Positively Porches

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What comes to mind when you think of the front porch? The place you stole your first kiss? Checkers with Grandpa? Tea parties for dolls? Chats with neighbors? Lemonade, hammocks and catnaps? Star gazing?

As homeowners desire outdoor spaces for relaxing, porches provide a winning solution by combining new style trends with old-fashioned charm. While technology keeps us plugged into life, the porch provides a welcome retreat that allows us to unwind and reconnect with family, friends, neighbors and nature.

"Whether a front porch provides a place for homeowners to reminisce about homes they grew up in or it becomes a quiet place to visit with family, it gives an alternative space at the exterior where they can greet friends and neighbors," notes Anthony J. Stoll, AIA principal architect at BHH Partners Architects in Minnesota and Colorado. "Porches also provide protection from the elements allowing us to take shelter from the sun, wind and rain."

Climate and geography definitely play an important role when designing a porch setting. Careful planning is essential. "During the daytime, open porches allow a greater sense of connection to the outdoors and views. I often create porches that have both screened and unscreened spaces to provide for both experiences," states David Wagner, AIA LEED AP principal of SALA Architects, Inc. in Minneapolis.

With greener building concepts and lower maintenance materials, porches can truly stand the test of time. "Porch surfaces such as concrete, slate, stone, tile or pavers in lieu of wood decking are becoming increasingly more popular," Stoll says. "In addition, many homeowners prefer purchasing stately wood entryway doors. A covered front porch helps protect that investment."

In the popular children's book, "Where the Wild Things Are," Max's bedroom is slowly transformed when bedposts and furniture become trees and bushes in a jungle. "Porches have a similar way of dissolving the materiality between inside and out, and that makes them magical places to inhabit," Wagner adds. "When designing a porch, I look at creating a dialogue between indoors and outdoors. By allowing posts, beams and rafters to be exposed, a porch becomes an inviting and appealing space that imparts a sense of rhythm, pattern and texture."

Today's porches are more than just transitional spaces into our homes. They are welcoming entryways to the places we call home; a place to put up our feet and put down life's cares. They're meeting places, designated curfew destinations, and spaces to display American flags, pumpkins and holiday lights. Porches remind us to reminisce about days gone by and beckon us to enjoy today's moments while we listen to the crickets on a balcony under the stars.