A room without walls

Rediscovering America's front porch

The porch promotes grace and comfort. It promotes good conversation simply by virtue of the fact that on a porch there is no need for it... It is our reviewing platform and obseration deck, our rostrum and dais, the parapet of our stockade, the bridge of our ship."
—Garrison Keillor, We Are Still Married

The roots of America's love affair with the porch run deep. To us, a porch is more than just an architectural enhancement. It's a room without walls, a simple, peaceful space where we can watch the world go by while lazy breezes caress our hair, where it's so quiet we can hear the bees tumbling in the geraniums. We remember the unhurried days... that passed by even before we were born, and we long to return to them.

The concept of the porch can be traced back to the ancient Greeks and Romans, who erected verandas to shade interior gardens. But the post-1840s era marked their proliferation in America, when industrialization and massive population growth created a middle class with increased wealth and free time.

Early on, porches were practical additions to a home, serving to shade the facade and, therefore, aid in cooling the house in hot and humid regions of the United States—the South, in particular. Until World War I, porches were a necessity both socially and architecturally. They became icons of deliberate living, full of leisure and gentle conversation.

In 1896, William McKinley held his presidential "front porch campaign" on his front porch, which was furnished to resemble a parlor. His approach quickly endeared him to voters. American writers tipped their hats to the porch, setting stories in its shade, producing some of the most passionate writing ever penned. For them, the porch was our connection to nature, our green communion.

But toward the end of the 19th century, central heating and electric lights eliminated the need for a porch that was sized and positioned to welcome the sun's warmth. The traditional front porch began to dwindle from new houses, replaced by rear and side porches. The advance of the automobile also contributed to the fall of the front porch: who wanted to sit and watch the sunset while a stream of cars stormed past, filling the air with noise and exhaust?

As a nation, we went inside to our air-conditioned dens and rumpus rooms. Lovers left the porch swings. Children gathered their toys and headed for the playrooms. We flipped on our TVs and stopped talking. A silence descended on our streets. Passersby no longer raised a hand in greeting; they counted the sidewalk cracks or stared at our white curtains, backlit by a dancing blue glow.

Now we are looking to the past with a discerning eye, retracing our steps and trying to regain the path to familiar, friendly, traditional living. Porches are seen as an important element of that quest; they're being included as popular selling points on new homes, as more and more people search for the simple life.

In such planned communities as Seaside, Florida, the porch is not only a welcome addition, it's an imperative. In an admirable attempt to recapture the feel of small-town life, porches are included to present a congenial countenance to the street. Elizabeth Plater-Zyberk and partner Andres Duany developed Seaside's master town plan with houses that included porches in order to connect the occupants to the street.

Says Plater-Zyberk, "On a porch it's possible to be in a private space and still participate in a public sense—and the public can participate in a home owner's private world."

It is this embrace of healthy interaction that contributes to the porch's once-again burgeoning popularity. The boundaries between private and public domains are blurred by the addition of a porch and are further enhanced by its design. Noble columns and nostalgic railings offer a cordial welcome to guests, as do soft chairs, lush potted plants and sweating glasses of lemonade, area rugs and white-painted floor boards, tufted pillows and bowls of bright fruits.

For those with lingering concerns over safety or buggy summer nights, there is the option of enclosing the porch. When doing this, special care should be taken not to compromise the architectural character of the home. Plate glass is a fine enclosure option, since it can be easily removed and—with a little tailoring—will blend well with any home's existing windows. Screens, which writer Russell Lynes referred to as the "most humane contribution made to the preservation of sanity and good temper," allow home owners to enjoy the balmy night air without fighting off bothersome insects. Either choice of enclosures should bring peace of mind and aesthetic satisfaction.

In America today there is a movement back to the roots of our contentment. We are tired of sitting inside while the world passes by outside. We are rediscovering that our need for human interaction shouldn't end at our front door, but should include our neighbors as they stroll past each dusky evening. We are gradually realizing that our hunger for peace and calm cannot be sated by a droning TV in a stale, air-conditioned room; it can only be fulfilled by the lull of conversation, the whisper of the wind in the lilacs, and the hum of the world as we sit out on our porch.

—Jason Miller

Resources: Preserving Porches, by Renee Kahn and Ellen Meagher, Henry Holt and Company, New York; For Your Home: Porches & Sunrooms, by Jessica Elin Hirschman, Friedman/Fairfax, New York

Photography by Mark Englund