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Home improvement: Southern-style porch makes comeback

One of my fondest childhood memories is of sleeping outdoors on a screened-in porch at the home of some distant relatives who lived in the country.

Not only was it great fun for a kid to “camp out” on the back porch overnight, but I remember the home didn’t have any air conditioning and the “sleeping porch,” as the relatives called it, was the coolest spot in the house.

You don’t see too many “sleeping porches” anymore. You don’t find too many homes without air conditioning, for that matter.

But the porch — the front porch, the back porch, the screened-in porch and the sunroom porch — is making a comeback.

As a trained architect and a born-and-bred Southerner, I have to admit my enormous fondness for the big Southern front porch.

If you don’t have one, you’ll never regret adding a porch onto the front of your house. I like back porches, too, but most homeowners I know would rather have a big patio/outdoor kitchen back there for cooking, entertaining and privacy.

But just for sitting, there’s no better place than a covered front porch.

If you already have one, you might consider sprucing it up a bit so you and your family will get more use out of it.

Here are seven ideas for your new or remodeled front porch:

• Make your porch big enough for lots of furniture. The porch is sort of a social filter; it’s a perch where you can sit and watch the neighborhood in the evenings and wave your hellos to passersby without being so close you have to engage in conversations with them. So fill it chairs and benches: a rocking chair or two, some high-backed wicker chairs and a porch swing extended from the ceiling with a chain.

• Build a barrier between the porch and the yard. That adds an extra layer of “protection” between you and the street — and the public. It might be a railing low enough so it doesn’t obstruct your view; a row of bushes; or even a frontyard garden. You’ll still be able to see everyone and they’ll be able to see you, but that little something extra says, “Look and wave, but don’t approach.”

Another way to make your porch a little more private is to elevate it so it’s a couple of feet above ground so you sit higher than street level.

• You’ll definitely need a roof over the porch. The roof keeps the rain and sun off of you, and it also makes the porch look like just another room of the house. If you’re adding a porch on, choose a roof style that either matches or complements the roof of the main house so it looks like the porch “came” with the home.

• Likewise, if you’re building a new porch onto an old house, match the styles. An extreme example: A Tudor-style porch won’t fit on a Georgian-style house; the two looks won’t go together.

• If you’re building a porch floor or replacing an old one, consider traditional concrete — with a modern twist: a stamped-on design and mixed-in color. Other choices are ceramic tile and brick pavers. A note: The mortar in between tile or pavers is porous and will discolor with age. Sealing it will help the material keep its color, and power-washing once or twice a year will help clean off the dirt. Composite wood, like the kind you’d use on a backyard deck, is also a good choice for a porch floor.

The most traditional old Louisiana color for porch floors is medium gray, but darker colors are gaining some traction because they hide the dirt so much better. Dark stain — rather than paint — on wooden porch floors look great.

• Check your old porch for rot. Wood doesn’t last forever in our wet, hot climate, so don’t be surprised if you find some rot at the base of columns, under the floor and even on the roof. It’s not unusual to learn a third of the wood on the porch is rotten and needs replacing. A tip: Don’t paint over rotten wood to hide the damage. The paint will peel right off. Address the issue before your porch falls down.

• Finally, hire some help when you’re building or renovating your porch. You need a building permit from the city, which means an inspection. You’ll want someone to do the work who knows how to secure the structure of the porch and the roof.

Jeb Breithaupt is a third-generation remodeler who has been president of JEB Design/Build in Shreveport since 1983