cottage housing and front porches

Front porches are a predominant feature of traditional neighborhoods.  In cottage housing increased emphasis is placed on community and the front porch again plays an important role.  The resurgence in popularity of cottage housing and in new urbanism principals have been mirrored by a national trend of new homes with front porches according to a study by the National Association of Home Builders.  

 

A shady retreat: Front porch enjoys new popularity

Front porch is enjoying a renewed surge in popularity

April 29, 2011|By Leslie Mann, Special to the Tribune

Like pieced quilts and chair rail, the front porch was born of practicality. It provided Grandma and her front rooms shade from the hot sun.

Although two acronyms nearly killed the front porch in the 1950s — TV and AC — it is enjoying a renaissance, thanks to the New Urbanism movement and a renewed appreciation for all-things-Grandma.

More than a collection of square feet, the front porch is the architectural version of a hug, the hyphen between our indoor and outdoor spaces, the green room that separates our public and private lives.

In 2007, 62 percent of new homes had porches, up from 50 percent in 1999, according to the National Association of Home Builders. The South and West are the most porch-crazy regions, with the Midwest close behind.

The front porch ranked higher than the patio and rear porch on buyers' wish lists in the NAHB's "The New Home in 2015" report."It changes the tempo and pace of your life," said Gail Warner, a public relations consultant who bought a house with a front porch in a planned community in Fort Mill, S.C., in 2007. "We're out there in the evening with our porch mayor (pet dog), having a glass of wine and talking to the neighbors. We all have front porches here, which means we all know each other. When a neighbor needs help, we galvanize."

Before moving to Fort Mill, Warner and her husband lived in a porchless town house. "Nine years there, and I never knew my neighbors," said Warner.

The couple's house also has an upstairs front porch that she calls her "ponytail porch" because the added distance from it to the sidewalk gives her privacy.

"There's an unwritten law that if you're on your upstairs porch, you're not dressed and not ready to be social," said Warner. "But if you're on your downstairs porch, everyone's welcome."

The front porch is one of the features that helped sell 21 of 26 houses in nine months at the SchoolStreet Homes development in Libertyville, said developer John McLinden. The Craftsman- and bungalow-style houses, which start at $525,000, showcase architect/author Sarah Susanka's "Not So Big House" tenets.

Curb appeal

Even homeowners who do not use their front porches want them for curb appeal, said Jason DeBaker, managing principal for Orren Pickell Designers & Builders in Lake Bluff.