More Room Today, larger porches are better. “I am starting to see a trend toward larger outdoor entertaining porches on the back of homes,” says Bill Holloway, partner and lead designer at Hattiesburg, Mississippi's Lake + Land Studi
who designed our 2023 Southern Living Idea House. I had several clients ask for enormous porches last year so they could host family gatherings or have guests over to watch a game and grill outdoors.
Very Comfortable Seating Think beyond rocking chairs and joggling boards and give your outdoor perches the same comfort and style as indoor ones. The Vine, a gift shop and garden market in St. Simons Island, Georgia, creators Kelly Revels and Bryce Brock say,
“One trend that will never go away for a front porch is a rocking chair, however, really cozy seating has taken its place in some ways: oversized porch swings in beautiful fabrics and full of cozy pillows, lush club chairs and ottomans, and outdoor floor pillows
Better lighting Jacksonville, Florida, designer Andrew Howard advises smart lighting to encourage hospitality and discussion after dark.
Traditional porch lighting either produces enough light for surgery or is absolutely black. In order to improve light quality, the decorator plans to use more wall lighting and dimmable overhead lighting this year.
Lots of Plants Porches are easy transitions between indoors and outdoors, thus they should be filled with greenery. We are still seeing a lot of focus on entering containers,
but with elevated container and planter designs, say Revels and Brock. “Mixing a modern planter with a cottage, for example, can introduce an unexpected look, but it works.” Beyond these conventional front-porch decorations, the duo advises.
Outdoor Fireplaces and Kitchens Consider a porch as more than a creaky wooden structure with room for two rocking chairs. Present and future porches are full-fledged entertaining spaces.
Cocktail Setup It's good to welcome friends and neighbors with lemonade or the house cocktail, so keeping the bar necessities on hand makes the porch more efficient and enjoyable.