A recent study by Saber Grills LLC found that outdoor spaces have become the heart of the house and now, according to a professor at the Yale School of Architecture, the "Porch" is apparently the friendliest place of the house.
A feature by the Wall Street Journal sheds light on how the porch is making a comeback. In the sixties, the porch was an architectural staple. However, after the introduction of air conditioning and backyards, the porch lost its luster. But, just like fashion, this architectural trend of a front porch, has suddenly become popular again.
Citing numbers from the Census Bureau, the Journal is reporting that about 63 percent of the single family homes completed in 2013, have porches. That is a 42 percent increase from 1993.
Experts say that the porch's return reflects the current society's need to socialize.
"The porch friendlies up the house," Robert A. Stern, professor of architecture at Yale, told the publication. He describes the porch as "a place between the privacy of the house and the public world of the street."
A 2010 feature in Flourish Magazine elaborated on the history of the porch noting how it was inspired by the Roman porticos and introduced by the African slaves in America. The feature defined a porch as:
"A physical space that is both personal to its owner and hospitable to guests and strangers. It is a threshold of community: neither a place of anonymity, nor of complete intimacy. It is a place where new connections are wrought and old connections are strengthened. One can be invited onto a front porch even as a passerby; it provides opportunities for welcoming the stranger."
Indeed, a large number of people are now customizing their porches to include dining areas, reading nooks, hammocks and much more. A porch has a personality of its own. It's the current fun place to be! But, to use the space round the clock can be a daunting task, especially because it's an outdoor area.
To protect from the harsh hurricane winds or the incessant pestering by mosquitoes and bugs - that can apparently get as big as a size of a small dog in Florida - the porches are screened.
"If there is favorite place in my house, the porch is now it," Veronica Fowler, a writer by profession who lives in Ames, Iowa, wrote for the Ames Tribune.
"One reason it's so wonderful: It is an honest-to-God screened porch. Decks and patios in Iowa, pleasant as they are, are useable for about six days a year. On those magical - practically mythical - six days, it's neither too hot nor too cold; there are neither gnats nor mosquitoes, and the dust-in-your-teeth prairie winds have managed temporarily to restrain themselves," she added.
Check out some beautiful porch ideas by Zillow Digs here. Also, take a look at the Saber Grills study on outdoor areas here.
