DesignsandEvents: A Christmas Side Entry Porch

Hey, all! Happy December 1st! Can you believe it's here?! I can't, even though I have been decorating my home for Christmas for the good part of the month of November but, enough of that! I wanted to share how I have decorated the side entry to my house. We still need to put the outdoor lights up but, I can show you the greenery part of this entrance today.

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As some of you may know from my previous posts the color of my " new" home is a very strange color indeed. It is terracotta with yellow trim. Not my first choice or maybe even my 25th but that is what I have to work with until we save up to have the house repainted. (It will be fun to pick out a new color...some day!) The previous owners "graciously" had the home painted before they put the house on the market but, they chose to repaint it in the same color they had had it painted for many, many years previously, at least that is my understanding.

I wasn't sure what to do about ribbon color for the wreaths given the color of the house. I knew I would be placing wreaths inevitably on the front doors for the holidays. I was at an impasse until I found a wreath on Pinterest that I loved. My artist daughter, Brittany, had told me the complimentary color to the terracotta (orange) was blue. So, once I saw a wreath similar to the one you see below on Pinterest, I decided to go with a similar color scheme. I was afraid the combined colors wouldn't look very Christmassy but, I have to say I kind of love it...for this year at least. I might go more traditional

tartan plaid ribbon next year.

Finding the blue ribbon in velvet was nearly impossible until I happened upon this one at Michael's. The ribbon was in the fall clearance bin. I got it for 70% off and I bought every reel I could find. Unfortunately, there was only one reel in the 1" plus width size, so I had to buy the remaining ribbon in the 3/4 - 7/8" dimension. Alongside that ribbon, I found the satin brown ribbon on Amazon and the beige printed ribbon, I think at JoAnn Fabrics. It was a month-long search mission to be sure :).

I purchased the gold bells at Hobby Lobby for $5 a piece (on sale).

Once I created the wreath, I needed to fill the containers that sit on the step as well.

This urn-type container was one I brought with me from the old house. It has seen better days but, I am still using it :).

Here, I made a similar bow for the container but needed to use the narrower blue ribbon since that was all I had left. Most of the greens came from the yard but I did buy the more specialty greens at the local nursery down the street.

To the right of the door was another container. It is a crockery pot that was left behind by the previous owners. I wonder if the neighbors may be sick of seeing it on the front porch from previous years but, for me it was new, and I liked it. It has a French feel and eventually I would like to move the house in a French Country direction.

I am now realizing that I took this photo ↓ before adding the bows to the containers. Oh dear, well the wreath looks pretty, I think. I guess you can see my designing process this way. Hahaha!

I forgot to mention that I added pinecones and sprigs of other greens to the wreath. The other sprigs do not really show in the picture but up close you can see them.

I think next time I will purchase more greens and be able to add more to the wreaths I make. I like the texture differences in the wreaths from the added varied greens. Doing it yourself is often less expensive than buying a wreath that is sold at the nurseries.