Anything left out in the weather is going to look "old' in a year or two--maybe less depending on your 12-months climatic season. "Old" colonial homes had wood, stone or brick porches, depending on the region. What is the siding material of your house? Use something durable which matches!

The style, materials and maybe geographic area of your new home may dictate the material. Down here in the southeast, many houses are raised and have wooden porch floors. Depending on your home, I'd go with wood, brick or stone.

Vertical grain fir 1x4's is the standard in this part of the world. I was surprised at how rot resistant it seems to be.

Thanks for the responses. Haha, Ichabod, we have our own kids that will be doing a lot of that already!

I guess I should have used the term "historic", and not old. We want it to look like it was built many years ago, and I worry that concrete will give it a modern look. I am worried about using wood because of the durability.

The house will be located in central Kentucky, which identifies itself as a southern state. The house will be brick.

Is my concern over the look of simple concrete out of line? I've looked for

I would do brick.

Rough-sawn white oak 1x4 boards, not T&G, not even planed.

Or stone tiles, handmade brick pavers, soapstone, etc.

The choice really depends upon how formal the setting is.

Casey

I would go with brick pavers. You can get some really great ones now that look old and handmade.

How do you go about picking brick pavers for a porch on a brick house? Do you try to match the brick to the house or does it matter?

What brick have you chosen for the house? Are there any other materials besides the roof on the house?

tcufrog, we have chosen the Boral "Colonial" brick. It is a red brick with blue accents and made to look like a wood mold brick with flashes and imperfections.

Any other materials? Not sure what you mean. Or did you mean to say any other materials other than *brick*? It will only be brick, no siding or stone anywhere. We will have shutters. We are also thinking about balustrades on the porch roof. Below is a rough sketch of the front facade that I drew up. This is not set in stone, but something we are shooting for. Keep in mind the house will be brick, not white as it looks below. Also, I'm not sure where the final grade will be, the porch may sit lower in the ground than I have it here.