A Professional Look at Different Porch Styles and Designs

When you’re picking out the ideal porch to offer your property curb appeal, storage space and protection from the elements, choosing the style that suits your home best can often be a challenge. That is why we’ve created this guide, to help you sort through the porch styles and designs to find your perfect match with little to no frustration.

At The Porch Specialist, we can provide you with a ready-made porch kit to complete the look of your home, if you have already come across a style that you know you’d like. Alternatively, read on to find out more about a range of other porch styles you might typically see on houses across the UK.

Typical Timber Porch Styles and Designs

You may find a range of wooden porch designs and styles available on the market, each offering their own features and benefits that they can bring to a home. These can be as simple as a canopy for keeping the rain off the front door of a cottage, or as extravagant as a small extension that allows extra room for storage in a large family home.

Here, we’ve listed some popular timber designs you may find for front and back porches:

• Wall mounted porches, often called “canopy” porches. These are attached to the wall above a front or back door.
• Wall and floor mounted porches, which are attached to the wall above a door but also come with two wooden supporting legs, often called railings.
• Low brick plinth porches, which are designed much in the same fashion as wall and floor mounted porches, but come complete with a small dwarf wall.
• High brick plinth porches, which are like low brick plinth porches but offer a larger wall.
• Full height porches, which are like brick plinth designs but come without a wall. They have four legs instead of a wall support.

Each of these designs is available from us in a popular gable end or lean-to style.

Ideas to Make the Most of any Porch Style

On some occasions, you may not always have a clear picture of what you want to do with your porch once it’s been installed. In these cases, we’re more than happy to provide a few expert suggestions and ideas:

• If you are installing an enclosed front porch, you may consider using it as a coatroom, or as a place to store shoes and umbrellas when the weather takes a turn for the worst.
• Enclosed porches are also the perfect “safe spot” if you’re having a package delivered, as it’ll be protected from the elements and not as easily spotted by potential thieves.
• Any large front or back porch could be made to accommodate a bench or seat, so you have a sheltered spot to sit in your garden, or outside your house.
• You may consider decorating a front porch to offer even more curb appeal, by painting the porch to reflect any current theme your home has.
• If you’re thinking of continuing your DIY project by connecting your porch to your home’s power supply, you may consider hanging decorative lights around the inside of the roof, as well as installing practical ones
• Many people consider porch interior design a fun hobby, so you may choose to join the trend and make your space your own by adding plants, sculptures or other decorative elements.

Other Popular Porch Designs and Porch Styles in the UK

Though they’re generally smaller and less extravagant than in some parts of the world, porches remain a popular home improvement feature for properties in the UK. As such, you can expect there to be a range of porch styles and designs available, whether you own a modern house in the suburbs or an old cottage in the middle of the countryside. 

Not all of these are made from timber; you can expect to see these designs in brick, cement, lime plaster and uPVC as well.

Below, we’ve listed some of the other porch styles you may expect to see across the country:

Edwardian Porches

One of the most distinctive features of any Edwardian house is its front door and entryway. They’ll usually have unique, elegantly carved railings and fretwork patterns, made from timber and painted white to give the porch a clean aesthetic. Edwardian porches are also famed for being lighter and sleeker-looking than Victorian porches.

Georgian Porches

Georgian style porches and canopies will most often reflect the grand elegance of the house they’re built onto. This usually means railings styled as columns, or even actual columns if the property is large enough, in the fine lime plaster of an original or restored building.

It is also possible for modern, brick-built porch styles to have Georgian windows.

Screened Porches

Also called a “screen-in” porch, these are similar to closed porches, but use transparent screens in place of windows or doors. They can maximise the amount of heat or light coming into your home, and can improve heat retention and insulation.

Tudor Porches

The types of porches found on Tudor properties often differ, depending on whether you’re looking at an original or “mock Tudor” style house. Original Tudor properties will usually be characterised by overhanging first floors, which form the “roof” of the porch. 

The first of these may also apply to old buildings found in the mock Tudor style, but modern houses that have taken on the wattle and daub appearance may choose a different design for a front porch. Gable end roofs are often used to great effect here, as the braces can be painted like old-fashioned beams to impress visitors.

Victorian Porches

Like Edwardian porches, Victorian porches are also characterised by white-painted timber framework. These are often very extravagant. In the time period, features like this would have often demonstrated the wealth of the homeowner who had the house built or the work completed.

Wraparound Porches

These porches are rare in the UK compared to the other styles on this list, owing to the fact that you often need a large, detached house in a wide open area to be able to build one. You are almost certain to need planning permission, too. As the name suggests, they “wrap around” either part or all of a property. This creates a lot of extra space for any purpose, including purely decorative. 

Technically speaking, it’s possible for these porches to act as both a front porch and a back porch at the same time!

Build Your Very Own Porch with a Kit from Us

If you’ve been looking at porches that can add a quaint charm to your home, or even to add value if you’ve ever thought about selling your house, then get in touch with The Porch Specialist today.

We can provide you with a kit containing everything you need to build your very own timber frame porch, with the schedule for completion fully in your hands once the work has been signed off and delivered. As we’re a price-competitive firm, you’ll even be getting it at the best value for your budget.

We’ll make everything you need to your exact specifications, so browse through our website and find the design you know will suit your property most. Whether you live in a modern townhouse or an older, classically-styled home, our team can design the perfect porch for for you.