• An enclosed porch gives you a way to enjoy the sunshine in all seasons. With large windows to let in the beauty of nature while keeping out the elements, it can serve as a sunroom for your home. People will enjoy visiting, dining, reading, having tea or just relaxing in this warm and welcoming space. Cottage-style decorating, with its relaxed, comfortable style, will make this space especially cozy and inviting.
  
  

Add Color and Style

• Add color and life to your porch by choosing bright, cheerful patterns for furniture, rugs, pillows, and other elements. For a porch in the English cottage style, choose a mixture of patterns, such as flowered prints and checks or stripes. For a romantic-style porch, focus on light pink and red floral patterns. For French country cottage style, select rich, bold colors. See Cottage Home Decorating, below, for examples of these styles and more. Choose your favorite style before beginning to decorate, or develop a clear idea of how you'll mix different styles.
  
  

Use Antique Furniture

• Choose antique furnishings for a quaint and comfortable feel. A rocking chair is an excellent choice for bringing old-fashioned charm to your porch. Choose light-colored woods or white-painted furniture for a bright, cheerful look. You might also paint wooden furniture with embellishments in the tole style of decorative painting, which uses simple brushstrokes to create decorative trim or pictures.
  
  

Bring in the Outdoors

• Create a transition zone between outdoors and indoors in your enclosed porch. Work in elements from the outdoors, like a birdbath, moss-covered garden decorations and lots of plants, as "Better Homes and Gardens" suggests. An eclectic selection of these outdoor elements fits cottage-style decor perfectly, adding whimsical charm to the space. Wicker furniture also adds a touch of the outdoors, providing an alternative to antiques.
  
  

Choose Interesting Accents

• Make the space your own by choosing accents that tell a story. Shadowboxes let you display many smaller knickknacks, making a great addition to a cottage-style home, as Cottage Home Decorating says. A favorite teapot used to hold flowers also adds a personal touch, and color--fill it so it's bursting with blooms. These traditionally indoor accents also add to the blend of indoor/outdoor style.
  
  

Add Flowers

• Likewise, place flowers in vases or other containers, like big coffee mugs, and set them on tables, windowsills, and shelves. Tole-style hand-painted tins also make great vases for a cozy cottage porch. Plant flowers and shrubs around the outside of the porch as well, to give it a sheltered feeling and add beautiful scenery.