Monday, January 21, 2008

My Front Porch in Winter

Front Porch
Today I am going to share pictures of my front porch. I wish I had some snow to show you too, but we haven't had our usual January snowflakes yet.

Flowers
Pansies do well during the winter months in Texas, so I planted these burgundy, purple and yellow ones, along with some hanging jasmine.

Hedgie
This picture is especially for my 4 year old nephew. He gave me this sweet hedgehog for Christmas. He has come out to get some afternoon sun and as you can see he has a new friend, although she is a little shy.

Wreath
For a winter wreath I took some berry garland that was leftover over from my Christmas decorations and shaped it into a messy rustic wreath. This will be great for Valentine's Day too!

Grapevine
I have had this grapevine swag above my porch for several years now. I took two grapevine wreaths, stretched them out, hung them from large hooks and then wrapped white Christmas lights all around. It is also the home to a pair of Mourning Doves each spring. Can you see their nest in the upper left corner?

Lights
All lit up at night.

Lights

Thank you for looking at my front porch!

60 comments:

Adrienne said...

Your winter porch is so inviting. I like the idea of taking the grapevine wreaths apart to make a swag. I have a couple taking up space in my garage! ~Adrienne~

Unknown said...

I loved seeing your winter porch. Apart from christmas time, here in Ireland we don't really decorate the outside of our homes. I wish we did - maybe I should try to start the tradition here!

Anonymous said...

I like your kind of winter porch. It's very pretty, especially with the lights.

Brandy said...

Hi,
I came over from Jennifers page. I am new to blogging and I wanted to say that your front porch is beautiful! I love the grapevine wreath! Talk to you soon,
Brandy

Mary said...

What a lovely porch for winter enjoyment and the sunshine looks soooooo nice! I look out at the remains of dirty snow and gloom at the moment here in Indiana, so the pansies look really cheerful and appealing :-)

Desperate Housewife said...

Pansies in January! Right now in New Brunswick it's minus 19, minus 35 with windchill (celsius) and there's 3 or 4 feet of snow on the ground. Oh well, winter doesn't last forever.

Anonymous said...

What a very pretty and inviting entrance. I really like the way that you worked the lights around the grapevine.
-Cookie

Susan P. said...

Your winter porch is charming, Kelli. I especially love how you did the grapevine wreath and lights ~ I never would have thought of that! It adds such a beautiful touch at night!

Anonymous said...

So pretty! I love your swag with lights.

Susan said...

Lovely. We usually have pansies all winter here in Oklahoma but this year the ice storm got the full bed of them that we had :o(
Susan

Jen said...

Love it. I'll go to Michaels this week and look for some of the garland...thanks for the tips....

TJ said...

Wow doves on your porch! They occasionally visit our rooftop, but they spend most of their time at the neighbors home.

The hedgehogs are too cute. I should find one for my daughter to keep in memory of Snowball who was put down this winter due to cancer. hmmm... now I'll have to keep my eyes open.

Thanks for sharing! It's beautiful, and I'd be happy to send some snow your way.

Priscilla said...

I love that you have flowers in winter, your porch look so inviting. I am just starting to plant snowdrop bulbs that will come through maybe feb, I cant wait to get back outdoors. Your lighted garland is so pretty, Its nice to keep a few lights after christmas.....

Priscilla x

Julieann said...

Your front porch is just lovely. I love the little white lights.

Julieann

Dani said...

Your front porch is so inviting, and the lights at night are wonderful.

Are those Hershey kiss lights I saw mixed in?

Blessings from Chestnut Hollow said...

Looks lovely Kelli - compared to where I live in Ontario your place looks like spring! Your pansies are very nice - I am looking forward to spring flowers in a few months!
Karyn

ellen b. said...

Your front porch is great. I love your little hedgehogs!

Bovey Belle said...

How pretty Kelli. Whilst I planted winter-flowring pansies and violas, they have been buffeted by the gales and endless rain and are shadows of their former selves. Yours look so pretty and you have SUNSHINE. I am jealous - here in Wales we have had rain every day so far this year : (

Paula said...

What an inviting front porch! Mine is pretty bare right now; hopefully I'll work on it in the next few weeks if we get some warmer temps. :)

Sandra said...

I love it Kelli, it looks wonderful and the lights are just so welcoming and inviting :)

Hugs,
Sandra

BTW, I'm so glad you enjoyed the Chicken tortilla soup :)

Jolene said...

Hi Kelli, I love your winter porch. I wish I could put pansies out here in NY this time of year. I just love the color. It's so blah here right now other than the snow. I love reading your blog!

Heart 4 My Home said...

You have such a BEAUTIFUL porch. I love your blog. I am so glad I found it.

Betty said...

Hi Kelli,

I enjoyed taking a look at your front porch. You are very creative with some really good ideas.

Kelly @ The Barefoot Mama said...

Your home is gorgeous, Kel!!

Quinne said...

Hi Kelli :) I love the grapevine swag! Grapevines are one of my favorite decorating touches (white lights, too).

Have you ever seen dried honeysuckle wreaths? They are lovely! I found them in a shop in the mountains here and brought three of them home. Love, Q

dot said...

What a cute front porch you have!

Amanda said...

I remember that grapevine!

Here's a website I thought you would enjoy. I really want to make some of these crafts!

http://victorianaquiltdesigns.net/VictorianSewingAccessories.htm

Kari (GrannySkywalker) said...

What a great idea for the grapevine wreaths! Love the view of your porch. It's very welcoming.

Kari

Karla Cook @ Roads to Everywhere said...

Lovely! What a great idea with the grapevine wreaths!

nancy said...

It's beautiful kelli! Do most of your neighbors do winter lights and such? I have wondered about that for people who live in warm climates. Kelli, could you email me the link for the swap site? When I had computer problems I lost it, along with your personal email (which is why I used the sd email address). Thanks, Nancy

Anonymous said...

I wish we could have colour outside at this time of year. Right now the only colour is the red cheeks and noses of the children at school. I love the grapevine.

Gena said...

Your porch looks so homey and cozy. I particularly love the flowers - I need some color at my front door.

nannykim said...

Cool lighting effect. Don't know which I like better--the lights or the hedgehogs--tooo cute.

Come Away With Me said...

Your front porch is very pretty. I love all the brick. Also the garland with the fairy lights. And the welcoming chair, of course.

Anonymous said...

Cute. I am so envious of flowers. It looks so refreshing. Hum Bug, everything is crispy frost bitten in my 17 degree weather.

Anonymous said...

Beautifully presented Kelli, lovely touches.

I'm hoping to get back into loving my home more, after a bout of illness and then very low blood pressure. But my energy is returning.

Blessings. x

Terri said...

MY porch has an inch of snow all over it!! This is so unfair!
Terri

Tori Leslie said...

Pretty!!

Anonymous said...

Your porch looks so pretty, I think I'll go a fix mine up too!

Laurie said...

Your porch looks so pretty ~ I love the little white lights, nice to have some sparkle on gloomy winter nights. Lucky little mourning doves!!

LBP said...

Wow! Your porch looks great. Mine looks a little worn in the winter. Plants do not do well in Va. during the winter. I can't wait until Spring

Anonymous said...

Very pretty...Love the lights.

PattieJ said...

Your porch looks lovely. My porch is covered in tons of snow right now. lol. Love the wreath made from garland.

Pattie

Cris said...

So cozy and inviting Kelli. We don't decorate the outside of our homes as you do, and I can't wait to move to a house to start this here!

Linda said...

Kelli, your entrance is most inviting. I love the grapevine swag you created and with the lights it is awesome. The returning doves make it especially precious. Linda

Unknown said...

Very welcoming and I LOVE your front door!

Robin said...

It is very beautiful - I especially like the grapevine/light idea - very creative and unique!

Lori said...

Your winter porch is beautiful.
Thanks for showing us the pictures.

You can have some of our snow and freezing cold temps. Burrr! I'm getting tired of winter already.

Tammy said...

Love the lighted swag! It's so nice to still have lights in the wintertime after Christmas...so cheery...

Now, come on over and enter my little birthday drawing! :)

A Romantic Porch said...

Your blog is so interesting. I will be back. I'm a new blogger. You'll have to send me a picture of your porch to feature in my blog header!

Kim said...

Oh my goodness, I want to live at your house! Everything is perfect. What talent you have!

Cathy said...

Wow, what a lovely winter front porch! It doesn't even look like winter. And I love the little hedgehogs. I have one too.

Jennifer Hoots said...

It would be so nice to be able to grow anything during the winter months! So lovely!
Jenn

Lena said...

It all looks very pretty Kelli!
Those hedgehogs are charming. My nephew had a pet hedgehog a few years ago, and it was very sweet and quite shy too.

Rose of Sharon said...

It looks beautiful!

~ Sharon

Anita said...

It all look wonderfull Kelli! And of course, you know what I like best!!!!??? Your sweet pansies!!!

Sharon said...

Thanks for sharing your porch, it is wonderful, so welcoming!

Love Bears All Things said...

I was wondering about the vine when I first saw it. I'm glad you cleared that up. We have Jasmine hanging over the front porch, the corner of the house and the garage. I love the way they look when blooming but its nice to see green in winter, too. My pansies looked frozen this morning.
Mama Bear

SARAH MAGES said...

dear humble blogger:

i love your wreath on the porch door.
i love your holiday ideas.
remain blessed.

Anonymous said...

I am from eastern Canada .Live in an old farm house with the whole front of the house is a porch.I am looking for ideas for Christmas decorating.We are having our Thanksgiving weekend.