No. 19 Porches & Sunrooms · Colonial
Covered Back Porch with Outdoor Kitchen
Adjoining a red brick house, this back porch includes a white covered porch, a built-in outdoor kitchen, dining furniture, brick patio paving, potted ferns, boxwoods, and a rectangular pool.
Design notes
Colonial design is symmetry and restraint. Look for a central axis from the back door, matched beds and hedges either side, bluestone or brick terraces with tight joints, and white or black picket and post-and-rail fences. Planting is disciplined — boxwood, hydrangea, holly, dogwood and shade trees — and furniture is classic: teak benches, Windsor chairs, a market umbrella. Georgian brick, clapboard and shingle houses all suit it.
What to look for
- Depth — eight feet for chairs, ten or more for a table or a swing
- How the steps and railings meet the walk and the yard
- Ceiling: height, material and whether a fan or lights are built in

