Skip to content

Top Navigation

Southern Living Southern Living
  • Food
  • Holidays & Entertaining
  • Home & Garden
  • Style & Culture
  • News
  • Video

Profile Menu

Your Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout

More

  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Southern Living Books this link opens in a new tab
Login
Subscribe
Pin FB

Explore Southern Living

Southern Living Southern Living
  • Explore

    Explore

    • The Most Popular Hairstyles of 2021

      The Most Popular Hairstyles of 2021

      The trendy haircuts you’ll be seeing everywhere this year. Read More
    • How To Season A Cast-Iron Skillet

      How To Season A Cast-Iron Skillet

      Learn how to season this Southern kitchen staple in five easy steps. Read More
    • The Right Way to Heat a Pre-Cooked Ham

      The Right Way to Heat a Pre-Cooked Ham

      It's so easy, trust us. Read More
  • Food

    Food

    See All Food
    How Long Do Deviled Eggs Last in the Fridge?

    How Long Do Deviled Eggs Last in the Fridge?

    Best practices for dealing with deviled eggs
    • All Food
    • All Recipes
    • Holidays & Occasions
    • Quick Fix Suppers
    • Slow Cooker Recipes
    • Desserts
    • Casseroles
    • Healthy Recipes
  • Holidays & Entertaining

    Holidays & Entertaining

    See All Holidays & Entertaining
    70 Wedding Vow Examples That Will Melt Your Heart

    70 Wedding Vow Examples That Will Melt Your Heart

    Fight writer's block and find ways to express your love with these romantic, funny, and short wedding vow examples.
    • Christmas
    • Entertaining
    • Thanksgiving
    • Southern Weddings
    • Easter
    • Kentucky Derby
    • Valentine's Day
    • 4th of July
    • Mother's Day
  • Home & Garden

    Home & Garden

    See All Home & Garden
    30 Containers for Covered Porches That Will Thrive in the Shade

    30 Containers for Covered Porches That Will Thrive in the Shade

    Some containers have all the sun. These shady planters, though, are having plenty of fun sans sun. We’ve gathered all of our favorite shade-loving containers to inspire your planting this season. If you have a shady yard or want to perk up a shaded spot in your home, at your front door, on your porch, or around your patio, put together a pretty shade-loving container that’s also easy to care for. Plants like caladiums and creeping Jenny will thrive in the shade, and they’ll also add great color and movement to your planters. If you’re looking for the best plants for the shade and great flowers that thrive in shade, also reach for impatiens, coleus, sweet potato vines, mazus, vincas, torenias, violas, petunias, pansies, hellebores (Lenten roses), hostas, astilbes, and trilliums. They look great and will thrive in full to partial shade. Shade-loving flowers aren’t too hard to find. Ask around at your local garden store, and you’ll be able to locate the ingredients and put together any one of these shade-tolerant container ideas. Also, in regards to your container, don’t forget to think vertical. We love pots and planters, but a hanging basket is another great option, as is an elevated planter, which will make a statement and take advantage of any vertical space.
    • Home Decor Ideas
    • Idea Houses
    • Before & After
    • Inspired Communities
    • Curb Appeal
    • House Plans & Builders
    • The Grumpy Gardener
    • Plant Names A-Z
  • Style & Culture

    Style & Culture

    See All Style & Culture
    70 Cute and Funny Nicknames For Your Best Friends

    70 Cute and Funny Nicknames For Your Best Friends

    Let your besties know how much they mean to you with these unique nicknames.
    • Southern Culture
    • Hair
    • Travel
    • Beauty
    • Pets
    • Southern Fashion
    • Healthy Living
  • News
  • Video

Profile Menu

Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
Your Account

Account

  • Join Now
  • Email Preferences
  • Newsletters
  • Manage Your Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Logout

More

  • Give a Gift Subscription this link opens in a new tab
  • Southern Living Books this link opens in a new tab
Login
Sweepstakes

Follow Us

LIVE
  1. Southern Living
  2. Home
  3. Curb Appeal
  4. Curb Appeal Secrets That Always Give A Home Unmistakable Southern Charm

Curb Appeal Secrets That Always Give A Home Unmistakable Southern Charm

January 26, 2017
Skip gallery slides
Save FB Tweet
Hanging Ferns
They’re inviting, hospitable, warm, and full of charm and lots of personality. Living in the South, we’re blessed with almost year-round weather that calls for those quintessentially Southern characteristics to be expressed in homes’ exteriors. Think leaving the doors and windows open, folks sitting outside in rocking chairs, and gardens brimming with verdant plants and flowers. A home’s curb appeal is its first impression, where guests and passersby get the first glimpse of its personality. And for those houses with unmistakable Southern charm, it’s more than likely they have several—if not all—of the following 7 features.
Start Slideshow

1 of 8

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Welcoming Porches

Welcoming Porches

There is nothing as defining to a Southern home than a large porch. Whether it’s the size of a garage or wraps around the entire home, a front porch is quintessentially Southern with its welcoming appearance and extension of the living space outside.

1 of 8

Advertisement
Advertisement

2 of 8

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

And Porch Swings

White Porch Swing

You can’t have a porch without a cozy porch swing to enjoy it from. We can’t help but be reminded of lazy summer days and hot summer nights when you keep swinging just to feel a breeze.

2 of 8

3 of 8

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Hanging Ferns

Hanging Ferns

When it comes to plants that are distinctly Southern, ferns near the top of the list. The leafy plants thrive in warm, humid climates, which is why they are so often a staple on Southern porches. Their distinct shape is always noticeable when they’re hanging prominently above a porch railing.

3 of 8

Advertisement

4 of 8

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

The South's Best Small Town 2017: Beaufort, S.C.

No matter where you’re from, where you’ve been or where you’re going, Beaufort feels like home.

View all of the South's Best 2017 winners here.

4 of 8

5 of 8

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Window Boxes

Black Window Box

Where there isn’t a porch to hang plants or fill with planters, there are windows to be adorned with overflowing flower boxes. Why grow in the ground what you can plant right outside your window?

5 of 8

6 of 8

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Windows

Windows

Windows have historically served a practical purpose in Southern homes by providing much needed airflow throughout the house. Unlike homes in colder climes that work to keep warmth in by minimizing the number and size of windows, homes in the south have the luxury of inviting the outside in, and embrace that with a greater number of larger windows. And even in the era of central AC, Southern homes still often have an abundance of windows in multiple forms: dormers, transoms, bays, and more.

6 of 8

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement

7 of 8

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Shutters

Shutters
Credit: Laurey W. Glenn

Like the windows they frame, shutters first and foremost serve a practical purpose in protecting the glass from the big storms and hurricanes that our region experiences. But they also have a certain charm to them that adds interest (and often contrasting color) to the exterior of a home.

7 of 8

8 of 8

Save FB Tweet
Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

Color

Blue Cottage
Credit: Alison Miksch

Speaking of color, whether it’s the multicolored row houses of Charleston and New Orleans, or a classic Georgian home with blooming hydrangeas in the front yard, Southern homes almost always have some degree of color to their curb appeal. And if there’s color and personality on the outside of a house, just wait ‘til you see the interior.

8 of 8

Replay gallery

Share the Gallery

Pinterest Facebook

Up Next

    Share the Gallery

    Pinterest Facebook
    Trending Videos
    Advertisement
    Skip slide summaries

    Everything in This Slideshow

    Advertisement

    View All

    1 of 8 Welcoming Porches
    2 of 8 And Porch Swings
    3 of 8 Hanging Ferns
    4 of 8 The South's Best Small Town 2017: Beaufort, S.C.
    5 of 8 Window Boxes
    6 of 8 Windows
    7 of 8 Shutters
    8 of 8 Color

    Share options

    Pinterest Mail Email iphone Send Text Message Print

    Login

    Southern Living

    Magazines & More

    Learn More

    • About Us
    • Subscribe this link opens in a new tab
    • Books from Southern Living
    • Contact Us
    • Advertise
    • Content Licensing this link opens in a new tab
    • Sitemap

    Connect

    Follow Us
    Subscribe to Our Newsletter
    Other Meredith Sites

    Other Meredith Sites

    • 4 Your Health this link opens in a new tab
    • Allrecipes this link opens in a new tab
    • All People Quilt this link opens in a new tab
    • Better Homes & Gardens this link opens in a new tab
    • Bizrate Insights this link opens in a new tab
    • Bizrate Surveys this link opens in a new tab
    • Cooking Light this link opens in a new tab
    • Daily Paws this link opens in a new tab
    • EatingWell this link opens in a new tab
    • Eat This, Not That this link opens in a new tab
    • Entertainment Weekly this link opens in a new tab
    • Food & Wine this link opens in a new tab
    • Health this link opens in a new tab
    • Hello Giggles this link opens in a new tab
    • Instyle this link opens in a new tab
    • Martha Stewart this link opens in a new tab
    • Midwest Living this link opens in a new tab
    • More this link opens in a new tab
    • MyRecipes this link opens in a new tab
    • MyWedding this link opens in a new tab
    • My Food and Family this link opens in a new tab
    • MyLife this link opens in a new tab
    • Parenting this link opens in a new tab
    • Parents this link opens in a new tab
    • People this link opens in a new tab
    • People en Español this link opens in a new tab
    • Rachael Ray Magazine this link opens in a new tab
    • Real Simple this link opens in a new tab
    • Ser Padres this link opens in a new tab
    • Shape this link opens in a new tab
    • Siempre Mujer this link opens in a new tab
    • SwearBy this link opens in a new tab
    • Travel & Leisure this link opens in a new tab
    MeredithSouthern Living is part of the Meredith Home Group. © Copyright 2021 Meredith Corporation. Southern Living is a registered trademark of Meredith Corporationthis link opens in a new tab All Rights Reserved. Southern Living may receive compensation for some links to products and services on this website. Offers may be subject to change without notice. Privacy Policythis link opens in a new tab Terms of Servicethis link opens in a new tab Ad Choicesthis link opens in a new tab California Do Not Sellthis link opens a modal window Web Accessibilitythis link opens in a new tab
    © Copyright . All rights reserved. Printed from https://www.southernliving.com

    View image

    Curb Appeal Secrets That Always Give A Home Unmistakable Southern Charm
    this link is to an external site that may or may not meet accessibility guidelines.