You need more space, and you’re willing to venture outside your home to get it. You’ve decided to build a porch extension, or extend your existing porch, to make more room outside. The only problem is, you’re not sure how to go about it. Try some of these Porch Extension Ideas to get started expanding your space and create a fun or relaxing place close to nature!
1) DIY Pergola
Your porch is part of your home, but your extension doesn’t have to be. Instead of investing a lot of money to create a permanent home addition, build a pergola that’s not connected to your house. Use this article to learn how to build a pergola beside your porch without having to tie it into the main building. While the structure is permanent, it’s not going to be connected to your house, and you shouldn’t have to worry about as many building regulations.
2) Sun Shade
You can build a new wood porch or extend your porch by hiring a contractor or doing a complex construction project, but if all you want is extra space to sit comfortably in the shade, that may be overcomplicating things. Try adding a sun shade like this one from Amazon to keep you and your guests and household members cool. This is ideal if you only use the area in the warmer months since it allows airflow underneath while blocking sunlight. You can even put it atop a pergola or arbor to block sunlight underneath.
3) DIY Ground-Level Deck
Your porch extension doesn’t have to attach to your building if you don’t want to worry about stringent code requirements. Instead, you can create a sturdy and porch-like structure adjacent to your porch by building a low deck like the one in this video by DIY Creators. This creates a more versatile environment for parties or spending time outside since you can sit under the covered porch or relax in the sun during the cooler fall months. Think about building stairs to move from your porch to your deck and create a multilevel area.
4) Indoor-Outdoor Seating
When you build your extension, you might have a variety of roofs and covers for it. For example, if you have a covered porch, your extension might only have a pergola with open slats on top. You’ll want to get indoor-outdoor seats like the ones in this picture, because even a covered porch often gets damper than the inside of a house. It’ll also give you the flexibility to move furniture between different sections. Get manufactured wicker furniture like the pieces in the picture to get the comfort of indoors with the durability of outdoor furniture.
5) Cedar
If you’re building an addition, you’ll need to figure out what materials to use. You can pick cheaper and lighter materials for your roof by building a deck with a pergola or canopy, but you’ll want the floor and supports to be wood. Cedar is one of the best wood choices, because it repels bugs and smells good. Check out this article by Northern Log to learn more of the benefits of cedar, and decide whether it’s worth using for your extension instead of standard pine boards.
6) DIY Wind Chimes
Wind chimes are great accents for any porch, but if your porch is covered or sheltered, you may not have good places to put them. Whether you have wind chimes or not, you’ll want to add some when you build your extension since you’ll have more room, and the extension will probably be exposed to more wind than the existing porch. Make your own wind chimes using this video tutorial by Kishan creation, and customize them to fit your decor.
7) Sitting Room
What can you do with a porch extension? If you have a small porch and just need a little more room for get-togethers, you’re about to have more space that you can use to create a more organized environment. Instead of splaying furniture around the room without any pattern, design an organized space with one or more seating areas. Add a table next to each seat, like the designer of the space in this picture did, and maybe plan both a sitting and dining area if you like eating outside.
8) Canopy
If extending your porch seems like an expensive or intimidating task, there are ways to expand your outdoor space simply. Instead of making the porch bigger or adding a new one, try building an adjacent deck or patio, then adding a canopy like this one. The canopy will block water and repel bugs like a screened-in porch, but you don’t have to go to the time and expense of building a full covered porch with a roof. A canopy-like this also leaves you with the option of taking it down to create a sunny area when you want one.
9) Plants
A porch is a great way to spend time outside with comforts like shade, seats, blankets, and more. If you love nature, your porch extension will bring your further into it, and you can go further by adding plants to the new section. Create a green area like the one in this picture, and when you move from one section of your porch to the nest, it’ll feel like entering a green and beautiful fantasy world. If you add plants, think about what furniture and decorations will amplify this feeling of being in nature.
10) Paint
If you like your current porch design and simply want to make the existing porch bigger, you’ll still run into a few issues with your extension. One common issue is making the two sections look like one place when one was built a long time ago. The paint is faded, and that same color isn’t available in stores anymore, so you’ll want to repaint the whole porch with a porch paint like this one. This way, you’ll have a single space with fresh paint to make it feel new and revitalized!
11) Columns
When you extend your porch, you’ll have a couple new design challenges, such as figuring out how to support the new roof. One way to do so is to build columns like the ones on the houses in this article. The columns make wider porches look more complete and give the impression of a permanent and elegant place. You can make these your main supports or find another way to support the roof and build decorative columns.
Did any of these porch extension ideas inspire you? How’re you making your home bigger and better? We’d love for you to share your ideas and inspirations in the comments below!