Plan the Porch Around Its Use

Johnson Home — courtyard and exterior renderings. Currently in design.

Give outdoor living the same attention you give the rooms inside.

Give the space a primary purpose

A place for a quiet morning and a place for a large outdoor dinner ask different things of a porch. Start by naming the activity you expect to use it for most often, then the other activities you would like it to accommodate.

That order helps when the plan needs refining. It gives you a way to judge whether a change supports how you actually intend to spend time there.

Draw the furniture at its real size

Place the table, chairs or seating group on the plan. Consider chairs in use rather than only pushed under the table. Trace the route from the kitchen to the table and from the porch doors to the yard.

Look for paths that cut through a conversation or compete with seating. Door locations, columns and the proportions of the porch can matter as much as its total area. Have the design team check clearances for the actual layout and intended users.

Connect it to the property

Consider the view, privacy, sun exposure and relationship to neighboring spaces. Which direction will you face while seated? What can be seen from inside? Where does an outdoor gathering sit in relation to bedrooms?

These questions are easier to explore with the house and property considered together. Furniture establishes the use; the setting helps determine where that use belongs.

Include the real scope

Covered outdoor space can involve much more than a roof and slab. Finished ceilings, trim, cabinetry, lighting, cooking equipment and a fireplace all affect the scope. Being unheated does not automatically make a porch inexpensive.

Decide which of those elements are part of the initial plan and which are only possibilities. Bring that list into the budget discussion alongside the furniture layout. It gives both the design and the estimate a more useful starting point.

Keep exploring

Explore the Johnson Home’s outdoor living concept

What We Resolve Before Breaking Ground