Choosing the Right Porch for Your New York Home
New York State boasts an array of beautiful landscapes, from stunning lakes to vast vineyards and to wildly colorful maple trees in the fall.
And the best way to appreciate it and soak it all in?
With a beautiful porch, of course!
But if you’re thinking about adding a porch to your New York home, you might be a little hung up on what type of porch is the best fit.
At Keystone Custom Decks, we’ve built outdoor living spaces of all kinds in New York State, and today, we’ll go over some of the most popular porch options and how they compare to each other to help you figure out what option is the best one for you.
Let’s get started!
TL;DR - Choosing the Right Porch for Your New York Home
New York’s four-season climate makes porch choice especially important—whether you're braving snowy winters, rainy springs, or buggy summers.
- Front porches offer charm and community appeal
- Open porches provide affordable, scenic relaxation with less protection from weather and bugs
- Screened-in porches keep bugs out and extend usability through three seasons
- Enclosed porches offer even more comfort but come with higher costs
- Retractable porches give maximum flexibility
- Pool house porches are perfect for summer entertaining
Choosing the right porch depends on your lifestyle, views, and how much of the year you want to enjoy the space.
Porch Considerations for New York State
Before we get into the pros and cons of various porch styles, let’s talk about some of the unique things New York residents need to consider when it comes to porch style and design.
Four Seasons
New York has four distinct seasons—harsh, snowy winters, lush, rainy springs, hot, buggy summers, and crisp, vibrant autumns. Although you’re not likely to use your porch year-round, one thing to consider is this:
Do you want to prioritize making your porch ideal for a specific season, or try for a porch you can use as much of the year as possible?
If your New York house is a second home or vacation property, prioritize a porch that’s ideal for the time you’ll be there.
Views
Another consideration will be the view. Ideally, you’ll want a porch that prioritizes taking in the best views possible!
Harsh Weather
The weather in New York is tough! Invest in materials that can withstand the snow, ice, rain, wind, sun, and other harsh weather conditions. Consider adding a fire pit or outdoor fireplace.
Related Blog: Do I Need a Permit for a Gas Fire Pit in New York? Understanding State and Local Regulations
Aesthetics and Resale Value
Finally, New York is a gorgeous state, and you want your home to complement the surroundings rather than detract from them! Opt for a porch that fits with the landscape instead of clashing with it.
This will strengthen both your enjoyment of the porch and the eventual resale value of your home.
Now, let’s explore some various porch types you might consider.
Front Porches
Wide steps, white railings, hanging baskets, and rocking chairs that face the street. Chatting with neighbors on a warm spring day, sipping lemonade in the sweltering summer, and decorating with bright pumpkins and gourds in autumn.
Front porches are full of nostalgic charm and instantly elevate the curb appeal of your home. They’re a fantastic way to make your home feel open and welcoming, while simultaneously giving you a “buffer zone” to talk to people who come to your door without actually inviting them inside.
Of all the porch types, front porches are by far the most communal and the least private.
What does that mean for you?
It means that whether you choose a front porch or not depends almost entirely on your neighborhood and how much you want to create a community with the people who live there.
Pro of a front porch: Get to know your neighbors.
Con of a front porch: Feel like you’re being watched every time you set foot on your porch.
Other considerations: Even if you don’t use it a lot, front porches add undeniable charm. They’re also one of the more affordable porch options. You might also want to go with a front porch if the front of your house has the best views.
Open Porches
Comfortable chairs gathered around an outdoor fireplace. Unparalleled views and a soft breeze. Sipping wine and chatting with an old friend while a sturdy roof protects you from the scorching sun in the summer and unexpected showers in the spring.
Open porches are the most common and affordable type of porch, although the bigger the porch, the more expensive it becomes. They feature a porch deck, posts, and roof, but the walls are completely open, letting in light, air, and, unfortunately, bugs.
An open porch on a secluded part of your house, such as the back, will be more private than a front porch and offer more opportunities for creating something expansive. Still, it won’t provide a beautiful place to decorate seasonally and converse with neighbors like a front porch will.
Pros of an open porch: Looks beautiful, offers unobstructed views, and is an affordable option.
Cons of an open porch: Bugs may interfere with your gatherings. Only usable part of the year.
Note: Another term for an open porch is a “covered deck” or “deck with a roof.” If your home is in the Finger Lakes region and you love open porches, you may be interested in reading our blog about Crafting A Finger Lakes-Inspired Deck Masterpiece.
Screened-in Porches
An oblong table, spread with coffee and pastries, and not a yellowjacket in sight. Sitting in a chair with your laptop while a fluffy cat rubs against your legs. An indoor-outdoor space you can use from spring through autumn without ever swatting a mosquito that leaves a bloody smear on your arm.
Screened-in porches offer ultimate porch comfort—feel the breeze, hear the birds chirp, look at the view—but since the walls are fully enclosed by screens, you don’t have to worry about pesky bugs.
Pros of a screened-in porch: Easy—no bugs! Need I say more?
Cons of a screened porch: Screens affect the view slightly and make the porch less visually appealing.
Other considerations: Screened porches are typically more expensive to construct than open porches, although they’re less expensive than enclosed porches, which we’ll discuss next.
Enclosed Porches
Sun sparkles off the snowy trees outside the wide glass window. A white-tail deer picks its way across your yard. With hot coffee in hand and a magazine at your elbow, you’re cozy as can be in your fluffy chair, a warm blanket across your lap.
Enclosed porches go a step further than screened porches, with full windows closing the space off from harsh weather as well as bugs. It creates a lovely sunroom, perfect for enjoying sunshine and beautiful views year-round.
Pros of enclosed porches: Can be used for a larger portion of the year than other porch types. Looks beautiful—typically nicer than screened-in porches—as well as offering spectacular views.
Cons of enclosed porches: More separation from nature. Higher construction costs than other porch types. Depending on how you construct it, it may overheat in summer and be frigid in winter.
Other considerations: Enclosed porches, sometimes called three-season porches, are typically not connected to the house’s HVAC, meaning they’re unusable when it’s cold unless the sun is bright enough to warm the space. If you want it usable year-round, you’ll want to make a four-season porch with insulation, heating, and cooling—but that includes extra expenses and permitting headaches.
Enclosed porches also get really hot in summer unless you have a way to run AC, or a means of opening the windows and running fans.
Retractable Porches
Sturdy and classic. Columns and potted flowers. Breeze in your face, and unobstructed views as you sip a mug of green tea. But the days are warming, and inevitably, you hear it—the high-pitched hum of the season’s first mosquito.
No problem! With the click of a button, screens roll down from the roof, turning your open porch into a screened-in porch for the season.
But retractable porches aren’t limited to turning an open porch into a screened-in porch. You also have the option to fully enclose sections of the porch with doors or panels. This is ideal if you want to block driving rain or snow. Also, it allows you to close off your porch and keep your furniture in the same place instead of shoving it away in storage for the season.
Pros of Retractable Porches: Unmatched flexibility. The best of both worlds—unobstructed beauty most of the year and protection when it counts.
Cons of Retractable Porches: Tends to cost more than simply picking a style and sticking to it. More moving parts mean more things that can go wrong or quit working.
Pool House Porches
Dappled sunlight flickering on the water. Reclining in the shade on an outdoor chaise lounge, iced tea at your elbow. Splash! A child jumps into the pool wearing orange arm floaties.
Up until this point, we’ve been discussing porches attached to your home. But why not put a porch on your pool house?
After all, no one wants to be in the house during the sweltering summer months—they want to be by the pool! A pool house porch provides an outdoor living space where you can relax in the shade without leaving the pool deck or patio.
Pros of Pool House Porches: Puts a porch right where the fun and action is. Allows you to keep an eye on children more comfortably. Perfect spot for entertaining. Can add charm to an existing pool house.
Cons of Pool House Porches: Not for everyone—if you don’t spend much time in the pool, it probably won’t get used much. For some, a simple pavilion may be a better, more affordable option.
Bonus Tip: Consider adding an outdoor kitchen to your pool house porch or patio area for the ultimate hosting area! To learn more, read our Guide to Having an Outdoor Kitchen in New York.
Let’s Create Your Ideal Porch
Are you dreaming of a sun porch you can comfortably use three seasons out of the year? A welcoming front porch you can decorate with lights and garlands in December? A dedicated shade zone next to the pool house?
No matter your New York porch dreams, Keystone Custom Decks is here to help!
Besides stunning porches, we also create other outdoor living staples such as:
For more inspiration on how Keystone can help you create the outdoor space of your dreams, check out our project gallery. Then, when you’re ready to have a meaningful conversation about your vision, give us a call or schedule an estimate.
We look forward to hearing from you!