Front Door Decor Ideas | Decor for Front Door

The front door is the first impression of one’s home; as such, it sets the aesthetic tone for the entire home’s interior and exterior design style. Because of the front door’s significance, many people enjoy decorating it to match their current style.

12 Front Door Decor Ideas

Wreaths
Garlands
Wooden Signs
Baskets
Welcome Mats
Paint and Stain
Handles and Pulls
Door Knockers
Mail Slots
Textured Glass
Shutters
Plants

The beauty of front door decor is that it can change with the seasons and trends. This is good news for those who love to decorate and try out new ideas, as the front door allows you to play around with different design schemes. That said, it can sometimes feel like a daunting task to decorate the front door. Thankfully, our design experts have gathered several tips, tricks, and ideas to help you get started.

12 Front Door Decor Ideas

1. Wreaths

While it's common to have a door wreath during the winter holiday season, a wreath isn’t exclusive to Christmas.

Everyday door wreaths are in style, and can bring beauty to your front door no matter the season. You can even change out the wreath throughout the year to represent each holiday. We recommending changing out your door wreath seasonally, which means hanging a summer wreath, spring wreath, fall wreath, and (of course) a winter holiday wreath.

What’s exciting about wreaths is how creative they can be, especially if you decide to make your own. By creating a wreath for each season, you can use fresh materials that represent what’s growing at the time. For a summer wreath, you can use fresh flowers and ferns, while an autumn or winter wreath might use pine cones, holly berries, and cedar greenery. Not only is this a fun and creative door decoration project, but it also connects you to the seasons and natural rhythms of nature.

To create a DIY wreath using only your own materials, we recommend using wild grapevines to create a grapevine wreath. If you don’t have grapevines at your disposal, you can purchase a pre-made wreath frame, which comes in a variety of materials—such as metal or wood. As you can imagine, a wreath made from fresh materials won’t last as long, so if you’re looking for a wreath that can be re-used each year, you’ll want to can use materials like faux flowers or ribbon.

As previously mentioned, wreaths are a creative project, and as such, they be designed in whatever style you desire and don’t necessarily need to match the season. For modern front door decor, you might have a contemporary-style wreath, such as the popular half-moon wreaths with geometric metal designs. You can also have a year-round wreath made entirely of greenery—a timeless style for modern farmhouse homes.

It’s truly amazing what a wreath will add to front doors. They not only add charm, but having a beautiful wreath welcome you home every day sets the tone for a relaxing and comforting atmosphere.

2. Garlands

In addition to a wreath, garlands are a wonderful way to add greenery and festive decor to your front door. While they are most popular around Christmas, this is another front door decor idea that can be implemented all year long.
For example, Halloween front door decor may have a holiday-inspired garland with pumpkins and ghost decoys. For Christmas, the garland can be comprised of evergreens, ornaments, and elaborate red ribbons.

If you want a simple, non-holiday-inspired garland, you can hang a trellis of fairy lights around the front door. Some designs will even incorporate arched wooden branches with fresh greenery or dried autumn foliage. The ideas are endless with front door garlands, making them a wonderful creative project for a front door.

3. Wooden Signs

One popular front door decor idea is to have a painted wooden sign next to the door. This decor idea is more suitable for cottage and farmhouse style homes, as these signs typically have a warm and rustic feel to them. That said, with the right design and color scheme, a wooden sign can match a variety of home styles, including modern and minimalist.

These wooden signs often feature a simple calligraphy message such as “Welcome” or “Hello Sunshine.” They also usually have beautiful painted flowers or other nature-inspired designs around the text.

Many of these wooden signs are available for purchase online. However, if you’re artistically inclined, you can make a DIY wooden sign that matches your unique style. By doing it yourself, you can also include a personalized message or text, such as your family name. All you need for this front porch decor project is a wooden board and paint.

4. Baskets

If you’re looking for unique front door hanging decor ideas, consider a basket. A hanging front door basket incorporates the same elements of a wreath—such as seasonal plants—but without the task of designing or purchasing a wreath for each season. In this way, it’s much easier to change the design and add new touches than it is with a traditional wreath.

With a front door hanging basket, you can add fresh bouquets of flowers for spring front door decor or a bundle of dried grasses, autumn foliage, and fall flowers for fall front door decor. Plus, the basket is stylish in and of itself, lending a warm and rustic feel to the front door.

Hanging front door baskets are specifically designed to hang on doors, as one side of the basket is flat so it can be perfectly placed against the door. You can get creative with the number of baskets as well. If you have double front doors, you can hang a cute little basket from each door. Other design ideas include a trio of hanging baskets—one on top of the other connected via twine or thin rope. With this hanging basket design, you can feature different decor bundles in each basket.

Wooden hanging baskets are a great front door decor option for those looking for something simple, yet rustic and charming to add to their front door.

5. Welcome Mats

Welcome mats play a functional role in the front door design, as they are traditionally used to wipe dirty shoes on before entering the house. They are still used for this purpose, but have evolved to be stylish as well.

If you’re looking for front door decorating ideas to touch up your space, consider the simple addition of a welcome mat that matches your style. Popular designs include one-word phrases, such as, “welcome,” or even humorous statements like, “go away.” Many welcome mats don’t use any phrases, opting to feature art or patterns instead. Others are simply woven rugs made of fibrous materials that add textural beauty to the front door.

One style trend for the front door is to incorporate a layered entry rug combination. With this design scheme, a larger colored or patterned outdoor rug goes underneath the traditional welcome mat. A layered doormat allows you to create a stylish first impression for your home's entryway. It also gives you the opportunity to play around with different styles and colors to create a truly one-of-a-kind design.

6. Paint and Stain

If you feel like you need to give your front door a refresh, sometimes all it needs is a new paint or stain color. Giving your front doors a new paint job can make all the difference. It can transform the entire look of the door, giving you a fresh new design on a small budget.

When it comes to choosing the best front door colors for your house, it’s best to start with understanding your home’s overall exterior and interior design style. Is your place more French, colonial, farmhouse, transitional, modern, or English country?

When it comes to French-inspired decor, pale and baby blue colors are popular, while farmhouse front doors are usually stained to highlight the natural wood tones of the door. Painting the front door a bright color, such as red or yellow, is also coming back into style, especially when the rest of the house is painted in a way that allows the door to pop.

There are so many options you can choose when painting or staining your front door. It’s best to test different color palettes to see which color is most suitable for the design you’re going for.

7. Handles and Pulls

If there’s anything historic architecture has taught us, is that there’s beauty in the details. Every classic design piece features artistic character and intentional style, which is an element you can add to your front door by choosing unique handles and pulls.

From sleek and modern to elaborate and historic, there are a variety of door handles and pulls to choose from for your front door. Some handmade metal handles are nature-inspired, resembling wooden branches, peacocks, or seahorses. Others are minimalist in design, but still possess a sophisticated elegance. Many traditional handles with historic significance are perfect for colonial or traditional style homes.

8. Door Knockers

One historic and expressive front door decor idea is to add a door knocker to your front door. With the invention of doorbells, door knockers fell out of fashion. However, they are making an stunning return with elegant designs.

Door knockers can be as simple as a modern brass ring, or as elaborate as the metal artistry of animals, fruits, and flowers. There are many designs to choose from when deciding on a door knocker for your home.

The benefit of adding a door knocker to your front door is that it makes a statement. It symbolizes a love for art, history, and fashion. Just the simple touch of a door knocker on your front door can make your home feel more luxurious and sophisticated.

9. Mail Slots

Once a normal feature of front doors, mail slots are now becoming a symbol of the past. However, just like the door knocker, they may be making a return. A mail slot adds a touch of style and historical significance to a door, making it a nice decor option for those with colonial or traditional-style homes.

For areas where walk-up postal delivery is available, mail slots are incredibly convenient. There are many benefits to adding a functional mail slot, such as increased security and affordability.

Perhaps the greatest advantage is that the mail ends up right in your home—you don’t have to walk through the rain just to pick up the mail. And for those with mobility issues, a mail slot can make life that much easier.

Whether you want to add a mail slot for historical significance or postal function, this thin, metal decor will add texture and detail to the front door, giving the front door a subtle touch of elegance and style.

10. Textured Glass

If you’re overhauling your entire porch by ordering a new front door, consider adding textured glass to your new door.

Textured glass, also known as obscured glass, patterned glass, or decorative glass, features a textured surface on one or both sides of the glass pane. The glass texture depends on the style and pattern, but for most styles, you can feel the texture when you run your hands over the glass. Some glass styles feature textured glass that is smooth on the surface, but still features a pattern within the glass.

There are two main advantages to textured glass:

Privacy without sacrificing natural light
Style and aesthetic

Textured glass is a great front door decor option if you want windows in your door or if you have transoms and sidelights but want to maintain a certain level of privacy. The texture of the glass distorts or “obscures” the image behind it, and depending on the type of obscured glass you choose, the shapes behind the glass are usually so distorted or blurred that you can’t see the details behind it.

Besides privacy, textured glass has the benefit of style. There are several patterns to choose from, and they can each give your front door windows character. If you really want to stand out, consider adding stained glass to your door glass or sidelights.

If you’re ordering a glass front door through Rustica—whether it’s a single door or double door—you’ll have the ability to customize your exterior door’s glass style. Rustica offers several textured glass options to choose from, so you’ll be sure to find a style that suits your design vision.

11. Shutters

Another remarkable way to make your front door stand out is to add shutters to your door. This unique style complements a variety of exterior design styles, such as Tuscan, English cottage, beach house, modern, and antique.

Shutters are a semi-permanent structure added to your door that can be functional or purely decorative. They highlight the beauty and design of the front door, especially if they are in a contrasting, yet complementary, color to the front door.

With wooden shutters on either side of your front door, you’ll impress guests with your charming front door decor and add significant curb appeal to your property. This simple addition, along with a few plants and a simple wreath, can completely turn a front door design from unexceptional and stodgy to exceptional and inspiring.

12. Plants

One of the best spring and summer front door decor ideas is to add planter boxes or pots to either side of your door and plant a variety of flowers and greenery in them. This simple and inexpensive front door decor idea will add natural beauty to your front door design, while also attracting pollinators such as bees, butterflies, and hummingbirds to your front porch.

Plants and fresh flowers add a touch of vibrancy to the front door design that no other decor option can. This is because they are full of life—it’s no secret that having plants in and around the home can make the space feel more peaceful and vibrant.

Another benefit of placing planters next to the front door is that you can be intentional about the type of plants you have in them. If you want to be greeted by beauty and fragrance every time you come home, you can choose aromatic flowers with bright, showy blooms. Alternatively, you can make the planter a functional piece of the home by planting culinary herbs, such as sage, basil, and oregano.

As you can see, there are many ways to experiment with planter box or pots next to the front door. Most importantly, planting flowers or herbs in pots next to the door is a fun, creative, and inspiring front door decor idea.

How to Hang Decor for Front Door

Hanging decor from the door, whether it be a wooden sign, wreath, or hanging basket, is a great way to decorate your front door. On the other hand, you probably don’t want to put a hole in the door with a nail. Thankfully, you can still hang your lovely wreath or basket without nails. In fact, there are many nail-free door hanger options, including:

Adhesive hooks
Suction hooks
Wreath hooks
Over the Door Hooks
Ribbon or Twine

There are a couple of ways to use a door-safe adhesive hook, which is a metal or plastic hook with an adhesive back that can be pulled off the door when not in use. How you use it depends on what you’re hanging from it.

A small wooden sign or basket should hang just fine directly from the hook, but a wreath probably won't. To solve this, you can apply the adhesive hook upside down to the interior side of your door. Then, using twine or a burlap ribbon, you can loop your chosen material around the hook, drape it over your door, and tie it to the wreath so that your wreath hangs from the twine or ribbon.

Suction hooks, which are secured to the door via suction cups as the name applies, can be used in the same way as adhesive hooks. That said, suction hooks are the preferred hanging method for glass.

Wreath hooks and over-the-door hooks are nice options for large wreaths, as they easily slot over the top of the door and provide a heavy-duty hook for the wreath. The top slot of the hook is thin enough that it doesn’t hinder the door from closing. These hooks come in a variety of sizes, materials, and colors, so you can find one that perfectly matches your style and budget.

Front Door Decor Ideas for A Warm Welcome Home

Some may wonder what the fuss is about when it comes to decorating the front door. It’s that it sets the tone for the entire aesthetic of your home. Perhaps more importantly, though, is that it offers you a warm and beautiful welcome home, which can give you the inspiration and peace you need after a long day away.