71 Breezy Porches and Patios

Appalachian Round Porch

A drink ledge around this circular porch gives you a place to sip a cup of cocoa or favorite brew.  Hanging candle lanterns can be lit during evening outdoor entertaining.

• Tour the Davidson Gap Idea House

Bright Red Porch

Red is the defining color throughout this outdoor space. Using a single hue is an easy way to tie the look together. Extra pillows add color and comfort.

• Outdoor Rooms

Bungalow Porch

An extra-long porch swing anchors this porch space and, at 7 feet long, invites stretching out for long afternoon naps. The swing is hung the swing by ropes to give it a more natural look. A brightly patterned outdoor rug pops against neutral tones.

• Tour this Vintage Style Bungalow

Candle-Lit Patio

This freestanding patio fireplace creates an instant cozy gathering place. The mantel is decorated with a row of tea lights for extra sparkle when the sun goes down.

• Making the Most of Moonlight

Candle-Lit Porch

For year-round lounging, this enclosed sitting area boasts candle chandeliers and a fireplace. Filling the fireplace with candles instead of firewood is a great idea for adding light and charm in warm summer months.

• Choosing Your Porch Style

Charleston-Style Piazza

This porch is filled with comfy wicker furniture in traditional Charleston green, recognizable by its almost black color. Materials, such as wicker-looking resin for the frames and outdoor fabric for the cushions keep the space low maintenance. A few luxuries, such as pillows and throws can be quickly pulled inside when the weather turns bad. Iron-base tables with honed marble tops are the perfect sidekicks because they combine simple lines with elegant materials.

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Classic Charleston Porch

On this porch, or piazza, classic white wicker is dressed with zesty pillows. Together, the classic white wicker and the modern India-inspired motif are marked by striking color, natural textures and materials, and classic Southern design with a modern, upbeat edge.

• Tour this Charleston Single House  

Classic White Porch

Hanging ferns area a classic look for any Southern porch. Container gardens and a lush border add color to this space.

• Porches: Creating the Space

Coastal Front Porch

Two woven rockers, positioned next to the stucco fireplace on the front porch, create the perfect place to unwind on a warm summer night.

• Tour the Tarpon Run Idea House

Colorful Coastal Porch

This screened porch has a sofa swing. It’s a great place for reading a book. The space is furnished with DIY furniture painted in bright colors.

• Tour this Colorful Beach Side Getaway  

Colorful Potted Porch

Brighten up your porch by accenting with colorful containers of foliage and flowers.

• Container Gardening Ideas

Cozy Brick Porch

Composed of a brick chimney, mantel, and firebox, this exterior fireplace is covered with stucco. This touch not only distinguishes it from the surrounding brick walls, but it also makes a focal point. The hearth is raised for additional seating. Plus, by centering the fireplace between a brick opening and the exterior living room wall, it provides a nook for firewood. A gas starter takes the hit-or-miss process out of starting a blaze.

• Porches: Seating Arrangements

Cozy Side Porch

Inspired by Charleston side porches (called piazzas), this outdoor-friendly furniture arrangement provides a great place to socialize with neighbors or to take in the fresh air while reading a book.

• Tour the  Abercorn Place Idea House

Dining Porch

French doors open directly from the kitchen to a front porch dining area that acts as an extension of this home’s interior. It’s an inviting place for a morning paper and evening entertaining alike.

Tour this Coastal-Style Home

Entertaining Patio

This pretty patio is adjacent to a small storage outbuilding that can easily be transformed into a bar or buffet for patio parties.

• Tour the Habersham Idea House

Entertaining Porch

Deck out your screened porch for dining. Overlooking the woods and lake, dinner music is the chirping of birds and the splash of fish. The tin roof and vaulted ceiling overhead make light rain most delightful. Add seasonal sparkle with a string of your favorite lights.

• Tour this Nature-Inspired Home.

Entertaining Porch

A patterned accent rug adds visual interest to this entertaining porch finished with brick pavers and stuccoed walls. A grill is set in a custom cabinet. A retractable keeps it all in the shade, which is always welcome during Southern summers.

• Tour The Abercorn Place House

Garage Patio Transformation

This deluxe patio room actually used to be a rundown garage. To feel more intimate, the large, open space needed to be divided into rooms. Large containers of lush plants are grouped at varying heights to give this outdoor retreat scale.

Garden Patio

An outdoor fireplace, decorated with items that the homeowner acquired in his travels through the Southwest, dominates this sunken garden patio.

Georgia Brick Porch

An extra-large bed swing invites lounging on this porch. Vintage salvage items add character to the space.

• Tour the Abercorn Place Idea House

Gracious Side Porch

Lined with handsome box columns and accessible to the indoors through pairs of French doors, this side porch functions much like an interior room, complete with comfortable seating and durable outdoor rugs. This gracious extension of living space contains a teak dining table for informal meals.

• Tour the Abercorn Place Idea House

Historic Blue Porch

This porch ceiling is painted blue for a playful nod to traditional Southern Haint Blue. A fan keeps the area cool on warm Southern days, and curtains add privacy to the space.

• Make the Most of Your Porch

Jazzed-Up Porch Doors

These solid-panel shutters add color to the porch and offer extra protection for two pairs of porch doors. The shutters fold back flush against the wall when opened.

• Add Style with Shutters

Laid-Back Porch

An extra-deep porch swing makes lazy Sunday afternoons on this porch a must. The small pops of subdued color provide the porch a laid-back, beach-like atmosphere.

• Coastal Decorating Ideas

Live-In Back Porch

This 35-foot-long by 9-foot-deep back porch respects Southern porches of the past by using traditional shading devices such as a trellis at one end. Comfortable rattan chairs, cushioned in red, yellow, and green, add cheer to this outdoor living room. Ceiling fans help cool the space during sultry summer days, while three copper-finish lanterns contribute to the ambience.

• Read more about the Abberley Lane Idea House

Luxurious Porch

Durable accessories and furnishings give this porch a cozy living room feel. Patterned pillows and a faux zebra-skin rug are paired with natural colors and textures for a striking effect.

• Key Elements of a Great Porch

Modern Patio

This two-level modern patio extends the family’s living space to include an outdoor dining room. Modern planters mirror the clean lines of the house.

• Tour this Modern Nashville Home

Natural Screened Porch

This comfortable screened porch is sparsely decorated, making the surrounding woods the focal point. It’s a perfect place for enjoying the weather and nature. Stylish contemporary white chairs are a great alternative to outdoor furniture.

• Tour this 1930s Cabin Makeover

Natural Woodland Porch

Outdoor furniture rests comfortably on this back porch. This durable design blends with indoor decor, such as the Tiffany lamp and rag rugs made from recycled blue jeans. Quilts are at the ready for chilly evenings. Bedroom windows open onto this serene space to catch the sound of Whisper Creek.

Outdoor Dining Porch

Designed for entertaining, the back porch offers indoor comforts and outdoor style. A teak dining table and casual seating encourage leisure time and easy conversation.

• Expert Tips for Entertaining Outdoors

Outdoor Living Porch

This space mirrors both the function and the layout of an interior living room. An outdoor sofa and club chairs are arranged around a central hearth.

• Tour the Hemlock Springs Idea House

Party Patio

Cushy, deep seating with clean lines makes for a comfortable place for hanging out, while sheers suspended from supports create the ultimate chill zone.

• Outdoor Party Makeover

Patchwork Quilt Patio

This patio was created from recycled materials. Just as a quilter sews together fabric pieces, these homeowners married stone, brick, and cobble to create a charming space.

Covered Personal Patio

A portable cabana provides a place for reading and visiting on this patio.

• Tour this blue-inspired garden

Game Inspired Patio

Chess pieces the size of children await visitors’ opening move on this game board patio.

• Tour this lakeside garden

Patio Living Room

This unique patio includes a pergola with a retractable canopy of outdoor fabric that is great for protection from sun and rain. Comfy seating is centered around a fireplace and creates an outdoor living area that is great for parties and entertaining.

• Tour the Bayou Bend Idea House

Arbor Covered Patio

Four 6 by 6 posts across the front of this patio arbor give the structure a substantial feel. Two lattice panels, which support Armand clematis vines (Clematis armandii), provide a sense of enclosure.

• Outdoor Architecture

Dining Patio

Classic hydrangea blooms take center stage around this neutral-toned patio dining space.

Planed Patio Perfection

Outdoor rooms change over time. The homeowners built this arbor the first year they were in the home. When the wisteria covered the top, they realized it was a great room. The garden's structured design plays off of the free-form look of the wisteria.

Polished Outdoor Room

Thoughtfully chosen fabrics for the upholstered outdoor furniture give this porch polished appeal. Touches of burnt orange play off of the undertones in wood details.

Porch With Privacy

These shutters not only add interest and texture to this house, but they also offer privacy and protection from the elements. They can close off the porch or be opened to let in the Gulf breeze.

• Add Style with Shutters

Pretty Back Porch

This covered porch is large enough for a pair of chairs and is framed by outdoor draperies that pull closed for shade. This welcoming spot is the perfect place for morning coffee. Adirondack chairs with cutouts of the South Carolina state logo―a palm tree and quarter moon―give this Lowcountry cottage even more sense of place.

• Tour the Habersham Idea House

Private Porch

Louvered shutters add a little privacy to this porch space and fresh apple green accents punch up the color scheme.

Raised Patio

The vaulted pitch of the arbor mimics the lines of the garage roof behind it and makes the garage more background than feature. The brick chimney helps to draw the eye up, creating height and keeping the attention on the fireplace, which features a mix of fieldstone and brick for added interest. The entire seating area is elevated, improving views of the surrounding property. A ceiling fan under the arbor assures year-round comfort.

Reclaimed Porch Doors

Mix reclaimed materials to get the look you want. This homeowner combined cypress siding from an early-1900s Sears Craftsman painted green, wood from a 100-year-old barn, and wrought iron fencing to create the porch’s sliding doors. The doors slide on a new track, but the rollers are antique meat-hook wheels from a meatpacking plant.

• See More Salvage Design Ideas

Screened Family Porch

Comfortable lounge seating makes this screened porch a perfect place to relax and take advantage of the summer breeze.

Screened Porch With Style

Decorate your porch as if it’s a room in the house. This porch is decorated with pieces that flow with the rest of the furniture in the house, aiming for a collected-over-time look. A stone-and-iron table pairs with wooden chairs. Rattan wicker chairs sit underneath copper lanterns.

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Screened-In Comfort

Cozy seating areas all around this porch keep the conversation flowing. A porch swing turns into a favorite reading nook with a warm throw and cushy pillows.

Second Floor Porch

This second-floor porch has a sense of privacy, with solid railings and overhanging eaves. The designer chose dark woven furniture to create casual seating areas on the house’s porches. The cushions, in aqua, green, and white stripes, are a nice compliment to the colors of the sea. The woven frames are made from durable resin to stand up to the corrosive salt air.

• Tour the Tarpon Run Idea House

Simple & Chic Porch

This porch is furnished with stylish, weather-resistant pieces. This long trestle table’s crisscross base mimics the diamond floor pattern, and the white finish maintains a minimal look. The chairs, made of clear-sealed metal, add a touch of industrial chic, and they stack for easy storage. A hanging lantern add a touch of elegance.

• Dine Outdoors

Simple Porch

This second-floor Gulf-front porch with two Adirondack chairs facing the water is an ideal spot from which to watch the sun rise and set. The horizontal rail, rather than conventional vertical pickets, provides a seamless view.

• Tour the Tarpon Run Idea House

Sleeping Porch

Wooden daybeds, treated to withstand outdoor use and outfitted with pillows, let this open-air area function as a sleeping porch. Fabric shades sewn from a weather-resistant fabric can be raised or lowered between the porch posts.
And to make activities mosquito free, this porch and all outdoor entertaining areas are equipped with tiny spray heads mounted in the ceiling. The system dispenses a mist of nontoxic chemicals that repels insects.

• Tour the Emerson Hill Idea House

Small Side Patio

The pebbled border adds texture in this cozy side-yard path and patio. A pair of planters and a bench half-way down the path breaks up the space.

Stone Porch

Randomly placed stepping-stones crafted from local granite lead to this front porch’s wide steps. Hand-hewn posts and railings, along with graceful brackets, are crafted from regionally harvested locust wood to further enhance this cottage’s connection to the land. Local fieldstone clads the porch walls.

• Tour this Mountain Cottage

Stylish Porch Foyer

This front porch doubles as the foyer for this coastal-style home. It is decorated with lamps that look like sea-weathered wood, sisal rugs, and throw pillows with wavy and coral-like patterns inspired by the Atlantic Ocean.

• Tour this Coastal Style Home

Sunny Screened Porch

The textures and colors of the furniture and flooring in this porch were chosen to complement the Spanish moss-draped live oaks outside. Its roof, consisting of translucent plastic panels attached to wood framing, mimics the hut’s roof and provides both natural sunlight and views of the area’s  marshlands.

• Before and After Quonset Hut Makeover

Sunset Porch

This second-story porch is an extension of the master suite and offers a great view of the sunrise. A copper light fixture complements the warm wood accents.

• Tour the Bayou Bend Idea House

Tranquil Stucco Porch

This porch wall contains the fireplace, cabinets, and a wood storage cubby. This gives the porch a main focal point, and it screens it from neighbors and the harsh sun. Fresh-cut firewood is stacked high to add texture and contrast to the white stucco wall. There’s no worry about running out of wood before the end of the night.

Vintage Brick Patio

The brick in this patio came from buildings that were torn down in the area. The biggest problem with using antique brick is that the sizes aren’t uniform. That can make it tough to lay out a patio, so set the brick in sand, rather than concrete, to give a relaxed and aged look. The sand also helps level odd-size bricks.

• Salvage Design Ideas

Front Porch Outdoor Dining

Outdoor furniture sets the scene for front porch dining. Transitional styling—simple lines and natural teak—make the dining set at home anywhere, including the primitive exterior of this Cottage.

Texas Zen

Inspiration for this deck was drawn from a trip couple Michael and Patti Rogers had taken to Bali. “We fell in love with the architecture there and wanted to find a way to re-create it here while still being true to this region,” Patti says. The couple calls the resulting East-West fusion “Texas Zen.”

• See the full tour of this Zen-Inspired Backyard Deck

Enclosed Porch

Floor-to-ceiling windows, a hanging porch swing, and bright fabrics create an outdoor feel for this enclosed space.

• Tour the Daufuskie Island House

Canopy Patio

Humble materials can pull off a high-end look. This backyard transformation began by installing a 10-foot-wide by 30-foot-long iron pergola. Then, wisteria was planted, which in time turned into a leafy canopy overhead. To anchor the space, an outdoor fireplace was constructed from cinder blocks lined with fireproof brick and covered in stucco.

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Garden Oasis Patio

This  20- × 20-foot terrace sits about 2 feet lower than the surrounding grade. Stepping down into it feels like entering a room. Oklahoma flagstones cut into various-size rectangles form the floor. A low stone wall around the terrace adds a sense of enclosure and offers extra seating.

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Nature-Inspired Porch

The stone fireplace creates a focal point, adds a heat source, and visually links the porch with the rock columns inside.

• Tour the Nature-Inspired Lakehouse

Refined Rustic Back Porch

Decorator Cindy Smith of Circa Interiors, Charlotte, NC, used purple accents in addition to wood, metal, and stone to create a refined, rustic back porch design.

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Charming Southern Front Porch

Designer Muffie Faith of Elizabeth Stuart Design, Charleston, SC, created this front porch with a little Southern charm in addition to paint, wicker, and florals. This gracious and inviting porch welcomes company in.

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Classic Nautical Porch

Kelley Proxmire of Kelley Interior Design, Bethesda, MD, designed this nautical porch with a subtle nod to the surroundings. "This porch overlooks the Severn River, so the decision to use blue seemed natural," she said. "The pop of crisp white brings it all to life."

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Freestanding Summer House Porch

Architect Norman Askins and interior designer Craig Duncan created this sophisticated summer house patio in Atlanta. Their inspiration came from the work of designer Dorothy Draper. The bamboo picture molding added to the mirror references her furniture designs.

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Lush Loggia Patio

Miami designers Mimi McMakin and Ashley Sharpe of Kemble Interiors were inspired by the surrounding gardens and vintage Palm Beach style when they created this tropical patio.

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Treetop Terrace

Give plain decking an instant upgrade by painting stripes with durable porch or floor paint like designer Michelle Nussbaumer of Ceylon et Cie did with this Dallas terrace.

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