Nothing Like the Charm of Country Porches

Within the varying styles of porches, the ones brought to mind most often are the serene country porches. The porches with easy, comfortable furniture like rockers or porch swings – sipping lemonade and talking with the neighbor on a hot and hazy afternoon.

Country porches are reminiscent of a days gone by, and have survived as a popular design due to their simplicity of design and functionality. Also known as a farmhouse porch, many a country porch boasts a wrap-around style on one or two sides of the house and usually spans the front of the house completely. There is usually a lack of fancy or overly ornate trim, although some do have railings and balusters as well.

They make great places to entertain as they keep your guests out of the sun and there is plenty of room to move about. Country porches are often furnished with rocking chairs or porch swings, but you will often see wicker furniture, rugs, country curtains, tables and chairs and other beautiful furnishings and decorations gracing many porches as well.

A country porch has become a place to really relax and spend time with family and friends and can be more of an extra room for the summer. For this reason, the relaxing feel can make this type of porch a bit of a challenge to create. There are designs to choose from like real wood, composite wood, open-wall or screened in, box porches, elegant wraparound porches or just the most simple of designs. This kind of porch can take on many looks but the main idea is for it to be lived in and used.

The feel that you want to go for with a country porch is that of a mini vacation. When you are there it should feel like a place you want to be to have some fun. It needs shade, space to move around in and enough seats for guests to join you. As a refuge from the sun and a comfortable place to forget your troubles, it should provide a space to just be you.

If you are considering adding a country porch to your home then there are a few things you might want to think about. For example, privacy is not really possible with a country porch as it is in front of or on the sides of the house. It is very likely that spending time on the porch will cause interactions with those that may pass by. If this does not sound good to you, then a back porch may be a better idea.

Also take into consideration which direction your house is facing. Think about how much sunlight your country porch might get if your house faces east or west. Houses that face north or south will have more sunlight for their country porches, but may lose out on a sunrise or sunset. Of course, you can always go with a wrap-around porch and make sure all of your bases are covered.