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Front porch styles


50 Front Porch Ideas to Elevate Your Home’s Curb Appeal

For a house that needs a refresh, implementing front porch ideas is a smart way to add curb appeal without spending like crazy. Still, designing a front porch is not a task to take lightly. If home is where the heart is, then the front porch is where the soul resides. Each front porch is not only unique to your house, but it’s unique to your style. “This is a place where you can express yourself and your creativity,” says Jennifer Hunter, owner of Jennifer Hunter Design in New York. “No matter the type, a porch provides the ideal opportunity to add seating and decor so you can play with the aesthetic and blend it in a way that connects your interior with the outdoors by using weather-friendly materials.” Before you dive into designing, consider the type of porch you have. Is it front entry or wrap around? Does it offer space for ample seating? Should you add greenery or a sculptural element, or even a new doormat?

What are the different types of front porches? 

Some of the most popular styles of front porches include open porches and bungalow porches. Open porches, also known as farmer’s porches, have strong support from the ground and can run along the front or wrap around the sides of the house. This type of porch can be elevated or rest close to the ground. “They often have a broad opening to the attached green space and usually don’t have roofs,” says Linda Mauck Smith, co-owner and designer of BLDC Design in Shaker Heights, Ohio. “A bungalow porch acts as an extension to the front of a house and typically is built with columns and are finished with a roof or a pergola.” Both open and bungalow porches can also be screened, to make the area bug-free. A portico, a porch that covers a front entry, is usually on the smaller side. It’s also roofed to protect anyone entering or leaving the main entry. A gable roof porch, which has a triangular structure overhanging it, and a front entry porch, which is a small slab of concrete directly outside the front door, are two other popular front porch designs.

How do you style a front patio? 

Style a front porch just as you would any other room in the house, but consider the materials used—much like you would when designing an outdoor patio. ”It’s best to style with wood, metals, and fabrics that are waterproof and fade-resistant,” Mauck Smith says.

If your front porch or patio has enough room, seating is essential. “A front porch is the perfect place for socializing,” Hunter says. “It is a space that is meant to be savored. Create a seating area with chairs and side tables.” A comfortable seating area will not only allow you to spend time on your front porch, but it makes the home appear more inviting overall.

How can I make my front porch look good?

“Avoid clichéd signage and stick with [items] that you might normally be more likely to use indoors,” Hunter says. To make the front porch look good, and perhaps the envy of the neighborhood, make the space a continuation of your interior design. “It’s a great space to have some fun and add outdoor-friendly accessories,” Hunter continues. “Be inventive with your styling by grouping a collection of potted plants on a coffee table or a single fern on a garden stool.   Lanterns or hurricanes are a great way to not only bring in decorative elements but also candlelight. This completely transforms the mood and allows you to entertain past daylight.”

Ahead, 50 front porch ideas—big and small—to transform the home entrance into anything from a favorite new book nook to a happy hour hotspot. Here, everything you ever wanted to know about front porch design.

60 Warm and Welcoming Front Porch Ideas

By

Kristin Hohenadel

Kristin Hohenadel

Kristin Hohenadel is an interior design expert who has covered architecture, interiors, and decor trends for publications including the New York Times, Interior Design, Lonny, and the American and international editions of Elle Decor. She resides in Paris, France, and has traveled to over 30 countries, giving her a global perspective on home design.

Learn more about The Spruce's Editorial Process

Updated on 07/14/22

The Spruce / Christopher Lee Foto 

Your front porch is your home's best chance to make a good first impression. No matter how big or small it might be, whether it is showy or unassuming, and regardless of the style of architecture, your front porch deserves as much attention to design and decor as your interior space.

A front porch can function as nothing more than a pass-through space or double as a second outdoor living room. It can create a convenient landing space for comings and goings, or simply sit there looking pretty, inviting passersby to wonder what else you have going on inside.

Whether you are looking to enhance your home's curb appeal, create a welcoming portal for both you and your guests, or make life a little more pleasant for all of those hard-working delivery people who visit your doorstep every day, check out these front porches in a range of layouts and sizes that don't skimp on style for some clever ideas on how to beautify your own outdoor space.

76 photos and 15 design styles

Only a few people can develop an original porch design, but everyone can borrow a suitable idea from our website. In this review, we have prepared 76 photographs for you, with design options for the threshold of all architectural styles popular in the 21st century and gave a clear description for each of them. So: read, watch, adopt!

ContentsShow

Porch in Fachwerk style

Let's deviate from the classical canons and start our debriefing from the most interesting architectural direction Fachwerk. Having originated in the middle of the 15th century in Germany, it very quickly gained popularity in the countries of Western and Northern Europe, and in the 21st century it gained many adherents in the post-Soviet space.

The main feature of the style is the load-bearing elements of the frame, which are displayed here in a natural texture. Racks, beams, slanted ... if you look closely at the porch built according to German canons, you will notice all these details in the design of the canopy. And there will definitely be a wild stone, or at least a reliable imitation of it. nine0003

Porch in the Scandinavian style


Read also

from which you can build a beautiful porch for a wooden house


No less popular in the world and Scandinavian motifs. This applies to both interior and architecture. The focus here is:

  1. Simplicity.
  2. Practical.
  3. And some reference to historical traditions.

If we consider the design of the entrance to the house, then the northerners will use in their projects the maximum amount of wood, straight balusters without intricate patterns and light colors. And as a decor, you will only see antique-made lanterns. nine0003

In general, a Scandinavian-style porch of a private house fits into the spectrum of the cheapest solutions, although the end result is sure to appeal to most home-loving readers.

High-tech porch



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than to finish the porch-a full overview of materials in photographs

9000 9000

Move further. And next in line we have ultra-modern high-tech with its love for cubism and artificial materials. Concrete, steel, glass, aluminium, plastic and polycarbonate are the products that accompany every beautiful high-tech porch. nine0003

You can also highlight the fact that extensions are not welcome in Hi-Tech. The entrance area here, although distinguished by the architecture of the house, is, in fact, located under the same roof and on a common foundation. This architecture is too complex to be pieced together.

Wings in the style of chalet


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terrace, architecture and landscape design



2 and again dive from fire into water, as it is difficult to invent a more unlike high-tech building. than Chalet. Massive pine beams, rough stone, wide slopes covered with snow. By the way, at 99 cases out of a hundred, built according to the canons of French shepherds, the hut will have a canopy with a gable roof.

You should also take into account the fact that the modern Chalet has long outgrown the scale of a small mountain hut. Now these are almost always large cottages with the same rather big entrance outbuildings.

Art Nouveau porch



Read also

Wrought iron porch for a private house - a luxury or craft available to everyone? nine0055


For those who do not know how to decorate the porch so that it has more smooth transitions and asymmetrical curly lines, we advise you to take a closer look at the Art Nouveau style, or as it is also called Art Nouveau. It is based on plant motifs, and therefore the elements of the porch built according to its laws, as it were, flow into one another, creating the effect of continuity.

This can manifest itself in the form of a canopy, a pattern of steps or even a peculiar pattern of railings. And the belonging to the style emphasizes stained glass. And if the architect failed to show it in the glazing, then he can easily use multi-colored polycarbonate when planning a transparent visor. nine0003

Victorian porch



See also

Who needs a terrace to their house?


Victorian style is one of the Neo-Gothic trends, which, due to its individual characteristics, has managed to stand out in historical and modern architecture. The heyday of 1837-1901, but in search of original ideas, exterior masters turn to this direction even today. Moreover, there is something to borrow. nine0003

  1. Complicated roof structure.
  2. Abundance of decor.
  3. A variety of textures and colors.
  4. Thin carved columns.

Despite the fact that Victorian houses are somewhat reminiscent of castles, there is not a drop of pomposity in them. After all, the main building material here is not stone, but wood. However, judge for yourself.

Castle style porch



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A rooftop terrace is a luxury accessible to everyone


But where kitsch is really present, it is in the Castle style. It is also called Disney, because such beautiful palaces as the adherents of this direction like to portray today have never existed. Still, clinker bricks and shingles have more artistic potential than granite cobblestones and ceramic "buns". And modern artistic forging is not as gloomy as the products of medieval blacksmiths. nine0003

The porch, the photo of which we will present in the following examples, only confirms the fabulousness or even the cartoonish nature of the castles.

Porch in the Wright -style



Read also

Warm entrance to the house: Closed type


We are already accustomed to hear about the expansion of European culture to other continents and to North America countries in the countries of North America particular. But some trends come to us from the Atlantic. Wright's architectural style is among them. nine0003

A distinctive feature of the latter is its horizontal orientation, which is emphasized by a low hipped or, as in the case of a porch, semi-hipped roof.

Due to this feature, the visor here will rarely be small. And most likely, and vice versa, it will cover a rather spacious terrace near the threshold. It is also appropriate to have panoramic glazing of the entrance group and the presence of simple stone columns there.

Oriental Porch




By this designation we mean Japanese or Chinese architecture. Both provide a circular terrace around the house, which acts as a porch. And the material for it is stone and wood, but not steel. It is hard to even imagine a photo of a modern Japanese courtyard, the house of which would be decorated with decorative forging.

It should be understood that here we are dealing with closed cultures that accept everything new with extreme caution and at the same time tremblingly preserve their traditions. If you don’t like the announced rules, don’t be sophisticated, choose a simpler look for your porch. nine0003

Russian-style porch





If Mother Rus' is famous for anything, it is for its cabinetmakers, and therefore traditional Russian canopies are distinguished by their wood carvings. But notice, not all. If we mean the tower, then yes, and slatted balusters decorated with curlicues, and patterned wind boards, and even the racks there and they will be cut with patterns.

And if it's a classic village hut, then don't expect sophistication. The porch in it, most likely, will be made of roughly processed logs, like the building itself. nine0003

Porch in the Post-Soviet style





The lack of building materials, small plots of land and the complete decline of the institution of private construction led to the emergence of the so-called Post-Soviet architectural style. If we consider it on the example of a porch, we can easily highlight two main points.

  1. Modest dimensions dictated by the available space.
  2. And the minimum amount of decor.

The artistic component in the days of the leaders of the proletariat was completely sacrificed for the sake of functionality. The porch was primarily to protect its owners from the weather, perhaps shelter a couple of sacks of potatoes, and the rest, as it were. Our examples will confirm this better than any words.

Porch in the Loft style


Loft is one of the most sensational interior styles of our time, but meanwhile it is rarely found in architecture, to put it mildly. The secret is in style. After all, a loft is essentially an abandoned, and then settled enterprise. And to have a house in the yard in the form of a factory workshop is not a very tempting prospect. nine0003

And yet, if such an idea came to your mind, then remember that the Loft porch will also have manufactured components:

  • it can be a simple steel canopy;
  • welded metal ladder;
  • or a copy of the factory pass.

There are also situations when the "attic" threshold will not have any canopy at all. Just a concrete platform and sliding doors, minimally protected by an overhang.

Provence porch





Provincial Provence can be considered the opposite of the brutal Loft. In housing construction, this is careless already peeling masonry, artificially aged surfaces, and the predominance of calm beige tones. The role of architectural decor is minimized, and color is created thanks to many small exterior details and vibrant colors.

Organic style porch





Popular at the moment in Finland, and therefore, perhaps, it will soon be in trend in the north of Russia. A special direction of architecture, the task of which is not only to fit the building into the surrounding landscape as harmoniously as possible, but also to create the effect of space continuity. The essence is difficult to describe in words, but it is easily captured when viewing thematic photographs. nine0003

But before we introduce them, I would like to add that when considering such houses, you will never find simple solutions. Each building, each of its elements is unique and absolutely unconventional.

Eco-style porch





If the organic style adapts to the existing landscape in spirit. That eco-style completely mimics the environment. Its adherents have an insanely difficult task, to create an environmentally friendly, autonomous home that would be part of nature. nine0003

And here again, no one will look closely at the porch, or attach a standard, forged canopy over the front door, because in most cases the lawn has yet to be arranged on it.





This is the picture. Of course, this short list cannot contain the entire spectrum of architectural styles known to science.

But this is not required, because not all historical experiments are relevant in the 21st century, and even more so, not all of them are applicable in private construction. Therefore, go ahead, study, put into practice and let the power of the building level and roulette come with you. nine0003

Wrought iron porch for a private house - photo, styles

The porch is an important element of the facade of any house, which, in addition to the main function, carries a great aesthetic load. Among the many options for execution, forged entrance groups are considered the most optimal solution. Original products are created from metal, which have high reliability and durability.

Design features

The street entrance group is a combination of forged elements and decorative details. The porch consists of a staircase, railings and a canopy, made in the same style. It can be supplemented with columns, benches, flowerpots. nine0003

Most often, cold forging is used to manufacture porch elements. In this case, metal processing is carried out without preheating by deformation using special devices and machines.

Benefits


A wrought iron porch for a private house will not be cheap, but the demand for such products does not fall, but only increases. Such interest of owners of private houses is due to the fact that forged entrance groups allow you to get a number of advantages: nine0003

  • Forging harmoniously combines with various architectural styles and materials.
  • The product has artistic value and looks original, even if it is made according to a standard project from standard parts.
  • Metal is a durable and reliable material that, after applying an anti-corrosion coating, can serve for decades without maintenance.

Design guidelines

When choosing a porch design, the main task is to correctly combine it with the architectural ensemble. This simple rule should not be neglected, otherwise the input group will look like a foreign element. nine0003

For the manufacture of stairs, metal is not necessarily used - it can be in harmony with the plinth and be made of the same material. However, a steel staircase with a bizarre configuration will decorate the house.


Handrails are subject to more stringent requirements, as they not only visually unite the entire structure, but also are a safety element. When designing this part, the anatomical features of a person and the angle of inclination of the stairs are taken into account. nine0003

The density of decorative elements on the railing should not impede visual perception. If some brutality of the exterior is not provided for by the project, then the exterior should not be “weighted down”. Air forged elements, consisting of thin metal rods, which are located at large intervals, make it possible to lighten the facade. At the same time, neither the strength nor the reliability of the product is reduced.

If the height of the stairs is small and it consists of one or two steps, then there may not be a railing at all. However, columns or poles are necessarily provided that will connect the visor and steps. nine0003

Other elements that also carry a decorative and functional load can be added to the main elements of a wrought iron porch. Lanterns, benches, flowerpots must be made in the same style and must have a design similar to the entrance group.

Basic styles of wrought iron entrances


There are no restrictions on the choice of style for the design of a wrought-iron porch. Both classic and modern solutions look equally good. nine0003

The classical style involves the use in the design of such elements as monograms, curls, balusters. The railings are devoid of sharp corners - rounded parts are used instead.

Art Nouveau style is an abundance of plant elements. The filling of the railing can be a combination of leaves, vines and various berries.


Modern versions of the porches are represented by geometric ornaments, in which straight lines and sharp corners predominate. When choosing a color scheme, they are guided by the shade of the facade finish. nine0003

Visor

The frame of the canopy consists of forged parts on which the roofing material is placed. A metal canopy should be discarded, as it will make annoying sounds during rain.

Learn more