Picket Fence

• Separate your yard from your neighbors' property or the sidewalk with a quaint white picket fence. A front gate for entry completes the picture. A picket fence is low-maintenance when you substitute synthetic materials for the traditional wood of earlier fences. A picket fence has more appeal with an occasional rosebush planted and trained to grow around the posts. Although not intended as a privacy fence, a picket fence provides a friendly border and works well to surround a cottage home.
  
  

Flowers

• Flowers add charm, and a cottage home shouldn't be without them. A border of tulips or daffodils along the sidewalk is a welcoming sight to visitors. Staggered planting of perennials guarantees your walk border will have blooms throughout the growing season. Potted flowers on porch steps or near the front door finish the path. Window boxes are another way to display flowers and turn boring windows into decorative exterior features. Geraniums do well in window boxes; ivy that hangs gently down the sides of the box set geraniums off beautifully.
  
  

Adirondack Lawn Chairs

• The style of Adirondack lawn chairs has appealed to homeowners for decades. The original chair was designed by Thomas Lee about 1903 for use at his country cottage home. It has remained popular because of its simplistic and rustic appeal. Whether placed in the grass or on the patio or front porch, Adirondack chairs are alluring and inviting. Originally made from wood, the chairs are now available in colored plastic; there is even a rocking chair version. Adding a side table completes a friendly setting for friends or family.
  
  

Painting Ideas

• The ceiling and floor of the cottage porch come alive when painted in complementary colors or the same color. Add shutters to the windows; paint the shutters and house trim in a harmonizing color or in a darker or lighter shade of the porch paint. Blue or red trim are popular choices for a cottage home. If you live near the beach or water, blue is certainly a good color choice to blend with nature. Other well-liked colors are green, red or black. Due to constant traffic on the porch floor, select enamel paint that is recommended specifically for a porch.
  
  

Porch Swing

• You'll enjoy the look of a porch swing as well as the benefits. A porch swing hung by chains from the ceiling is so inviting, you'll find it difficult to resist its appeal on a warm, summer evening. Coordinate plush cushions to match the colors of the cottage exterior. Be ready to entertain friends with relaxing conversation in this charming seating option.