A porch is a great addition to any home and if you plan to make only one investment in your home this year, you should make it a new porch. It can be a place to entertain guests or just spend peaceful evenings with your family.
There are also numerous options in terms of aesthetic and materials you could try. This gives you a chance to adapt the porch to the rest of your home, as well as try something new and bold if you think; your home needs such an addition.
Step-by-Step Porch Planning
A seating area
The centerpiece of a porch is its seating area. This is the largest item on your porch and it’s the one you’ll spend the most time on. That’s why you should make sure that the seating is comfortable, first and foremost.
Within this, you have a variety of options when it comes to design and form. Many decide to add a swing seat to their porch, since its’ an attractive feature and it can be easily taken off when you need to or want to make a change. Have in mind that these swings require you to have a roof over the porch if you want to keep them safe.
Floors
Choosing the right floors is essential for designing a patio. It’s the largest area of the porch and it sets the tone for the entire place. It’s also a matter of comfort and safety, since you want the porch to be safe to walk on even when the weather is bad and the floors are slippery.
Many decide to go with hardwood, but that presents a problem when it comes to maintenance. Instead, try using decorative concrete instead. It’s easy to install and you get to match the design with that of your furniture.
Wood and plants
A patio should look and feel as if it’s more a part of the backyard than the home it’s attached to. This is easy to accomplish with an open structure, similar to a pergola and with the right use of decorations and materials.
Try to go all wood when it comes to materials for the pergola, floors and the furniture itself. Deciding to decorate with nothing but plants presents a set of problems on its own, mostly in terms of how much work you’ll have to do to maintain the porch, but it also means your porch will be fresh with every new season.
Texture
It’s not enough to mix shapes and materials. Adding a variety in texture is also a great way to make your patio more interesting and warm. There are those who are against carpets on porches, but if you choose a small and decorative one, made with the right material, it will blend right in.
It’s also fine to rally on wood more than you would on other materials, but then you make sure that different grain and bean sizes create a sense of contrast.
Modular
In the end, a porch design really isn’t something that should be set in stone. It’s a small area and it usually contains only light furniture. You should plan for and prepare at least a couple of different layouts and take it easy on yourself when you decide to move it and change things up.
That way you can accommodate more guests when you need to and you can have at least 2 or 3 design ideas on the back burner for the next season.
A porch should be designed more as part of the yard then of your home. It’s a place for entertaining guests and having fun and the design should reflect that.
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