Decorating a Covered Back Porch With a Lighthouse Theme

Hoist Your Sail

• Start this decorating project as you would any other, with a list of what you need to purchase, install or create. Take stock of what you already have on the back porch and what can be augmented to comply with your new decorating theme. Take advantage of this project by replacing older exterior fixtures with new models that both reflect the lighthouse theme and are energy-efficient. Swap old pendants with caged metal lighthouse-style pendants or wall lanterns. Replace any flush mount fixtures with new flush mount fixtures that match the lighthouse-style. A slipcover covers a sturdy couch and a fresh coat of paint breathes new life into a tired end table.

Get Your Sea Legs

• Introduce the lighthouse theme with your flooring choices. If you can, create a bold design with wide diagonal stripes of firehouse red and crisp white paint. If painting the floor is impossible, lay down a red-and-white striped area rug that is specifically made for indoor and outdoor use. Use your curtain fabric to reinforce your theme, but remember to complement the house's exterior window and wall colors. Use a neutral color reminiscent of the sea, such as a light sandy tan or dark pebble gray, for the curtain colors. Install floor-to-ceiling window treatments that can be pulled shut to provide privacy. Tiebacks, made of anchor rope, echo the theme.

Anchors Away

• Outfit your back porch with furnishings that provide comfort and utility. Use materials that are weather-resistant and easy to care for, such as wicker, plastic, and metal. For smaller back porches, create an area that you can use for relaxing, talking and dining by nestling stackable plastic chairs around an oval or round table. For larger back porches, create a separate sitting and relaxing area with two chairs and an end table as well as a separate dining and game playing area with metal chairs surrounding a rectangular dining table. Use chairs in shades of red and white and provide additional color with dark navy blue tablecloths.

Whatever Floats Your Boat

• Complete the back porch with seaworthy accessories. A mixture of solid white throw pillows and pillows bedecked with pictures of anchors, shells and seahorses offer whimsy to the wicker chairs, while lantern votive holders lend a subtle touch of light to tabletops and porch railings. Adorn the walls with beach-related items such as antique boat oars, a reproduction ship's wheel or anchor made of lightweight materials, and decorate an empty shelf with a conch shell or piece of driftwood. Equip yourself for a chilly night and drape a Tiffany blue quilt over the back of the chair, and, if you have access to a pool or lake, keep wet clothes and towels off the floor by placing a wicker clothes hamper in an empty corner. Complete the look by displaying found, or bought, seashells in a glass vase in the center of a table.