How to Decorate a Porch Screen

A big, screened-in porch can be a great place to entertain or to relax after a long, hard day. Sometimes an expansive screen porch can seem a little plain. Using hooks or pins can damage your screen, making it sag over time and creating larger holes for insects to come through. You can dress up your porch screen using craft materials or plants.

Things You'll Need

• Magnets
• Hot glue gun
• Embellishments
• Silk leaves or flowers
• Grapevine leaves
• Creeping vine plants

Instructions

Using Magnets

1. Purchase some magnets, such as the kind you put on your refrigerator. Pick any designs you like. Also purchase some plain round or square magnets from a craft store.

2. Get a friend to help you. One of you must stand on the outside of the porch, and the other on the inside of the porch. Hold the decorative magnet up to where you want it to be. Have your friend hold up the other magnet, on the other side of the screen, up against the decorative magnet. The two magnets will attract each other and hold the decoration in place.

3. Create your own decorative magnets by using craft embellishments and plain magnets. You can hot glue any lightweight decorations, such as plastic or wood embellishments, silk flowers and leaves. Hang them with a friend the same way you would hang the refrigerator magnets.

4. Make lengths of silk leafy garland to hang by hot gluing magnets every 12 to 18 inches on the garland. Hang it in place with a friend starting at one end, allowing the vine to hang in scallops as you work your way across the screen. Your friend should be on the other side of the screen with the same amount of plain magnets as you have glued to the vine.

5. Hang a grapevine wreath decorated with silk flowers in the center of a screen. Grapevine wreaths are light enough to be held up by magnets. Glue several magnets to the back of the wreath. Hold it in place as your friend attaches it with plain magnets on the opposite side.

Clinging Vines

1. Give your porch screen more of a cottage style feel by planting creeping vine plants at the base outside of the screen. Choose lightweight vines such as ivy or sweet pea so that your screen will be able to support it. Avoid any heavy, woody vines, such as wisteria or jasmine, unless you have a trellis or sturdy rails to support them.

2. Transplant the vine plants directly into the ground at the base of the porch. If you prefer, you can plant them in pots stationed at the base of the porch.

3. Arrange the vines to lay against the porch screen. As they grow, tendrils will begin to cling to the screen.

4. Cut back the vines when they become too bushy or if they are blocking your view.

References

• Porch Vines