It’s Porching Weather On The Farm

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It’s “porching” weather friends!  

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This is the farmhouse that my husband and I built about 3 years ago.  One of the things that we were looking for in a house plan was a house with a lot of porches.  We live on a hilltop with a view all the way around and we felt like (almost) wrap-around porches were really important.

Maybe you would like to come along on a porch tour!

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We have almost 1000 square feet of porches (what were we thinking???) and I have found it extremely hard to “furnish” the porches with furniture.   It’s a lot of furniture and due to being on a breezy hilltop only certain things work for our porches!

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The front porch is very long and somewhat narrow.  I have found the thing that works the best are rocking chars and heavy tables to put our coffee cup on in the morning (and ice tea at noon and night!)  I have kept my furnishings very minimalist and easy to care for.

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The side porch where our dining room opens to is the West side and gets the hot afternoon and evening sun.  So as a result, I have not furnished that side of the porch with anything except this old fashioned porch swing, which we love!  The porch is also rather narrow on this side, so what I’m holding out for is a trestle table with benches that can push under it. We’ve also discussed enclosing this side of the porch for a winter sun room.  That is not a project that will happen anytime soon though!

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The swing is where my husband sits in the evening to play his Banjo!

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Then on the East side of the house is my sleeping porch.  I love the old iron bed and enjoy a lot of naps right here! The coverlet changes as the seasons change.

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We chose not to do any railing on the front and side porches as we didn’t want anything to inhibit the view.  However, on this sleeping porch, we do someday intend to put railing to “enclose” it a bit, but yet keep it open to the outside too.  But when you own a farm, everything happens in it’s own good time!

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On the front and side porches, the view is perfect, the breeze is always present and it is porching at its finest!

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Then you come around to our back porch (above).  It is kind of confusing because we built our home facing the part of the hill with the best view, which means that when you drive up the hill you come to the back of the house!  So everyone uses our back door to come inside.  Which is just fine with me!  I’ve always been a “back door friends are the best friends” kind of farmgirl!  Smile!

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But the other funny thing is that the back porch is my favorite.  It is shorter, but wider so it seems like a much more usable space.  We also put rails on this porch so it definitely has an enclosed feel to it.

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There is plenty of room on one end for my extra long picnic table (it easily seats 12 people).  It also ends up being sort of like a mud room – it’s where we drop our muddy boots, gloves and coveralls when we come in from farm work in the winter time!

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It is the porch where the grand-girls play, the dog naps, shoes get piled, and where I often work on projects.

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Our farmhouse and the porches are a dream come true for my husband and I.  We built it ourselves.  Like all.by.ourselves.  It took us 18 months working 6 days a week and at least 8 hours a day to get it completely finished.  We love every single square inch of if.  Someday I’ll tell you the story!  (But if you are interested in reading the details, I documented every single step on my personal blog and you can read it by clicking here.)

 

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So now that I’ve taken you on the little tour of our porches, maybe it’s time to “get real” about them!  For fun, here are some things I’ve learned about porches in the country:

In real life they don’t look like the ones on the cover of Southern Living magazine.

You cannot be afraid of spiders and bugs. Seriously.

Porches on a hilltop that always have a lovely breeze in the Spring, Summer and Fall have strong winds in the Winter. You’ll be chasing furniture and cushions (and even the bed mattress) down the hill. Make your furniture heavy and your pillows washable.

When you have nice white walls and ceilings on your porches, you’re going to have to use hot water and bleach every spring to REALLY get them clean.  Wear gloves.

An old straw broom works best for sweeping the concrete… AND the ceilings!

Don’t have too much furniture and stuff on your porches or you’ll be cleaning around them forever.

 And sit in your chairs, nap on the porch bed, swing in the swing… and enjoy your porches.  Messes, dust, spiders and all!

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Thanks for coming along on the real life tour of my porches on our hilltop farm!

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Until our gravel roads cross again… so long.

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Dori

  1. Valerie jensen says:

    Aren’t porches the best part of country homes? Your porches are awesome! Our western Montana home has huge porches facing east and west with a window wall on west with mountain view and French doors on east but I still have to spend a few moments (at least!) of every day hanging out on one or both of our porches! We also have minimal furniture, and like you a porch swing was an absolute! Enjoy

    • Dori Troutman says:

      Hi Valerie,

      Oh they are. I do think every country home needs a porch. And I bet your home in Montana has some amazing views with the wide open spaces and gorgeous sunsets. We’ve been to Montana and it is so gorgeous.

      I sure dreamed (when we were building our home) of having all kinds of little “sitting areas” with lots of fun furniture, pillows everywhere, etc… and I actually started that way. Until I realized it just wasn’t working. 🙂 Minimal is best when it is a country porch!

      Thanks for reading and commenting!

      – Dori –

  2. Cindy says:

    Soo cute! Looks great !

  3. Krista says:

    Thank you for the tour of your beautiful porches! At the moment our house has a very small front porch and an alright sized back porch. There is only room to lounge on the back porch but we avoid it most days due to the super hot sun and absolutely no shade. We talk about building a house in the future and I know a large porch is in my dream house. I want one where I can relax and watch the sun set in a rocking chair. I also want to make sure it has plenty of shade. We will see what happens! Thanks for the tip about heavy furniture. I would much rather not chase around furniture when a storm comes through! Enjoy your porching weather!

    • Dori Troutman says:

      Hi Krista!

      A porch is a must isn’t it? But the good thing is that you don’t need a huge one to enjoy it! Just a little porch with shelter and shade! And room for a few rocking chairs. And a bed. And a swing! Ha Ha!

      Thanks for reading and commenting.

      – Dori –

  4. Love the idea of a bed on the porch, what a relaxing place to take a nap. Very neat spaces you’ve created.

  5. Oh ! So enjoyed the tour of your farmhouse porches. One thing I wondered about was not seeing any cats. I also live on a farm and find it so hard to keep it clean and tidy. Between the muddy boots and fly stains, I find it hard to keep up. Of course we use fly spray…but kitties are always on my chairs and table. Love some of your other ideas..like oil cloth on the picnic table top. But life on the farm is forever changing…mainly because of the weather. So thanks for the tour and great ideas…u have a beautiful place to call home.

    • Dori Troutman says:

      Hi Kate,

      We do not have any cats! We have an Australian Shepherd dog that for whatever reason tolerates absolutely every animal (chickens included) but she does not love cats. And after one awful experience (the cat lived, thankfully) I’ve not wanted to try with another cat.

      You are so right… life on a farm is forever changing. What worked today doesn’t necessarily work tomorrow.

      – Dori –

  6. Sheryl Anne says:

    I am finally getting a “porch”, actually a deck, on my farm house this year! We have a concrete stoop at the front door that faces the road, but like you, our back door is the one you drive up to, so it really functions as the entrance for everyone. My husband is building the deck off the back entrance and he will put up a porch swing per my request also. This is just one of many projects we have been completing over the past 6 years, since buying this over 100 yr old house, as there is always something to do.
    In my dreams, I also see a covered front porch in the future, but it might be quite some time, as there are other things that need done worse. There used to be a big porch on the back, but it was covered and became part of the interior of the house at some point in the past.

    • Dori Troutman says:

      Hi Sheryl,

      My daughter and her husband have an old home also and you are right… there is a never-ending list of projects. But oh my word – don’t you just love having an old house? They are so special. Your porch will be lovely and you’ll love that swing!

      – Dori –

  7. Andrea says:

    Love your porches… To the best Grammy ever!

  8. Ann says:

    What a lovely option to have 360 degree porches from which to choose how to spend your days or evenings taking in the beautiful views from your hilltop home.

  9. Mary Rauch says:

    Got a question for you Dori. According to my theory (and a few things I’ve studied), I wonder if you have mosquitoes up there? Probably not, right?…I’m so curious.

    • Dori Troutman says:

      Hi Mary,

      We DO NOT have mosquitos on the hilltop!!!!! 🙂 It is a miracle! They clearly do not like the breeze that consistently blows. Yay!!!

      – Dori –

  10. Marilyn says:

    Congratulations on your beautiful home. Thanks for sharing the photos.
    Marilyn

  11. Marvene says:

    Dori, you are blessed to be able to enjoy your home and “porches” at a younger age. They are truly beautiful. You are both are very talented!!

    • Dori Troutman says:

      Hi Aunt Marvene!

      I don’t know about talented… just high energy and crazy! 🙂

      Love you,

      – Dori –

  12. Debbie says:

    Howdy Dori!
    What clean and inviting porch spaces you’ve created! Thanks so much for the tour. I think my favorite spot is your sleeping porch…A rare treat for any farmgirl for sure! I sure enjoy ours at the cottage too! Happy ” porching” !
    Hugs!
    Deb

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