Budapest Post

Cum Deo pro Patria et Libertate
Budapest, Europe and world news

Porch Life Is Back! 5 Reasons Why Your Front Yard Is the New Outdoor Living Room

Porch Life Is Back! 5 Reasons Why Your Front Yard Is the New Outdoor Living Room

Vegetable gardens, outdoor living rooms, and a place to play—your front yard isn’t just for curb appeal. It’s found square footage and a social life, too.

When my friends Matt and Staci Eddy bought a stunning home in Los Angeles’ Angelino Heights, a historic neighborhood that’s famous for its Victorian mansions, I couldn’t wait to visit. I anticipated lovely evenings in their ornate living room, maybe sipping an old-fashioned, but instead—rain or shine, cold or hot—their functional front yard and porch was the only place to be. Neighbors would walk by and ask the Eddys if we all wanted to order a pizza or share a glass of wine. Kids ran up to play, dogs walked up for pets. Matt and Staci seemed to know everyone, and everyone seemed to know them.

Who lives this way anymore? I thought with a touch of wonder. It felt like we were living in a different era. I got so hooked that Matt and Staci now tell mutual friends that they’ve come to expect me to invite myself over on a semi-regular basis. “The phone would ring and you’d say, ‘I’m in your neighborhood! I need porch time!'” Matt says with a laugh. Honestly? I made that call even when I wasn’t out and about—I just wanted to sit on the front porch with my friends and enjoy the feeling of easy connectedness I found there.

So here’s some happy news: The front yard—and porch time—is back. Homeowners are adding seating areas, front yard vegetable gardens and even fire pits as they leave the fenced-off privacy of their backyards and move the party to the front. Yardzen, a website that helps customers redesign their landscapes online, reports that 37% of customers want plans for functional front yards.

“It wasn’t that long ago that a front yard was a slab of concrete and some grass,” says Yardzen CEO and co-founder Allison Messner. “But as people’s relationship with their homes changed dramatically over the past year, we saw customers wanting to eat, play, and relax in a front yard where they could see neighbors and socialize.”

Even though the trend started during the coronavirus pandemic, Messner says it’s here to stay.

A Mediterranean-inspired front yard has a social area that also ups curb appeal.


Mindy Gayer, a designer in Orange County, agrees. “A lot of our new build clients are asking for these types of spaces,” Gayer says. “People have become more neighborly and communal in how they spend their free time. The appeal for a true front yard with seating, whether that’s a porch or a landscaped area, has never been higher.”

With that in mind, here are five reasons why you should consider taking your front yard from meh to amazing …

A Yardzen redesign includes porch swing chairs and an outdoor living room.


If You Build It, They Will Come

When the Eddys first moved into their Victorian manse, so many neighbors stopped by that they had to drag dining chairs outside to keep the fun going. “We’ve since upgraded to lovely Target outdoor furniture that’s quite classy, so we have a lovely living room vibe now,” Matt says.

In other words, an inviting set of hanging chairs, benches, or Adirondack chairs could be the beginning of a whole new social life. “What’s remarkable is if you crave a connection to your world, your friends, and your neighborhood, all you have to do is have seating and make it known,” Matt adds. “It’s a place that self-fulfills.”

The front porch of a home in Josua Tree boasts a built-in seating area and patio swing.


Edibles for Everyone

Edible front yards are already a thing, especially for those who want a vegetable garden but don’t have space. But growing veggies in front of the house can also up the community factor. “I live on a small lot in a dense urban area, and our backyard is tiny while our front yard is large,” says Kendra Poppy, Yardzen’s growth developer. “I wanted a vegetable garden, and that was the space that really made sense. It became a community gathering spot—my neighbor comes over with a bottle of wine, the kids pick cucumbers, and it’s a focal point.”


The Kids Are in Sight, the Adults Are Alright

“Kids were really the original front yard socializers,” Messner points out, as functional front yards are fertile ground for spontaneous playdates. Play structures aren’t common, she says, although lawns are being reduced or even eradicated, space to run around is still popular.

Parents reap benefits, too, Gayer points out. With a front seating area, they can keep an eye on their children while having a nice experience of their own. Which is why, for her clients in Newport Beach, Calif., she decided to keep a pre-existing patio area when updating the facade. “Now, it sits off the French doors in the living room so our clients can enjoy that coastal indoor/outdoor living space both in the front and back yards,” she says.

When Mindy Gayer redesigned a client’s front yard, she updated the patio to create an outdoor seating area.

You Can Set a Boundary

While the point of a social front yard is to add an inviting space, that doesn’t mean you can’t cordon off your area—or corral the kids. Messner says row fences work well without blocking a view of the street. Privacy hedges are antithetical, of course, but we like the silvery leaves of Little Ollie Dwarf Olive and low-water Hebe Addenda Variegata.

Yardzen recommends a modern farmhouse row fence to add a boundary without blocking the view of the neighborhood.


You Have an Easy Out

Just because you’re throwing open the proverbial gates when you decide to make your front yard a social space, that doesn’t mean you can’t have the best of both worlds—as long as you remember to shut the front door.

“You have your house, and you can hide in it,” says Matt. “You have your backyard, and you can hide in that. But if you want to be a part of the world, you can sit on the front porch, see your neighbors, and it’s this incredibly fortifying thing.”

The best part? The experience is on-demand. “The minute you’re tired of seeing your neighbors, you go inside,” he says. “So, what is the downside of having a social front yard?”

A pair of black hanging chairs asks friends to take a seat.

AI Disclaimer: An advanced artificial intelligence (AI) system generated the content of this page on its own. This innovative technology conducts extensive research from a variety of reliable sources, performs rigorous fact-checking and verification, cleans up and balances biased or manipulated content, and presents a minimal factual summary that is just enough yet essential for you to function as an informed and educated citizen. Please keep in mind, however, that this system is an evolving technology, and as a result, the article may contain accidental inaccuracies or errors. We urge you to help us improve our site by reporting any inaccuracies you find using the "Contact Us" link at the bottom of this page. Your helpful feedback helps us improve our system and deliver more precise content. When you find an article of interest here, please look for the full and extensive coverage of this topic in traditional news sources, as they are written by professional journalists that we try to support, not replace. We appreciate your understanding and assistance.
Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
IMF Upgrades Global Growth Forecast as Weaker Dollar Supports Outlook
House Republicans Move to Defund OECD Over Global Tax Dispute
France Opens Criminal Investigation into X Over Algorithm Manipulation Allegations
Trump Steamrolls EU in Landmark Trade Win: US–EU Trade Deal Imposes 15% Tariff on European Imports
ChatGPT CEO Sam Altman says people share personal info with ChatGPT but don’t know chats can be used as court evidence in legal cases.
Intel Reports Revenue Beats but Sees 81% Rise in Losses
Politics is a good business: Barack Obama’s Reported Net Worth Growth, 1990–2025
UN's Top Court Declares Environmental Protection a Legal Obligation Under International Law
"Crazy Thing": OpenAI's Sam Altman Warns Of AI Voice Fraud Crisis In Banking
The Podcaster Who Accidentally Revealed He Earns Over $10 Million a Year
UK Government Considers Dropping Demand for Apple Encryption Backdoor
Japanese Man Discovers Family Connection Through DNA Testing After Decades of Separation
Russia Signals Openness to Ukraine Peace Talks Amid Escalating Drone Warfare
Switzerland Implements Ban on Mammography Screening
Pogacar Extends Dominance with Stage Fifteen Triumph at Tour de France
President Trump Diagnosed with Chronic Venous Insufficiency After Leg Swelling
CEO Resigns Amid Controversy Over Relationship with HR Executive
NVIDIA Achieves $4 Trillion Valuation Amid AI Demand
Tulsi Gabbard Unveils Evidence Alleging Political Manipulation of Intelligence During Trump Administration
Centrist Criticism of von der Leyen Resurfaces as she Survives EU Confidence Vote
Trump Announces Coca-Cola to Shift to Cane Sugar in U.S. Production
FIFA Pressured to Rethink World Cup Calendar Due to Climate Change
Zelensky Reshuffles Cabinet to Win Support at Home and in Washington
"Can You Hit Moscow?" Trump Asked Zelensky To Make Putin "Feel The Pain"
Church of England Removes 1991 Sexuality Guidelines from Clergy Selection
Superman Franchise Achieves Success with Latest Release
Hungary's Viktor Orban Rejects Agreements on Illegal Migration
Air India Pilot’s Mental Health Records Under Scrutiny
Jamie Dimon Warns Europe Is Losing Global Competitiveness and Flags Market Complacency
Moonshot AI Unveils Kimi K2: A New Open-Source AI Model
Martha Wells Says Humanity Still Far from True Artificial Intelligence
Nvidia Becomes World’s First Four‑Trillion‑Dollar Company Amid AI Boom
EU Delays Retaliatory Tariffs Amid New U.S. Threats on Imports
Trump Proposes Supplying Arms to Ukraine Through NATO Allies
US Opens First Rare Earth Mine in Over 70 Years in Wyoming
Bitcoin Reaches New Milestone of $116,000
Severe Heatwave Claims 2,300 Lives Across Europe
Declining Beer Consumption Signals Cultural Shift in Germany
Emails Leaked: How Passenger Luggage Became a Side Income for Airport Workers
Polish MEP: “Dear Leftists - China is laughing at you, Russia is laughing, India is laughing”
Western Europe Records Hottest June on Record
BRICS Expands Membership with Indonesia and Ten New Partner Countries
Elon Musk Founds a Party Following a Poll on X: "You Wanted It – You Got It!"
China’s Central Bank Consults European Peers on Low-Rate Strategies
France Requests Airlines to Cut Flights at Paris Airports Amid Planned Air Traffic Controller Strike
Poland Implements Border Checks Amid Growing Migration Tensions
Emirates Airline Expands Market Share with New $20 Million Campaign
Amazon Reaches Milestone with Deployment of One Millionth Robot
Yulia Putintseva Calls for Spectator Ejection at Wimbledon Over Safety Concerns
House Oversight Committee Subpoenas Former Jill Biden Aide Amid Investigation into Alleged Concealment of President Biden's Cognitive Health
×