Real Estate

13 porches that will inspire you to spend your summer lounging

Published: June 1, 2016 Updated: April 19, 2023
A colorful porch
Porches and balconies

This arts and crafts–style front porch is the perfect place for some evening relaxation. It's cheerful and colorful, with a few seating options. We love the red floor and the long wooden ceiling beams.

Porch with wooden beams
Porches and balconies

Columns of untreated wood give this porch a feeling of pure simplicity. The trees beyond don't hurt either!

A rocking chair with overhanging vines
Porches and balconies

Overhanging vines make this porch feel like a secret garden. The old barn in the background is an amazing landmark to look out on.

rain beyond a front porch
Porches and balconies

One of the greatest pleasures of summer is having a covered front porch from which to watch a flash rainstorm. We can practically hear the clatter of a million drops striking the ground.

log cabin front porch
Porches and balconies

Fans of log cabins will also enjoy this log front porch with room to seat all your friends and visitors.

porch with sunken hot tub
Porches and balconies

Not into rocking chairs? How about this amazing sunken hot tub? The surrounding peaceful garden isn't bad either.

small
Porches and balconies

Small and weatherbeaten, this tiny porch still has a touch of magic.

sleeping porch
Porches and balconies

A traditional sleeping porch is a covered space used as an extra bedroom in case of hot nights. You can listen to night sounds and feel the cool air settling around you.

Polished wood porch
Porches and balconies

Wooden front porches can still have a touch of elegance. This is also the rare porch you can go for a walk on.

front porch with various objects
Porches and balconies

Somehow, all the bric-a-brac makes this front porch feel like an extension of the home, or a miniature museum of vintage homemaking.

colourful porch with swing bench and cats
Porches and balconies10

What's a front porch without a cat or two? Or a swing bench? This porch has a bit more of a modern atmosphere with fun, bright colours.

rounded porch
Porches and balconies

This rounded porch also has a lot of intricate wood ornamentation. We're drooling over those giant, embellished windows.

rocking chair on simple porch
Porches and balconies

All the bells and whistles are nice, but ultimately, this is all you need.

A house is more than a collection of rooms. Each space in the home has its own rich mythology, its own symbolism. The kitchen is a domestic space, but also a social one, while the living room is the home of the hearth. Bedrooms are places of retreat and solitude, and bathrooms, well, they’re largely functional. But during the summertime, the spotlight shines on a different part of the home: the front porch. A front porch (or balcony, if you’re an upper-floor dweller) is the soul of the home during the warmer months. Long evenings are spent sitting on rocking chairs, shooting the breeze, and calling out to neighbours across the way.

Beers are consumed there, guitars are strummed. Occasionally, a friend or family member might wander by for a spirited debate, then stay to watch the sun set. But while every porch or balcony has its own magic, some are better suited for whiling away long summer hours than others. This gallery focuses on porches that make us long for drowsy summer evenings on a rocking chair.

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