast with the dark-brown house. A handmade porch railing, also bright white for contrast, is installed under one arch. This provides a false wall, effectively extending the foyer and giving more flexibility with furniture arrangement (figure A). The cement floor is painted a warm sage green, which ties in nicely with new yellow-and-green cushions for the wicker furniture. Pieces of salvaged architectural metal, fashioned into unusual plant hangers, continue the garden theme.
Tips for painting cement: - Prepare a cement floor thoroughly before painting. This floor was power-washed 24 hours before painting. When it's dry, seal the painted concrete surface with polyurethane. An additional coat of polyurethane applied yearly keeps painted cement in good condition and protects it from the elements.
- In the entryway a pale-yellow color wash adds sunshine to the walls and ties in with the color of the porch cushions. Color-washing is an easy process: a mixture of one part paint to three parts water is applied to the walls with a cotton rag. This transparent effect gives the look of aged parchment.
- A white crackle-paint finish added to the stairway spindles gives an appealing timeworn look, in keeping with the feeling of the house. A handmade birch-bark table (figure B) moves from the living room into the foyer and is topped by a mirrored window, which reflects the outside of the house into the foyer, bringing porch and foyer together. An antique rug with a flower-and-leaf motif replaces the foyer's braided rug, effectively completing the garden theme.
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Nan Sloan, Interior Designer
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