Come tour our summer farmhouse front porch and learn how to make an adorable – and fully customizable – DIY doormat. Antique furniture, rocking chairs, and porch swings are wonderfully nostalgic, and they can truly complete a farmhouse front porch.
We’ve been working on the front porch for what seems like the whole summer. It started when we added new front porch steps, then we painted the concrete with a special, non-slip paint, and we most recently added some matching corbels.
Now that all the heavy labor is done, it’s time to decorate – which is really the best part. It is when everything comes together – all the visions I had running through my mind come to life.
It’s the little things, like a rug placed just right, the pillows fluffed, and old antiques added to give a space warmth. Yes, even on a front porch.
This project was so fun because I added some custom details, like handmade pillows and a DIY cricut doormat. While the front porch is still not totally done, since we are planning all new landscaping and sidewalks, it is in a place that I find pretty nearly complete. No longer is it a hot mess, and it just looks so beautiful and put together.
To finish off the space, I added a lot of flowers. Some were planted in large crocks, and some were picked from our cut flower garden and placed in a white enamel pitcher. Even though we still have two good months left of summer, our local nursery had all their plants 50% off. So, I snuck in a few more and placed them in pots.
I love adding fresh plants. They add so much warmth and dimension to a space. Place them on tables, or even chairs, for a bit of whimsy.
Now that the main part is done, I’m so happy at how it turned out. It feels so inviting and comfortable. And the “welcome to the farmhouse” doormat really adds that gracious feeling when someone comes to the house. That and the bellowing animals in the distance.
Tips For Creating A Doormat:
- Use freezer paper and a heat press to make it stick better. Cut it out on freezer paper, place it on the mat shiny side down, and then use the cricut heat press on 300 degrees to make it stay in place. Press each part of the stencil for about 30 seconds.
- Use a thicker font, so it is easier to fill in.
- An outdoor acrylic paint or Flex Seal rubber spray paint will work best for high traffic, outdoor areas. I wouldn’t recommend the regular spray paint, like we used, because it didn’t fill the letters in enough.
- A stiff brush to blot the letters on and not go underneath the stencil is helpful. It may need 2 or 3 coats of paint.
- Finish off with outdoor mod podge or Flex Seal clear spray to make it more weather/stain resistant.
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Tools you may need:
Door mat
Paint – outdoor acrylic paint or Flex Seal rubber spray paint
Stiff brush
Freezer paper
How To Make A DIY Doormat With A Cricut
Download the cut file to create your own “Welcome To The Farmhouse” mat, or create your own design.
Print onto freezer paper. You could also use vinyl.
Remove all of the cut out lettering and place on the doormat where you would like the font to go.
If using freezer paper, press down using cricut heat press on 300 degrees to make it stay in place. Press each part of the stencil for about 30 seconds. Originally, I used vinyl that was sticky on one side but it still didn’t stick enough, so we pinned down the design with sewing pins.
Using a sturdy brush, dip the brush into paint, tap off any excess, and then tap onto the design.
We also tried spray paint which, honestly, wasn’t dark enough. So, after removing the stencil, I used a paint brush and painted over the design to make it darker.
Allow to dry completely, then finish off the welcome mat with flex seal clear spray or outdoor mod podge to help make it more durable with all the traffic going in and out of the house.
Allow to cure completely according to the manufacturer’s directions, and then position to your heart’s content.
Gorgeous! Where did you get your porch swing?
We built it!
Good morning Lisa,
To say I love your home is an understatement. The time, care and the love that you and your family have put into it is evident in all of your pictures and your writing. Thank you for sharing your life and home.
I was wondering if you could share the exact sage green color and brand of paint please. Thank you ahead of time. Have a very blessed day.
Thank you so much! The door is Sherwin Williams Clary Sage.
Living in a three bedroom homw with a large family is not impossible. My friend was one of eight children. As the Lord would have it, four were girls, four boys. Each ot their two bedrooms had two sets of bunks. Under the bottom bunk, each child had a storage box for treasures. Each child had two dresser drawers for underwear and socks. Closet space was limited, so they each had so many “outfits” and that was determined by space. Your house is far bigger than the one she grew up in, and she never felt “oppressed” by the limited bedroom space, as they didn’t spend a lot of time in it. Mostly it was for sleeping. Although you have lovely beds, it may be there are choices that make more sense and that you can use your ingenuity on to make them look old and like antiques, all the while working with the space you have and keeping you and your husband upstairs. It may be the parent bedroom is the smallest, which would also help. Just some ideas from an older gal who has lived well within the parameters of what she has been given by the Lord.
I love the rustic chest of drawers on the porch. Makes the porch feel like another room of the house, and it is purposeful.
When you mentioned your bedrooms had vertical space, not horizontal/floor space, I immediately thought of a bed idea. Years ago at my husband’s family’s cottage, one bedroom had a set of Jenny Lind spool bed bunkbeds. They were lovely. Probably from the forties, maybe older, but they could be separated as singles, or used as bunks. Although bunkbeds are not on your decorating radar, you are a practical woman, and finding some Jenny Lind bunks may be a problem solver on space. And, they would blend well with your style. Just thought I would share this. Not sure how available Jenny Lind spool beds are in your area, but might be something to explore, especially for your younger two boys.
This is so cute!! I can see make several and giving as gifts!
Very sweet!
I love the doormat and how you’re making your house a home!