What makes porches so alluring?

I've always been enamoured with the craftsman bungalow - but didn't even realize it at first. 

I remember spending time in the Pasadena California area house hunting for a possible job move decades ago and just being hypnotically drawn to the older bungalows that abound there.  I didn't know then, but it was a truly American architectural style that was also common all over San Francisco where I'd lived most of my life. 

​Looking back, the feature that always caught my eye first and drew me in, was the front porch.

Craftsman bungalow front porch

​And now, owning and living in a 1924 craftsman bungalow in northern Arizona, I find myself excited beyond words to be opening up the front porch which had been enclosed somewhere in the 70's.  It's still a construction disaster but already it feels glorious to be in that space without the constraint of the walls and windows.  Friends and neighbors come into the space and just marvel at how delicious it is.  We try to imagine why anyone would have chosen to enclose this fabulous space.

I find myself wondering - what is that makes front porches so alluring?
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​What is the american front porch?

The word "porch" comes from the latin word "porticus" and greek "portico" - which originally referred to the columned entries to classical temples, and eventually described vestibules in cathedrals.  

Later in Victorian times there were many words used to describe slightly different spaces: loggia, veranda, piazza, and of course porch.  Many of these structures were quite elaborate and served to indicate wealth or status.

​In American architecture, the porch is generally a covered space with up to three open walls attached to the front of the home.

​Although it originated in other parts of the world, our flavor of the porch became uniquely American.
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Exposed rafters, low eaves, and substantial columns

We will be posting more information about the particulars of the architectural style itself in later posts.
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It turns out that the American front porch has quite an interesting cultural and social significance, which I feel is more at the heart of the charm of this space.  
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​Porchology

I'm not certain that "porchology" is an actual word, but to me it represents the cultural and social aspects of the American porch.
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Front porches have been an integral part of American life from the mid-19th century thru to post WWII, and came to represent some core cultural values.  The porch was a place to connect - with family, community, and nature.  It was not simply a space to pass through.  It was in fact a destination. 

In a reaction to the industrialization of the country in the 19th century, the preservation and appreciation of nature became a priority architecturally and socially.  The front porch was a place of sanctuary from the heat of the sun while providing a link to the surrounding land and nature for a new class of Americans who had the luxury of time.  It became a statement of status even - of having the economic and social means to enjoy spare-time with family and friends.
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Porches of Prescott, AZ: Pleasant Street

Some of those values might seem old fashioned, but now in the age of high-def screens, and high-speed everything, there is even more reason for us to embrace the front porch in our homes and lives.
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Then somewhere along with the advent of the automobile, air conditioning, and the television, Americans became house-bound, with the garage doors opening automatically and the inhabitants disappearing inside with their cars.  Porches were forgotten.  For a time.
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​They say that history repeats itself

Some 70 years later, we find ourselves constantly in touch with a mass of "friends" via social media, and able to stay "connected" to work 24-hours a day with digital collaboration and instant wireless communication.  We are never out of touch seemingly.

But at the same time we feel more lonely and detached than ever.

It feels very nostalgic to crave the front porch experience now, in the early part of the 21st century.
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Not huge or impressive, but thoroughly inviting.

​Honestly, it feels like the most natural thing in the world to want the security of a cozy, sheltered space from which to watch the garden flourish, greet the neighbors and embrace our community. 

​Interacting with real things, real people.

A resurgence of some of the simpler pleasures in life is just the right medicine for our over-scheduled, over-sized lives.  ​

I'm a true believer in the natural order of things.  Things seem to go in cycles where one phase is a reaction to the one prior, and then swinging back to the other side again.  Perhaps over time we are swinging a bit less to the extremes and finding our way to more balanced lifestyles.
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​but Tiny homes are not the answer

In response to everything that is too big, and too much, and too eco-foul there is now a surging trend of seeking simplicity in "tiny homes".  Homes that are in the range of 150 to 300 square feet. 

So leaving behind their 3,000 square foot typical homes, people are building or buying these tiny homes on wheels and experimenting with the idea of true freedom and eco-consciousness.​  They are making huge sacrifices to fit their modern lives into these idealized tiny homes.  All in the name of abandoning the excesses of the last 70 years.

Instead of pursuing the trend-du-jour, I would suggest that there's an even more human scaled and eco-friendly alternative.
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Substanial wood front door, art glass, and a tonque and groove ceiling.

​Craftsman and Arts & Crafts Bungalows are the perfect interpretation of the values and ideals that we are seeking again.  Because this was the predominant American architectural style in the early part of the 20th century, there are large inventories of these smaller homes in pockets all over the country. 

Rather than building or buying something entirely new (and many would say impractically compact) why not recycle, upcycle, and reclaim the bungalow homes that already exist?
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find harmony on your bungalow porch

​The bungalow attempts "to bring about harmony between the house and it's surroundings, to get as close as possible to nature," according to the Radford Architectural Company of Chicago in 1908.  

Nature might be a dense, untouched forest or an expansive view of the high desert mountains or the garden around the perimeter of your bungalow.

​Gardens were not just an adornment but an expression of the perfect Eden because, according to Gustav Stickley in the early 20th century:

​In practically all of us is a deep, distinctive longing to possess a little corner of that Eden from which our modern and materialistic way of living have made us exiles.

Porches of Prescott: Pleasant Street

I have to say that seems like a thoroughly modern sentiment to me, sitting here 100 years later.

The ubiquitous front porch is the connecting element, bridging the space between that house and garden.  Between our private sanctuary and our surrounding community, the security of our cocoon and the unpredictability of  planet earth upon which we exist.  
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