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We have a couch, a few chairs, and a bookshelf on our enclosed front porch. The couch is because it didn't make the turn through our front door so that's as far as it ever made it . I sit out there and read when the weather is comfortable. Our cat LOVES the enclosed front porch. The dog lays out there sometimes too.
I'm a big fan of full-length front porches. It increases your relaxation space, and porches foster community-building by getting to know your neighbors when they walk by and stop to chat.
For my money, front porches are preferable to back decks, where the homeowner disappears and you never see or get to know the household. Sad.
I could sit all day on my front porch, and I doubt I’d have any one to chat with. Walkers would probably say”hi” and keep moving.
When we have talked to neighbors is when we’ve been working outside. Sometines a neighbor will come over and talk.
I like sitting on my back porch because of all the planting I have done in the last 6 years. It is very pleasant and private. And it is mere steps from my living area or kitchen to the back door.
I could sit all day on my front porch, and I doubt I’d have any one to chat with. Walkers would probably say ”hi” and keep moving.
When we have talked to neighbors is when we’ve been working outside. Sometimes a neighbor will come over and talk.
I like sitting on my back porch because of all the planting I have done in the last 6 years. It is very pleasant and private. And it is mere steps from my living area or kitchen to the back door.
I think this is the more common occurrence than what a lot of you have postulated. People walk by (or jog, God we have a lot of ambitious people) and will wave but not stop. In my/our case is that our front porch is very hard to see into, as I described earlier, so people will go by and not realize we're even out on it.
Now, working in the yard or washing a vehicle is a whole different matter. I can't count the number of times a 45 minutes car wash has turned into 2 hours because of people stopping and talking. My one next door neighbor is especially guilty. He always starts the conversation with, "When you're done you can wash mine". No Al, I can't.
Bingo. Where I live it’s typically considered trashy if someone sits on the front porch a lot. The ones you see on the front porch aren’t the ones with the nicer furniture, they usually have old plastic chairs or something. What’s even trashier is the ones who barbecue in the front yard.
Interesting.
It was considered normal to sit on the front porch where I grew up and it was very common to see cook outs in the front yard.
We had a porch swing in our NY village on the front porch. People said “hi” as they walked by or waved while driving by. I liked to read books and just listen to the neighborhood sounds out there and swing back and forth. There was little car or foot traffic. We used the grill and relaxed out of sight in the backyard, two different activities.
In FL there is no front porch, but old habits die hard. We recently had a pool put in and when landscaping the yard, we put a flagstone area with a bench in front of our live oak in the front yard. I sit there when the grandkids are using a horse-shaped tire swing on the tree or to rest when doing yard work. People wave or say “hi” walking by. More are driving by than walking in the summer heat here. I relax out of sight in the lanai by the pool in the backyard, stretched out on the couch reading. I can be social or not, I have a choice now.
I loved my old house and love this house, but I’ve always loved being outside more than inside. Porches, patios and lanais are the best part of any house for me.
Bingo. Where I live it’s typically considered trashy if someone sits on the front porch a lot. The ones you see on the front porch aren’t the ones with the nicer furniture, they usually have old plastic chairs or something. What’s even trashier is the ones who barbecue in the front yard.
How about sitting in an inflatable swimming pool in the front yard?
A few pieces of decorative furniture on our front porch that matches the trim on our house. Comfortable furniture is on the back deck, where we all hang out.
We enjoy sitting on the back deck because our backyard is fenced in and our dogs can hang out with us. We also built a large cat enclosure in the back so our cats can safely enjoy being outside.
How about sitting in an inflatable swimming pool in the front yard?
On a hot day like today, that sounds appealing!
It's interesting how developers still design houses with front porches (even though sometimes they're optical illusions and are barely wide enough to fit a chair). I think it must appeal to something primal in buyers. We have a desire to BELIEVE we might someday sit out there, even if we never do.
It's interesting how developers still design houses with front porches (even though sometimes they're optical illusions and are barely wide enough to fit a chair). I think it must appeal to something primal in buyers. We have a desire to BELIEVE we might someday sit out there, even if we never do.
Certain architectural styles almost demand a front porch.
We looked at a craftsman style 4 square a number of years ago that had something "missing". Plain front with door, concrete landing with a couple steps and a little roof over the door. Same with a door on the side.
Someone else bought it and installed the "missing" element. That element was a wraparound porch.
It's interesting how developers still design houses with front porches (even though sometimes they're optical illusions and are barely wide enough to fit a chair). I think it must appeal to something primal in buyers. We have a desire to BELIEVE we might someday sit out there, even if we never do.
You nailed it right there. It's meant to appeal to America's collective nostalgia for our Norman Rockwell-esque past. Which is when people of all classes actually sat out on porches. What gets overlooked is that they did it out of need, rather than out of friendliness/recreation. Home air-conditioning didn't exist back then, and some semblance of an outdoor wind was better than the stuffy house.
It's interesting that porches are common mainly in climates with humid summers, where wind provides a cooling effect. I rarely see porches in arid regions (Arizona, Utah, etc.), where wind makes the summer heat feel worse. Which nullifies the necessity of sitting there in the first place.
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. I sit out there and read when the weather is comfortable. Our cat LOVES the enclosed front porch. The dog lays out there sometimes too.
