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It's a lost art. Even when people DO sit and "enjoy nature," they're usually staring at their phones!
No point in doing that out here for this is truly the land of "T-maybe".
A, B, and C and probably a whole lot more. A: Cell phone reception out here sucks and if it sucks for that, how do you think it would work for a data plan, which I don't have anyhow. B: I immensely enjoy the lack of technology out here, like being (as the TV show Skippy told us) in the 60's or 70's Outback. C: Cowgirls, rural softball girls, I marvel at that kind of simple life where night fun might mean going out and looking at the stars.
So many of the time, when I come home to the ranch, I don't budge until I HAVE to leave.
Ha, I didn't hear about the guy upsetting people for standing on his porch.
It was more common to see people out on porches before air conditioning became standard. It was a cool place to spend the evening. Cable TV and video games drove more people inside. Porch overhangs also served to shade the main part of the house keeping it cooler. Back yards functioned as work spaces for gardens, chickens, garages, workshops, that sort of thing so people didn't want to hang out there in the evening. We have an older home with both lower and upper verandas and we use them almost daily for about 8 months of the year so, yes, they are furnished. I don't see many using theirs as much as we do.
Porches I see on most newer builds are more like small, decorative accents, functioning only as a stoop.
Porches were common on older wood sided houses in the South, then sometime in the early 1950’s they pretty much disappeared when the ‘ranch’ style house became popular. Actually, I’d say when slabs became common is when they disappeared, and coincidentally this is also when air conditioning became mainstream. I didn’t really start to see big porches on new houses again until around the late 1980’s.
^^^ I've lived in a few places with a nice porch and spent time on them. I may have been the only person in the neighborhood doing that, but it didn't deter me. When I had only a stoop, I sat on the step. I love to be outside during the warm season.
My current house has a front porch running the length of it (about 45 ft) and coming out about 8 ft. The prior owners added it in 2009.
I've lived here for four years, never used the porch, and can't wait to get rid of it, hopefully next month.
The former owners kept furniture and planters on it but this is a suburb where 1/2 acre is considered an oversized lot. What would I do, sit there and watch cars drive by? Meh. Just does not appeal to me. If I'm going to sit and relax I want it to be in the privacy of my backyard, not open to view.
Leaves blow underneath right through the silly lattice skirting which also allows mice, chipmunks, voles and the occasional rat to go in and out at their leisure. Ugh.
The roof (full length) is staying and will be supported by new columns. Instead of the wood porch there will be a new brick-faced 8x8 masonry landing (like a giant stoop, I guess) in front of the door, with steps in front of that. No place for leaves or critters to get underneath but still large enough to put something decorative on each side of the door if I want to.
Although to be honest, having grown up in a neighborhood where it wasn't uncommon for decorative things placed in front yards to mysteriously grow legs and walk away, I never put anything in the front that I would be upset if I had to replace. Old habits die hard. Sometimes I see all the pretty stuff people put on their front porches and wonder how they can be so casual (naiive?) about it. Not everybody is honest, and stuff is stolen in "nice" neighborhoods too. Probably more often, come to think about it.
My current house has a front porch running the length of it (about 45 ft) and coming out about 8 ft. The prior owners added it in 2009.
I've lived here for four years, never used the porch, and can't wait to get rid of it, hopefully next month.
The former owners kept furniture and planters on it but this is a suburb where 1/2 acre is considered an oversized lot. What would I do, sit there and watch cars drive by? Meh. Just does not appeal to me. If I'm going to sit and relax I want it to be in the privacy of my backyard, not open to view.
Leaves blow underneath right through the silly lattice skirting which also allows mice, chipmunks, voles and the occasional rat to go in and out at their leisure. Ugh.
The roof (full length) is staying and will be supported by new columns. Instead of the wood porch there will be a new brick-faced 8x8 masonry landing (like a giant stoop, I guess) in front of the door, with steps in front of that. No place for leaves or critters to get underneath but still large enough to put something decorative on each side of the door if I want to.
Although to be honest, having grown up in a neighborhood where it wasn't uncommon for decorative things placed in front yards to mysteriously grow legs and walk away, I never put anything in the front that I would be upset if I had to replace. Old habits die hard. Sometimes I see all the pretty stuff people put on their front porches and wonder how they can be so casual (naiive?) about it. Not everybody is honest, and stuff is stolen in "nice" neighborhoods too. Probably more often, come to think about it.
I had a couple of Adirondack chairs, a small table, and a porch swing at one place. I loved to wave and say hello to the dog walkers and watch the children on bikes and scooters. Once in a while a neighbor and I would briefly chat about something. I was rarely out there for very long, but I loved being there as the daylight faded.
Being from the South I've always lived in a house with a front porch and we always used them. I remember the metal glider on my Grandparent's Goldsboro, NC house. We shelled peas and snapped beans early in the morning or late in the evening. I loved resting on my front porch after gardening and greeting my kids when they got off the school bus.
We frequently had a tri-level cat house for our outdoor kitties and we lined it with carpet scraps.
Our home now is in a new 55+ neighborhood and I feel sorry for those without a front porch. We have one big enough for good comfortable seating for visiting neighbors. I have my morning tea there after a dawn walk and we also have room for potted plants which need shade. I cannot imagine a home without a good porch.
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