Homeowners are showing more love for their front yards, carving out a spot to mingle with neighbors and relax. A new article at realtor.com® says front yards and porches are among the hottest outdoor trends of the season—a trend that is stretching way beyond just Southern states.
“People are rediscovering the joys of using the front yard and porch as an extended living room,” Pablo Solomon, a designer in Austin, Texas, told realtor.com®. “This gives the homeowner actual benefit from the front yard other than just showcasing the house from the street. And by having neighbors enjoying their front yard, it creates more of a sense of community.”
Spruce up the front yard with rocking chairs or a swing, designers suggest. Also, display colorful planters and hanging plants and fill window boxes with bright flowers.
Plus, beyond just tucking a private entertainment space into a backyard, homeowners are bringing more mingling spots to the front of the house. Some homeowners are adding a lounging area with a fire pit to the front of their home, for example.
“After spending so many hours at work disconnected from nature and often only interacting with people over the internet, the trend is to grab as much of real life and life friendships as possible,” Solomon told realtor.com®.
Over recent years, builders have been taking note of consumers’ increasing desire to have a front porch again and are including it in more home blueprints. The front porch was once a mainstay in home design in the early 1900s, but over the years, it was replaced by garage-facing homes. The entertainment focus of the front porch was then shifted to the backyard, out of the desire for greater privacy, too.
But the front porch is reemerging. Younger generations are finding new uses for it too, even holding neighborhood events like “Porchfest” right from their front lawns.
Source: “Party in the Front! This Year’s Biggest Outdoor Design Trends Relocate the Action,” realtor.com® (May 1, 2019)
