Deck Garden

• A beach porch is the perfect setting for integrating natural finishes. Use furniture with wood, bamboo, wicker or other natural materials. Set a rattan outdoor mat under an awning for a sandy hue. Fill glass jars and bottles with bright sea glass, small shells and river stones and create a beach tableaux with driftwood, bright coral and sand dollars. Use vintage buckets, pitchers and vases as well as repurposed containers for planting wildflowers, sea grass, native species and, in a sunny corner, an arrangement of cacti.
  
  

Sleeping Porch

• Nothing captures the romance of a beach cottage more than a sleeping porch. In colder climate these areas are glassed in and used as sun rooms. If yours is screened in you can use it as a shady place to nap on a hot afternoon. Set a comfortable bed with a vintage wrought iron frame in a sheltered spot on the porch. Paint the frame an antique white or a brilliant periwinkle blue. Add a ceiling fan and some earthenware pots holding climbing vines for an oasis of breezy tranquility.
  
  

Tropical Color

• Give a beach porch a jolt of color and spice with tropical decor. Keep wooden surfaces a rustic, beach-weathered gray and add brightly painted buckets of flowers for visual pop. String party lights or Chinese paper lanterns above for contrasting colors and patterns, add Tiki torches for light in the evening hours. Use white wicker furniture with flowered cushions for Hawaiian style or lime green and orange accents for a more contemporary look. Dress up a bistro table with bamboo place mats and set the table with cocktail glasses outfitted with paper umbrellas and charms. You can add more Tiki style with masks, totems and coconut cups or dedicate a corner of the porch to a Tiki-style bar.