Outside is still 'in' for many homeowners

By Chris Jones

Published: June 26, 2008

There's no place quite like the front porch for settling in with a book or spending time outdoors with the family.

Though many families have retreated to their backyards for privacy, the old-fashioned appeal of the front porch is thriving in many neighborhoods.

The small front porch of Panda Craven's home is eye-catching and inviting. She lives at the end of a cul-de-sac in a newer Norman neighborhood. There, sidewalks help connect neighbors and provide a path for leisurely walks for residents with baby strollers and dogs.

Craven said she likes the Southern look of big wrap-around porches, but her house is a cottage-style home with a warm, friendly appearance.

"I use my front porch quite a bit, and I think the cottage style is welcoming,” she said. "I did all my own landscaping, and I like to take walks around the neighborhood to get ideas for my yard and porch.”

The Oklahoma wind beats up her hanging plants and pots of flowers, and she said the wind holds her back on some things she would like to do with the porch and yard. The wind makes it difficult to display porch flags, for example.

Craven said she likes to change her porch decor with the seasons.

"I always have a wreath on my door and a welcome mat,” she said. "And I think they add warm touches to a porch. I add flowers for each season, and I think the yellow, orange and rust mums are so pretty in the fall.”

Another easy way to add color and style to the front porch is by painting the front door. Craven chose a deep green for the door and shutters to complement the taupe paint and the red and buff-color brick.

Matthew and Gretta Rowold enjoy their front porch, where they and their children spend many summer evenings watching children play.

"We have a porch swing, and I think that makes a porch cozy,” Gretta Rowold said. "Sunlight makes a warm spot for our cat, Rosie, and it's a place to smell the honeysuckle and for the kids to hang out and drink root beer with friends.”

The Rowolds said they enjoy talking with neighbors and couldn't do that if they stayed in their backyard. The front porch is a technology-free zone where purple finches build a nest in the ferns, and fireflies put on a nighttime show.

"When we sit in the house, I think we tend to watch television,” Mona Nelson said. She and her husband, Roger, sit on their front porch with Baby, their rescued dog, and Apple, a calico cat. Both animals were adopted on the same day, and Mona Nelson said almost everyone in the neighborhood knows the animals.

"That's what I like most about our front porch: being connected with our neighborhood,” Mona Nelson said. "I like to wave at the neighbors.”

The Nelsons said trees, sidewalks and a homey front porch make a good combination. Add comfortable chairs, cushions, pillows and a rug, and the front porch is one of the best places at the house.

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