With the heart of the summer season upon us, now is a good time to give your front entry some love. Tidying up planters with fresh flowers and greens is one way to impart inspired decorative flair, but have you considered fashioning colorful ribbons into brimful bows for your front door?
Patti Porter, owner of Rusted Chandelier in Kirkwood, has been passionate about ribbon for more than 30 years. Since opening her shop 13 years ago, she’s been making bows for clients who appreciate the sense of whimsy they can impart for less than $100. “You can get a great look and not have to spend a lot of money and that, to me, is the best combination,” she says.
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Combined with wreaths, styled atop metal orbs, or as part of a wooden door hanger, bows add texture and color to doors, mailboxes, planters, and more. To get the right look for your home, Porter asks clients to bring pictures with them to the shop. We like to ask about a client’s favorite colors, the palette of hues on the existing front porch, and the architectural style of the house, she says.
And, while there’s no formula for making the perfect bow, Porter likes the finished product to look full and lush. Most often, she achieves the desired outcome by working with at least 3 different ribbons, including ones with patterns and solid colors. “There’s just endless selection,” she says. “The more the merrier.” Porter herself is partial to the nubby texture found in faux dupion silk, and velvet is always a popular choice, especially in the winter months. Prints, such as florals, gingham, and stripes, allow clients to express their personality.
The scale of a front door, the presence of sidelights, and the details of a house come into focus when designing for a client. On a Spanish-style home, for instance, Porter might elect to go with solid colored ribbons instead of prints, given the number of details that already exist in these houses, she says. For a sweet bungalow, gingham and stripes are perennial favorites. A traditional, two-story home offers a range of options. “You can go with a lot of different patterns together,” explains Porter. When a house features grandiose doors, the team will suggest investing in large wreaths first, think 36-inch or a four-foot Magnolia wreath, and larger bows that complement the scale.
One thing about bows that makes decorating with them so satisfying is how well the ribbon holds up to the outdoor elements. While some clients like to swap out their bows with the turn of the seasons, others appreciate the continuity of a specific look that can last for two seasons or more.
At the end of the day, however, bows are designed to bring happiness to the homeowner. “People come in [to the store] and they will say, ‘I have a room in my basement full of bows, but I just need a little bit of happiness today.’”
