Porch Decorating On a Budget

This post may contain affiliate links.

Here are a few tips for porch decorating on a budget. This time of year has me wanting to beautify our outdoor living space with all the gorgeous plants and comfy patio furniture I can find, however, we live in the real world and budgets exist! I’m going to share a few ideas on how to stretch your budget and make your porch look inviting at the same time. I want to thank Wagner for sponsoring this post, all ideas and opinions are 100% my own. 

Tips for decorating your porch on a budget

1. Shop the curb, thrift stores and garage sales – Now this seems obvious, but it really is the best way to get a gorgeous patio on a dime. The trick is don’t just look for patio furniture, look for the unexpected like a vintage crib (scored this for $10 at a garage sale). ***EXTRA TIP*** Take a second to check out what my friend did with some of her furniture finds here, if you want to update rattan, she has great tips for you! or a kid’s rocking chair (taken off the neighbor’s curb, for FREE). Ignore the color but look for style and purpose!
2. Use unexpected planters – Again great to look for at thrift stores and yard sales, but look through your cabinets, attic and garage for buckets, pots and basins that can be turned into unexpected planters. Y’all – pots are expensive when bought new at the store! Use your creativity and not only will you save money, but you will have a fun patio. Again – don’t worry about the color, look for shape, size and style. Here I used a rusty old chicken feeder we had in the backyard.
3. Shop clearance in your garden store – I scored some great plants from the clearance section at my local hardware store. Usually those are the almost dead, hanging on by a thread plants and I’m not an expert green thumb by any means, but this time I found some great ones that didn’t even look bad! A little Miracle Grow really does work friend.
4. Buy the boring stuff first – My second tip in the money saving plant department is buy Perennials. I know it’s tempting to fill your pots full of all the seasonal flowers you see in the store, but use those sparingly. If you create great flowers beds and pots with solid perennial (meaning they will live year to year) plants and add in small touches of annual color your budget will go further with the same colorful feel. It is costly to change out tons of flowers that die in a few months, so don’t! Just change out a few select spots and you will spend less, plus mature Perennials add the backbone and structure a good design needs.
5. Make things cohesive – Now that you have a load of unmatched furniture and possibly planters in a rainbow of colors make it all work together! This is the fun part and where your bargain hunting skills really pay off. Pick a great basic color and buy the right paint for outdoor projects! The right paint makes all the difference. I highly suggest investing in a paint sprayer for projects like this, you will use it more than you can imagine. I use the Wagner FLEXiO 5000 for most of my painting projects and I adore it. For our porch makeover I painted the mismatched rocker, crib and chair in a gorgeous shade of black and made it all match in a cohesive manner. You can also paint pots for plants if you gather a wide variety and want to add a calm feel to your porch, making them the same color is a great idea.

These simple tips for porch decorating on a budget will help you pull your disconnected porch decor into shape. If you are new to using a paint sprayer, here are a few good tips to get you started! Fair warning, you will soon be addicted and want to paint all the things…

Tips for Painting Patio Furniture with a Paint Sprayer

1. Good paint helps a bunch! Use the correct paint for lasting results, as in use exterior paint on your patio furniture.
2. With the Wagner FLEXiO sprayers you don’t need to dilute your paint and it works with a wide variety from chalk paint to stain and all the home decor finishes you would want.
3. Practice. Spraying is not hard but different paints and different surface require different settings. You will get a user guide that helps you start off right, but I find I tweak the setting a little for each project I do. You can control the nozzle spray direction, air force and spray amount with the Wagner FLEXiO 5000. If you don’t like the way your paint is spraying then you will want to tweak until you do and then start your project.
4. Spray closer than you think. You will want to move in smooth continuous motion, staying an equal distance from your project surface at all times, but that distance is likely closer than you think…stay 3-4 inches away! If you do this with a traditional spray paint from a can it will glob and run, but not with a sprayer.
5. Wipe the nozzle – you will want to have a project rag to wipe the nozzle with in between spraying to keep any excess or dried paint from disrupting your spray pattern. 
6. Bottoms up – Just a personal choice but I usually paint the bottom of my furniture or project first then flip when dry and finish with the top.
7. I have some other posts about using a sprayer and you can catch more tips, tricks and ideas here: 
   1. Swing Makeover
   2. Cheap Stool Makeover
   3. Painting Wicker
   4. Paint Walls Fast
   5. Cheap Drop leaf Table Makeover