How to bring your porch to the next level in 4 easy steps

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You might think that transforming your terrace is effort- and money-consuming, especially since you perform most of your daily activities inside your house. It’s understandable why you spend so much time indoors – everything you need is there. But you could take some time to analyse how you can make your outdoor space comfier and more inviting too, because spending time outdoors can bring health benefits and be pleasant, too. 

Many people fail to realise how important it is to keep in touch with nature, especially since they live such busy lives. Scientifically, being outdoors can make you happier and healthier, and more doctors have started to issue “nature prescriptions” to help with different patients’ conditions. You don’t need to be in the park, forest or mountains to rip the following benefits of spending time outside:

  • Relieved stress and tension: being outdoors is linked to decreased depression, anxiety, insomnia and stress. 
  • Improved health: spending time on your porch can lower your blood pressure, hypertension, heart rate and cholesterol.

Now that you’re aware of how important it is to spend time outside, keep reading to understand how you can make your veranda as comfy and inviting as your indoor rooms.

Treat your veranda like your living room.

Your veranda should not be that low-maintenance extension of your house you rarely clean or declutter or which comes last after you clean your indoor rooms. It should be a relaxing place where you unveil both pleasant and household activities. 

Yes, your living room is nice on days when it’s too hot or cold outside because it has AC and a TV in front of your comfy sofa. But to rip the benefits of your veranda, you have to give it the special care you give your indoor space too.

Almost everything you do in your living room, you can do on your porch, too. You can create intimacy with roof slabs made of concrete – they retain heat for a long time and transfer it to your indoors afterwards. You can control the hot temperature outside if you create shade on your porch by installing high walls or trellises and introducing pergolas with creepers or structures with different shapes of canvas awnings. Terracotta or wooden deck tiles are comfortable to walk on during hot summers, and there are many more options designed for each platform’s layout.

You can enjoy your porch even on the coldest days, assuming you follow these tips:

  • Choose floor heating for a closed terrace as it works on a larger surface area and keeps it considerably warm. The cost is a little high, but there are other, cheaper variants to it as well.
  • Get heat radiators, as they complement your floor perfectly, bring the heat on biting cold days and can style up dull places.
  • Get an electric fireplace if you care about the environment, because it’s low in CO2 production. Electric fireplaces come in many innovative designs at different prices, too. 

Bring nature to your porch.

Nothing brings a place to life as greenery does. Plants improve your health and veranda’s design, and we will break the benefits of greenery down for you in the following two sections.

Health benefits

Besides being healthy, flowers and plants can range from high- to low-maintenance. Trimming and watering them give you peace of mind and help you unwind and relax after a long, stressful day. They pose a few conditions – some prosper in sunlight while others prefer shady spots, but many beautiful flowers can grow in any place you leave them, too. Choose the proper planters to allow your plants to thrive because you have a wide variety of sizes and colours to pick from.

After you’ve chosen the plants that suit you and their proper flower pots, you’ll enjoy health benefits such as:

  • Improved overall mood
  • Improved air quality
  • Decreased fatigue
  • Reduced stress 

Impact on design

You can place, hang or stick plants anywhere if they’re in their suitable containers, and even make a flower wall on your veranda. It would be best to search for the right flower pots because they come in many sizes and colours, and their design might trick you into buying something that doesn’t suit your plants. 

If you’re a garden lover, search for the right pot to fit even the tightest places on your porch. Some containers come equipped with a system that waters your plants automatically so that you can relax knowing your flowers won’t die when you’re not home.

Add colour to your porch.

Having their terrace as comfy and inviting as your indoor space while resembling the Gardens of Versailles is probably a dream to many porch owners. But not that many know how important the colours of this area are.

Colours are communication tools that affect your emotions and mood, as Pablo Picasso once remarked. 

If it’s been long since you last considered the colours in your porch, maybe it’s time to give a new face to things like chairs and walls. What benefits do colours bring?

  • Yellow is believed to purify the body and stimulate the nerves
  • Orange is used to increase energy levels and heal the lungs
  • Red is used to increase circulation and stimulate the body
  • Blue is thought to treat pain and soothe illnesses
  • Indigo is considered to alleviate skin problems.

Add key outdoor accessories.

Assuming the area is adequately covered, you can have pretty much anything you want on your terrace. Nevertheless, there are some key elements that bring your porch to the next level, such as:

  • Upcycled furniture
  • Audio systems
  • Garden-friendly rugs
  • Thrown-out blankets and pillows
  • Hammocks 
  • Ottomans.

The lighting of your porch is paramount – smart, fairy, led lights are among the best options to light it like a pro. You can set the mood and atmosphere on your porch by changing old fixtures, choosing dim or bright lights and playing with light colours.

Now you’re aware of how important and rewarding making the most of your outdoor space can be, and you certainly know how to transform it like a pro. 

Don’t forget to maintain your veranda in a good state all the time and treat it like your indoor rooms.