Install Shutters Outside
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When the sun’s intense or the wind whips, louvers let you control the amount of light and air you allow in. Traditional, exterior wood shutters like these start at about $194 per pair; ArchitecturalDepot.com.
RELATED: How to Install Interior Shutters, How to Install Exterior Shutters
Potted Plants
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Potted plants ease the transition between a porch and its surroundings. Here, plants by the sofa and on tables lend verdant ambience, and a columnar evergreen adds height. For areas with indirect sunlight, we like the hosta Shadowland, about $20; White Flower Farm, and slender Hinoki false cypress, about $43; Monrovia.
Use Outdoor Rugs
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An easy-clean outdoor carpet softens the floor and defines the seating area.
Similar to shown: Safavieh Hand-Woven Indoor/Outdoor Reversible Multicolor 6-by-6-foot Braided Rug, about $95; Overstock. Thanks to P. Allen Smith Garden Associates, Little Rock, AK.
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