Some people are fortunate enough to have a porch as
part of their home. The porch provides shelter around the
front door and can be used as a living space in summer.
It should be a wonderful place to welcome you home from a
long day in the world and invite your guests to join
you.
How it looks tells the world a lot about your home. It
sends a message about how you live.
When you look at this area objectively, what do you
see? Start with the structure itself: Is the paint fresh
or peeling? If you have screens, are they clean and in
good repair? Does the porch light sparkle in the sun and
glow with artificial light or is it filled with cobwebs?
Maybe it has a bulb that doesn't suit the design of the
fixture but was put there on impulse and you have never
gotten around to buying a better one.
What else do you see? Are kids' sneakers in a heap or
are they neatly in a row under a bench? Are outdoor toys
strewn about? Have the potted plants been watered
lately?
Does it give the impression of a warm and well-kept
home? If not, let's make this important area send the
message you really want to communicate.
First, the structure should be in good condition. If
you are going to do repairs, it is also a good time to
change the front door hardware, exterior lights, house
numbers and mailbox. These things are the "jewelry" of
the house and should sparkle and flatter the building,
much like a pair of earrings should flatter your
face.
Be sure to choose fixtures that are consistent with
your house's architectural style. An Arts and Crafts
period light fixture would look out of place on a Queen
Anne Victorian home.
Second, consider decorating the area with furniture
and plants if you intend to use it as a room outside the
house. It can be a place to have informal dinners, to sit
and enjoy conversations with friends, or a place to relax
and read a book.
A porch swing would make this the most sought-after
part of the house in summer. Think about all the romantic
images a porch swing conjures: sharing an intimate moment
with a friend or child, having a cooling glass of
lemonade or iced tea while you contemplate the world.
Porch swings are re-emerging in popularity with the
renewed desire to enjoy time at home. They're easy to
find online, and there's one for every budget.
With a woven wood whitewashed screen for privacy,
comfortable seating and enough potted plants to make the
porch feel like an extension of the garden, this space
conveys a warm welcome.
To create an area for conversation, be sure to include
chairs; nothing conjures up gracious living like a couple
of rocking chairs. Put a small table between them so
there's a place to set that glass of lemonade. If you
have room for a dining table and chairs, even better, as
lunch or dinner outside is a truly memorable
experience.
Fabrics that are durable enough to reside outdoors
have been transformed from the predictable white, green
or blue "duck" cloth into fabulous colors and patterns
thanks to new textile technologies. Use this opportunity
to do something original with seat cushions and throw
pillows.
Now add the finishing touches with plants. Lots of
pots of plants. Layer the sizes from large to small.
Choose pots styles that complement the rest of the decor
and select plants that will do well in the shade.
Nature gives us color so go for it with a cornucopia
of flowers. In addition to flowers, mix in perennial
plants that can grow over time, like ferns and ficus
trees. Remember that they will need to survive the cooler
winters so choose plants that are hardy shade plants.
Include a decorative watering can as a functional
accessory.
The finishing touch is the welcome mat at the front
door that says it all: "Welcome to our home."
MY OWN MEMORIES OF THE SUMMER
PORCH
I grew up in a city made of concrete canyons and
glass, not a tree to be seen unless I made an expedition
to the park, always accompanied by a grown-up.
Eventually, my parents attained a level of affluence
that allowed for a summer beach cottage on an island
within an hour's drive of the city and then a half-hour
ferry ride. As a child in that summer house, I discovered
that there's a heaven on earth, and it was named the
porch.
It wrapped around two sides of the house. It was
completely screened in, providing protection from the
ubiquitous mosquitoes whose bites left welts the size of
pingpong balls. Outside the front of the house, under the
screens, were window boxes planted with shocking pink
petunias. It was our only attempt at gardening. The
front, where grass should have been cultivated and
regularly mowed, had weeds that grew 5 feet tall. Nailed
to the pine tree at a casual angle was a sign that read
"Experimental Lawn," my father's excuse for leaving the
garden unattended and his weekends free for leisurely
pursuits. The house became known for this humorous
message, much to the dismay of our neighbors, who had
pristine gardens.
The walkway to the house was a straight line to the
porch, and the noise of a screen door banging shut
reminds me of summer to this day.
CAREFREE FURNITURE
The furniture on the porch didn't have much to say for
itself in a decor sense, but was representative of
carefree summer days. Centered under the living room
windows on the porch side was the glider, a sofa hung
from a metal stand by four chains. It had green cushions
that set the tone for the porch. To the left of the
screen door was the dining table and its four metal
chairs that bounced ever so slightly. The table was
covered with a shiny yellow oil cloth to make cleanup
easy, and the chairs had cushions that matched the
sofa.
There were four wooden rocking chairs of varying
styles near the glider, and each made its own particular
sound when it rocked, depending on who sat in it.
At the front door, instead of a standard-issue
doorbell, hung a ship's bell with a rope dangling from
the clapper. This was my city-born father's attempt at
being an island resident. Neighbors always knew when we
had guests.
The floor of the porch was painted gray, and every
year part of the getting-ready-for-summer ritual included
repainting it. My job was to sweep out all the
accumulated sand. That too is a sound of summer I love,
though I didn't relish the chore itself.
Because we were city people at heart, we didn't have
anything in the way of potted plants on this porch. They
wouldn't have survived anyway, so in keeping with our
experimental-lawn approach to horticulture, we skipped
this decorative element altogether.
People were always visiting our house. The island was
well known for its community of artists and writers,
actors and television producers, and the occasional
doctor and lawyer. But mostly it was people from the arts
who came and went at our house, sometimes living there,
sometimes just dropping by for an unstructured, "Anyone
home?" kind of evening.
Many chapters of well-known books and television shows
were written at that dining table. The staccato clicking
of the typewriter as someone wrote out their thoughts,
ideas and stories became another sound of summer I
remember.
TRUE AMERICAN IDYLL
When everyone was at the beach and the house was
quiet, I would lie on the glider and read. If I swung one
leg in a particular direction, the glider would drift
back and forth, rocking me gently. The warm air would
wrap me in summer, and the occasional breeze would cool
me back down.
Evenings included long dinners as crickets serenaded
us, and afterward people sat around telling stories that
had everyone laughing so hard they were crying.
Television comedy skits were perfected in front of this
impromptu audience, and adults let their inner child
play. It was a time of laughter, gaiety and
creativity.
On that porch I learned the true meaning of leisure
time and how to fill it without feeling pressured to do
something. I learned how to feel the rhythm of good
conversation and that there's an ebb and flow to the
exchange of ideas. Laughter was easy, and friendships
that would last a lifetime were forged.
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