Front Porch Deck Ideas and Designs
Front porch decks vary from open porches, to covered porches, to screened-in porches - you are sure to find a porch deck design to suit your home design and budget!
Have you been dreaming of adding a front porch deck to your home lately? Or maybe you already have some kind of porch but you are looking at new front porch design ideas to update it? Installing a beautiful front porch on your home can add major curb appeal. Some homeowners prefer to remodel or install a front porch as a DIY project, while others opt for professional installation. Either way, a front porch will transform and makeover your outdoor living space!
Front porch deck materials come in many shapes and sizes. As far as decking ideas, you can get wood decking, composite decking, or even pavers. Let’s go over a few of the most popular types of front porch deck materials!
From rustic to colonial and victorian, wood front porch decks have a traditional, classic look to them that makes wood decking one of the most popular decking materials out there. Even if you have other types of materials for the porch floor, wood deck railings are still a common choice for front porch designs. A screened-in porch almost always has some kind of wooden walls or frames for the screens as well.
Composite decking is a durable decking material that can easily last for decades. This type of decking material is made from cores comprised of polymer material or a blend of organic wood flakes and plastics. Composite decking lasts at least thirty years, and as long as fifty years. Compared to wood decking, which lasts between ten and thirty years depending on how it's treated.
If you are not excited by wood decking or composite decking, there are additional options out there: poured or stamped concrete, pavers like tile, brick and even concrete pavers, as well as natural stone. The most affordable option by square foot is poured concrete or stamped concrete. Although they cost a little more, concrete pavers will last longer and be more durable than poured or stamped concrete.
Other types of pavers include bricks and tiles of almost any size, shape or color imaginable! You can lay the pavers out in special patterns and designs, using multiple colors to create art on your front porch deck.
Bluestone, flagstone, granite are natural paver materials that have many advantages to concrete. Natural stones are a decking material that is unmatched in terms of durability as well as attractiveness and curb appeal.
Front porch decks come in a variety of styles and designs that can complement any type of architectural home design or landscape styles. Front porches can be further personalized by adding outdoor furniture and even an outdoor kitchen for grilling on summer evenings.
You can almost create interior design schemes and entire living rooms for your front porch deck. There are covered porch ideas, and open porch ideas. You can add fire pits and hot tubs - the sky's the limit! Let’s go over some common choices for front porch deck styles.
Perhaps the most traditional of all porch deck styles is the wrap around porch. This was commonly used on colonial and victorian style homes. This style of porch, as the name implies, completely surrounds the home from the front door to the back porch. The porch roof is held up by columns and intricately carved porch railings. With a traditional wrap-around porch deck, there is plenty of room for outdoor furniture and even ceiling fans to give you a cool breeze on hot summer days. A wrap around porch feels like an extension of the home and gives you even more living space.
Even with a small deck, you can create a stunning hardscape to highlight your front porch design. One popular paver design is called the basket weave design, a pattern that has been present in European towns for centuries. In this pattern, pairs of bricks are laid horizontally and vertically against each other creating the visual effect of the bricks weaving in and out of each other. This appealing small front porch deck design will draw anyone’s eyes to your entryway.
An enclosed porch deck, also known as a sunroom, has a screened in porch area. These are great because they allow you to be outside more often in all types of weather, and avoid insects like mosquitoes. You can design enclosed porch decks to be large enough to have an outdoor dining room, or some comfortable outdoor patio furniture. This type of porch deck is shaded in the hot summer and can be insulated in the winter to be comfortable enough to spend some time in as well!
Another type of porch deck is one with an overhang. This means you will be shielded from the sun and rain, and could sit and spend some time outdoors in all kinds of weather. One example of a porch with an overhang is a rustic front porch that spans the entire front length of the home. This cozy space has plenty of room for a porch swing and other types of patio furniture.
If you do not want a front porch or it just will not work with your front porch design, you should consider a modern side porch. On a small side porch, you could easily install a fireplace or grill along with some other outdoor furniture creating a beautiful space to relax outside.
The installation steps for your front porch will depend on a number of factors, like your front porch design and the type of decking materials you will be using. Another big factor that will impact how the installation works is whether it is a covered porch or a screened-in porch or an open front porch.
For DIY porch installation, there are actually porch installation kits for the simpler front porch designs. For more advanced front porch designs like sunrooms or screened-in porches you may want to look into professional installation.
The average cost to build a deck is between $30 and $60 per square foot. The national average for the total cost of building a porch is between $15,000 and $30,000. That is a wide range because there are so many different front porch deck designs and styles to choose from - like open porches, screened-in porches, sunrooms, and decks with porch roofs.
Maintenance for a front porch deck depends on the deck materials you have chosen to use as the deck floor, and what type of porch design you have on your home. Wooden decks will need to be treated regularly to last as long as possible and survive the elements. If you have a composite, cement, or stone deck, then sweeping or spraying it off with a hose to clean it up is all you would need to do.
Deck Ideas
Deck Ideas
Deck Ideas
