With fall upon us, it's time to start prepping your front porch.  Between Instagram and Pinterest there's no shortage of inspiration these days.  So, to help you sift through the plethora of pumpkin, corn husk, and hay bale decor, I've come up with some do's and don'ts for decorating your front porch.

1. Make it Cozy  There's a line between cozy and too cutesy.  Do use fuzzy and furry pillows and throws to cozy up your front porch seating.  Don't overdo it with too many signs or too much stuff in general.  Think simple and remember the design principle, **grouped arrangements should consist of an odd number of pieces.  Try decorating with a mix of three or five items such as gourds, pumpkins, bundled corn husks, hay bales, signs, planter pots, or flowers.
2. Make it Long-lasting  When you've spent time and money decorating, the last thing you want is for the style to expire in just two weeks.  Do think outside of plain, orange pumpkins.  Ghost pumpkins (the white variety), gourds, and gilded metallic or painted pumpkins will bring sophistication to your front porch scene.  Don't set a Halloween expiration date by only using Jack-o'-Lanterns.  Add gourds and different colored pumpkins so that after Halloween passes you can toss the ghoulish decor without needing to redecorate your entire front porch.
3. Florals in Good Taste  There are a variety of flowers suitable for fall weather.  Do replace summer annuals with mums, asters, pansies, ornamental kale, or purple fountain grass.  Other than felt flowers and wreaths, don't rely on artificial blooms if you want a front porch that looks natural and cozy.
4. A Cohesive Look  Do get creative and display what speaks to you.  Don't limit yourself to a classic fall look or color pallet.  Love the farmhouse trend?  Add baskets, white mums, and galvanized buckets.  Or, go with ornamental kale in clean-line, white planters for a modern look.

Fun fall decor for your home: