I love a porch swing if there's room. My whole front elevation was planned around my desire for a porch swing. And mine's that polylumber, made from recycled milk jugs, no painting, warping or fading.

I adore porch swings and am still considering adding one to my porch (shown below at a distance). My grandparents had a porch swing and I have such fond memories of spending many afternoons on it as a child, helping to shell peas, reading, or just quietly amusing myself. What I currently have on my porch are two wicker chairs with cushions that I bought at Pier 1 a few years ago. These face out towards the street, and across from them are two green-painted metal chairs (without cushions) that face the wicker chairs, creating a little "conversation" area, with a small table between each set of chairs. I'll have to take some close-up pics, as the one below doesn't reveal much!

{{!gwi}}

auntjen: I just adore your house. Is it brick? And that tree in the front yard is magnificent. If I were you, I would never move. :)

Thank you so much, OS! It is brick, save for a bit of wood trim under the eaves (that needs painting right now - ugh!). The trees in the entire neighborhood are such a joy to me. They're old and huge and in practically every yard. And the next move I make will be to some beautiful village in Mexico with easy ocean access. Until that happens, I'm stayin' put. Since my house now is less than 4 miles from my office, I'm seriously starting to consider biking to work so as to avoid these hideous fuel prices, or buying a scooter to ride instead of haulin' my butt that short distance in the Jeep.

(Sorry for the OT highjack!)

Here's mine ((sorry everyone -- I've posted this photo quite a bit lately!!))

Its a pub bench that I painted white -- and then black (and rubbed off the edges a bit) This is the very early spring photo -- I do change the florals in the half-basket to suit the season.

{{!gwi}}

auntjen....everytime I see your house....I swoon...

Here's my summer porch before we did the siding:
{{!gwi}}
And here it is dressed for Halloween:
{{!gwi}}
Ranch house, too. Porch is 18' x 6'.

{{!gwi}}
I have cheap wicker that is painted in eggplant. One loveseat and one chair. Dh and I spend a lot of time sitting out front.

MB, that eggplant looks yummy with your plants!
Diane

Our front porch is narrow too. A bench seems to be the best fit. We have wood and wicker rockers along with a swing on the screened porch out back.

AJ, our wicker came from Pier 1 too. Great prices!

Here is a link that might be useful:

Such pretty porches!

Mimi_2006, may I be pushy and ask for a front picture of your porch? We are redoing our porch and I have hit a snag with the steps. Thanks!

All of the porches look so nice and cozy! :)

auntjen...oh WOW!!!

mimi_2006 - Your porch and swing looks familiar. LOL
From my old house
{{!gwi}}

View from that swing
{{!gwi}}

That front porch at Christmas
{{!gwi}}

My current front porch bench. I don't use it as much as the back screened porch, but I occasional take a seat when the dog is out front.

perky_2 - I posted in a new thread for you. Teacats, LOVE that bench on your porch. Beautiful porches, all so welcoming. I catch myself mentally decorating porches when I drive through neighborhoods now, it's sick! LOL

Teacats--I love the pub bench and the way you finished it! Where did you get the bench?

Here is my porch. Still not finished with all the updating I would like to do. (Fern is staying. I have a nest!)

Kitchenkelly - That corner looks so peaceful and inviting. :) I love your garage doors, too!

Teacats, where did you get your Rosemary Cottage sign? I want a Grasshopper Cottage sign and looking where to order it.

Thanks for the nice thoughts!

Actually I got the pub bench for FREE (my favorite four-letter F word LOL!) when I traded a small child-size bench for it. The gal who lives across the back alley had found it at the Salvation Army store but never got around to finishing it ---- sooooooo ----- we traded benches! I had it painted and out there in about four hours!

As for the "Rosemary Cottage" sign -- I found it through a furniture store here in Dallas -- but they no longer carry that brand of signs. I had it custom made -- and it was ready in about 10 days or so. People here thought it was "odd" that we named our house -- but after living in England -- I really felt this little house "needed and wanted" this name!

I have a resin wicker porch swing and matching loveseat! I love to sit out there and watch the world go by!

My porch swing is set up exactly like Mimi's. Her recycled milk jug material is cool, and sounds easier to take care of. Mine was an end-of-the-day flea market find at $50. It's wood tho, and the paint is chipping off badly.... SHould have gotten poly lumber.

i forgot i posted this thread. ha nice porches everyone!
teacats - i really like that bench! very neat!

maybe i should really think about this before i got buying something. starting to think i should have a small table out there too. saw some chairs at lowes i liked over the weekend.

Pretty, pretty front porches! Isn't it amazing how many of us have a porch swing? This is an older pic of my front portal (what we call them out here). It's 77 ft. long by 10 ft. deep and completely covered. I'm actually just starting a bit of a reno out there now, as I have more company coming in this Saturday. Over this past Spring, the darn packrats have chewed holes in my fabric once again, and I need to recover them. I also want to paint the two carved, whitewashed tables and restain the chairs. The nesting tables have been moved to the back portal. This view is of the middle of the front portal. At one end I have a porch swing, table, lamp and chair. At the other I have an adobe banco and coffee table. As you can see, we tend to use real wood furniture with cushions we can recover as necessary on our portals out here. Equipale furniture is also used and looks very southwestern, but the reality of it is that it tends to blow over in our strong winds and dries out and cracks very quickly with our hot sun and low humidity. The fireplace is called a kiva fireplace and is wood burning.
Lynn

Here's the only pic I have of the entire thing. The porch swing is at the left end and the adobe banco is at the far right:

Mollie, you can custom order signs from this place in Canada. It takes a few weeks for an order to be completed, but it's worth it. The signs are very nice. I've had mine for close to 5 years now. It's exposed to all the elements, and it looks as good as the day we first hung it.
:-)

Here is a link that might be useful: Mayfair Signs

This photo is from yesterday morning. On my tiny porch there is just this vintage chair.Just got a free wicker love seat from CL on Friday that I painted and am making cushions for it now. It will go on the opposite side. tiny porch big attitude!

{{gwi:693737}}

Cooperbailey: Gorgeous photo -- just LOVE the roses! And the chair is just right! Can't wait to see the loveseat!

Jan

Yes, we will need an update!

cooperbailey: It looks so romantic - just like a magazine cover!

CB that entry is TDF! Your roses are simply breathtaking - can you tell me what type they are? I tend to kill mine pretty regularly but I keep trying!

Dian57 where did you get your porch furniture...the chair looks vintage ? I really love everyones' porches. My furniture is cheap and peeling and I am looking for antique on a cheap budget :). c

Oh, Cooperbailey ... swoon!!!

This is not exactly a chair, but it is my front porch looking from inside out! I also have wicker and rockers, but no pics of them just yet.

I love the wicker buggy. please show pics of your wicker and your whole porch.

CB and Cran, your porches look so pretty . . . just like photos out of Romantic Home mag! I hope you'll show us more pics of them soon. I bought new fabrics to recover all the cushions and throw pillows on mine yesterday. You all inspired me to get going on my own redo out there, so thank you! Lynn

Love all the porches.

Trailrunner--I got the set at the supermarket, of all places. Just a basic 4 piece wicker set. The chair you see is a matching rocker bought at the same store.

Cooper Bailey are those New Dawn roses? My absolute favorite rose.

I want to show my porch but I don't know how to post pictures here. But if anyone is interested they can go to home galleries. Then click on Halloween Hauntings and you will see my porch with the muns and scarecrow and pumpkins. My house was built in 1895 and is a Victorian Cottage and the picture was taken in the autumm.

I am going to learn how to post pictures I need a little help from a friend or something. Sorry...

Oh I am changing my porch furniture to antique wicker. But for the time being I have to use my willow furniture. eck!
Jane

new dawn yup. New Dawn roses- also my favorite!
You can look in the FAQ for how to post pics I think. My pics are on photobucket and I click on the link under each pic that says create html ( and something else) link. It creates a page of links.Then I copy the link and go back to my message and paste where I want them. if you have done it right, they will appear when you click preview. if not, try again. Sue

I just love Everyone's porches. What beautiful ideas...I've always wanted a front porch, and we finally built a home with one two years ago. This was taken last fall..On the other side of the porch, I have a small antique painted table and 4 chairs..shabby chic style..we enjoy eating there during the summer.

May I ask, NEWHOMEBUILDER, where you bought your current front porch bench? It is so charming and I am green with envy. I realize this is a long shot question since this post is from earlier this summer. But just in case, I would love any information you can share. All of the above porches are lovely. Thank you!