Faux Fall Flower Arch + Fall Front Porch

As I was thinking about what I wanted to do with my front porch this year, I kept coming back to the feeling that I didn’t just want to load my porch with mums and pumpkins and call it good. My front porch has plain white posts against a white house. Now don’t get me wrong, I’ve done some really amazing projects on it that I’m so incredibly proud of, but it isn’t fully where I’d like it to be. All the character is in the front door and with the brick I installed last year with Old Mill thin bricks. *You can read about the brick front porch install here and the faux wood door DIY here.* But to just load that space with flowers and pumpkins would still leave every stitch of that white post on white house bare and bland. That’s why I decided to add whimsy and fun with a slew of clearance (we don’t need to spend a ton here!) fall stems that would climb the posts of my front porch to add such interest and dimension and a lot of fun. Here’s how it turned out and my best advice to replicate this look for your home this season, too.

We have two gorgeous willow trees in our backyard that were the perfect branches to cut and to be the base of this project. They have those drapey, curved branches and even some great small green leaves that I left at the top for a dose of added color. If you don’t have a willow nearby to snag a branch, taking a little walk on a local trail will have you finding a great dead branch lying around that you can take home with you. You just have to be brave enough to be the person walking a trail dragging a branch behind you… 🙂

I zip tied these to the post in multiple spots to ensure nothing would fall with any heavy winds or storms.

Then, it was time then to hit up all my local stores to purchase fall stems in my favorite oranges, reds, deep purples and blues. I first went to the Dollar Tree as they have been including more and more stems into their stores that end up being really beautiful. From there, I stopped in at Michaels and Hobby Lobby to get their 50% off sale on all fall stems, and I brought home three $6 leaf garlands from Hobby Lobby that were seriously marked down. All in, I spent roughly $50 on fall stems and I bought A TON. These aren’t the ones that you style on your kitchen island or in a beautiful vase on your entryway table. These are the stems that have beautiful color but maybe aren’t the most “expensive-looking.” Fullness doesn’t matter here. It’s more about just building off one another to create something with interest. I’ll link several of the pieces that I purchased below, but this is also the time to make this exactly what you want it to be and to use up the old fall stems that you may have stuck in a plastic bin somewhere!

19″ Berry Bush

17.5″ Basic Aspen Leaves Bush

29″ Orange Tea Leaves Stem

19.5″ Basic Blue Mum Bush

37″ Orange & Green Maple Leaves Stem

17″ Mum Water Resistant Bush

I started to wrap the branch with the garlands first. Starting with oranges at the bottom and ending with the deep red garland at the top. I zip tied these multiple spots up the branch to be sure they stayed where I liked them.

From there, I began with my largest stems first and stuck them in the branches and garland going up the post and zip tying as I went. Then I followed up with the faux flowers, incorporating some white, orange, red, and finally deep blues.

This is a hate it until you love it type project. And I promise, you will eventually love it!

To finish off the space, I added an adorable black and white rug I found at Aldi for $6 (!!!!), a few pumpkins, and pots that I created based on the colors of my arches.

In my large blue pots (these are from my local nursery, but similar ones are linked here!), I added a combination of Croton, Celosia, Alternanthera, Gerber Daisy, Ornamental Peppers and Cabbage. In my smaller, terracotta pots, I put in orange and deep red mums, and finished off the space with a terracotta pot with Alternanthera and Celosia.

One day I’m going to come back to this space and add interest to my posts and my small front porch ceiling, but for now, I’ll decorate it all the way up and love it all the same!

If you recreate this look, be sure to share a photo and tag me @growingupkemper. I always loves to see your incredible creativity and your beautiful take on my projects.

And if you don’t follow me yet on socials, let’s be friends @growingupkemper on Instagram, YouTube shorts, and TikTok. And be sure to sign up to receive my weekly newsletter packed with a little inspiration, storytelling, and a lot of smiles.

1