Front Porch Refresh: Faux Evergreens, an Extra-Wide Doormat, and a Good Pressure Wash
We’ve been busy with beach house projects and will have a longer update soon, but I wanted to share a quick porch refresh that made a dramatic difference. You can catch a few snapshots on Instagram and Facebook, but here’s everything we changed to make the entry feel welcoming again.
What finally pushed us into action were our yearly First Day of School photos. Comparing this year’s picture to previous years revealed how faded and worn our old front doormat had become. It had declined so gradually that we didn’t notice until we saw it next to older photos. The mat looked tired and the porch felt neglected: dirty doormat, dead plants, discolored brick, and cobwebs.
One of the simplest upgrades was an extra-wide doormat. If your entry has sidelights or a double door, a wider mat helps balance the space visually. Extra-wide mats can be harder to find and tend to cost more than standard sizes, but a 30 x 48″ mat looks proportionate on our porch where a normal-sized mat felt too small and dinky.
The real game changers were the two evergreen trees in the black planters. We’ve struggled to keep real plants alive by the front door for years—plants would scorch in the direct sun and die quickly. Over and over we tried annuals, boxwoods and dwarf spruces, watering alarms, and all the tricks, but nothing thrived. So this time we decided on faux evergreens, and they were exactly what we needed.
These faux 36″ evergreens arrived a little flat in the box, but once fluffed they look convincingly real. The color, scale, and overall look are surprisingly natural. After years of replacing and mourning plants, having something evergreen that will never wilt feels incredibly freeing. I nested the small black nursery pots that each faux tree came in directly into the soil of our larger black planters to add extra realism.
Beyond the mat and the evergreens, the third improvement was simply cleaning. We had the pressure washer out after a deck project, so John gave the front porch brick and the stone aggregate walkway a good cleaning. We hadn’t pressure washed this area since before we moved in over four years ago, so the difference was startling. The brick, steps, and railing all looked fresher and far less dingy after a thorough power washing.
All together, the new faux plants, the extra-wide mat, and the pressure washing brought the porch back to life. It feels balanced and cared-for again—no longer like a place for cobwebs and weary plants. The refreshed look also made it easier to decorate for the season.
For Halloween we added pumpkins the kids picked out and a few playful decor pieces, including a lighthearted chihuahua skeleton we call Skeleburger. We keep a ceramic white rabbit out year-round and mixed in a crow and a feather wreath to lean into the spooky vibe. The seasonal accessories are easy to swap out, and the faux evergreens stay evergreen through it all.
Visitors often ask how our real dog Burger reacts to Skeleburger. He could not be less impressed—his attitude is pure nonchalance. He strolls by, yawns, and sometimes even stretches right in front of the skeleton as if to demonstrate dominance. It’s all very dignified and very dog.
We’ll probably make a few more updates to the portico—thinking chunkier trim around the gable and squared columns—but for now I’ll happily take a porch that looks cared for and inviting. The mat will fade eventually and spiderwebs may return, but the faux evergreens are here to stay.
Psst—want more outdoor updates and projects? Check the outside category in our archives for inspiration.
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