

You can buy curtain rods and porch curtains ready-made, or make your own just be sure they are the proper length and made from outdoor-grade materials. Outdoor curtains have become a big trend in recent years, adding instant coziness and a subtle sense of enclosure without completely shutting you off from neighbours. Leave the frilly floral patterns for the back deck don’t forget your front porch has to fit into the landscape of the street, just like the rest of your front elevation.” “You’re better off going for more low-key fabrics and patterns, such as stripes or solids. “In style, remember less is more,” observes Eshun. “There’s nothing more frustrating for your visitors than having to strain to see which house is yours.”Ĭreate a comfortable seating area with furniture that complements your home’s style, a low table for a cool drink, and an area rug of sisal, cotton or other outdoor-grade material. “It’s a good idea to go for larger numbers that are well lit and can be easily seen from the street,” says Eshun. Use the home’s overall style as inspiration for the new lighting, whether Arts & Crafts-inspired, Victorian or contemporary. If the lighting is grim, replacing the porch light with something more attractive is a relatively simple job for an electrician. Incidentally, modern, insulated or efficiently weatherstripped doors don’t really require storm doors if you prefer not to remove yours, consider replacing it with a single glass-panel door instead of the ugly aluminum type. While you’re at it, consider updating the door hardware. Red or yellow doors are cheerful and make the door easier for visitors to spot black, green or eggplant are all elegant alternatives. You don’t have to stay neutral if you don’t want to, though it’s a good idea to pick a tone that complements the rest of the house. “Even if you don’t do anything else, it’s amazing what a difference just deep-cleaning makes,” says Eshun.Īnother low-effort, high-return job is to paint the front door. (Consider new textured concrete or flagstone, or adding anti-skid strips to wooden steps, to increase safety.) Or just spend a Saturday morning scrubbing the front door, windows, windowsills and floor.
VICTORIAN SUN LIT FRONT PORCH STEPS PICTURES CRACKED
Fix cracked or broken steps before they get worse, or someone trips. Repair or replace broken boards and railings, fix leaning brick columns, and spruce up the trim and floor with a new coat of paint. “First, you’ve got to make sure the basics are in order,” she advises.

Besides, inner-city houses built close together are dark enough inside, without the added shade that a porch casts. And why not? Porches, then as now, are the highest-maintenance element of most home exteriors: wooden floorboards and railings rot, brick foundations and pilings sag, and they need regular repainting.

More than a few renovators began altering them, enclosing them to increase interior (or storage) space, or simply tearing them off. By the 1960s, the city front porch was increasingly overlooked as a recreational space – generally used for little more than storing bicycles or keeping the rain off your head while you dug for your keys. Colonizing the outer fringes of the city allowed for bigger and wider properties, generally accessed by automobile rather than TTC, and the idea of sitting on the porch as a social activity waned with a big front lawn and even bigger backyard, the centre of family life gradually shifted to the back. Article contentĪfter the Second World War came a different kind of suburban flight. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. Manage Print Subscription / Tax Receipt.
