16 Stunning Porch Awnings with Before & After Photos
By: Sarah
We’re big fans of outdoor living here at brick&batten. One of the best ways to get some outdoor livable square footage for you and your family to enjoy is to add a porch awning to your home’s exterior design. Porch awning updates can range from simple and straightforward to structural and statement. They can be small — enough for a planter or two and to protect you as you approach your front door — or wrap around your main level, with multiple seating areas. Here are 16 ideas to inspire a porch awning update of your own.
The before-and-after images below are all real examples of client homes and our suggestions for how to update them, based on each family’s desires and also their limitations. Learn more about our virtual exterior design services.
#1 // Modern Wraparound
The simple lines of this under construction home were a good starting point. Our designers took it next level with a contemporary industrial design featuring a modern wraparound porch. It extends the living space smoothly from interior to exterior.
#2 // Gable + Classic Awning with Columns
The addition of this gable + classic awning combo brightened what was before a dark entryway on this Cape Cod style home. The white columns keep true to the home’s traditional bones. And the front seating area is now covered, so it can be enjoyed during the rain. After all, what’s better than watching a storm roll in from your front porch, coffee in hand?
#3 // Open It Up
By opening up the space beneath the gable on this front porch awning, our designer made the entire front porch feel larger and more inviting. We recommended Woodtone Rustic Series lap siding on the underside of the gable to emphasize the home’s modern rustic style. A mid-century modern mahogany door with huge sidelights keeps with the open, spacious vibe, and a statement Rejuvenation globe pendant tops things off.
#4 // Awning Alongside Garage
Is your front door set back and alongside your garage, or another structural element? This simple front porch awning idea adjoins the roofline from the garage. The built-in lighting offers a clever way to get more light around your front door in the dark. Plus, the coverage protects you and your guests from the elements before entering your home.
Check out this list of 4 good reasons to add a front porch awning or portico to your home.
#5 // Tall Statement
Maximize the height of a tall front porch awning by making it a visual focal point. Here, our designers used a statement tile and wood columns in a walnut stain to accentuate the entryway of this home.
#6 // Modern Slanted Awning
Adding a statement slanted awning to this modern industrial-style home is a striking way to highlight the front entryway. Contemporary home exterior design is all about straight lines, but subtle angles like this are also a hallmark of the style.
#7 // Gabled Craftsman Awning with Wood Columns
This home didn’t have a front porch at all. In the virtual after, the front porch and awning are the first thing you notice from the curb. The wood columns with stone bases and three point detail rising up to the gable have a modern craftsman-style feel that coordinates with the rest of the home. Notice how the added walkway from the sidewalk to the front door helps draw your eye that way. The open steps and fresh light fixtures on either side of a craftsman-style front door complete the picture.
#8 // Wood Columns, Classic + Gabled Awning
The front porch awning addition to this home was perhaps the most transforming design element we recommended. It gave depth to a flat façade. Plus, it provided a more defined seating area and helped draw attention to the front door. The classic awning adjoins a gabled awning, both with craftsman-style columns and stained in walnut. (We typically recommend IPE wood for outdoor use, but your local contractor can recommend something that will stand up to your climate.) Thoughtful touches include the raised brick porch and the Bevolo French Quarter light hanging beneath the gable.
#9 // Extended Entryway
Perhaps you’re noticing a trend here. The addition of this classic awning with wood columns gives depth to this traditional Spanish Mediterranean home. It’s a simple update that makes a big impact on the approach to the home. The shape of the wood columns harks back to classic Spanish architecture, the modern outdoor pendant from Circa Lighting keeps the look modern, and we can’t get enough of the double front doors.
#10 // Lengthen Existing Roofline
This front porch awning idea is so smart. By decreasing the angle of the slope on an existing roofline just slightly, this new awning stays true to the home’s original architecture but makes for a larger, more functional front porch area. Switching out the shingles on the other overhangs beneath the home’s bookend gables for the same material as the awning makes for a cohesive look. A copper gutter system pulls the whole thing together.
#11 // Copper Juliet Awning
This virtual home exterior design was all about bringing a fresh touch to a beautiful traditional home with great bones. The new copper Juliet awning is one important piece of this puzzle. It opens up the entryway and widens it to match the home’s wide footprint. Simple white columns, a craftsman-style door with windows, new stones steps and walkway, copper lighting, and some modern planters make this front porch both welcoming and stylish.
#12 // Awning + Sun Umbrella
Another fun front porch idea: Use varying overhangs to create multiple porch spaces! In the design for this mid-century modern ranch, we used a modern flat-roofed awning over the entryway (complete with a fun Rejuvenation sconce next to the front door). We paired this with a more informal seating area that makes use of a raised wooden deck and a Sunbrella umbrella. This is a great solution for warmer climates!
#13 // Slatted Window Awning
Front porch awnings don’t have to have gables or columns. This simple slatted window awning is less structural, but just as useful. It creates shade and a defined front porch seating area for this mid-century modern home. But this idea has many uses and works on a wide variety of home styles, from traditional to coastal to contemporary, depending on the materials used. Bahama shutters can also be mounted like an awning to create protected porch or patio spaces.
#14 // Black Pergola
Pergolas make fantastic front porch awnings. They don’t compete with a roofline and are wonderful for growing vines — try grapes, clematis, or ivy, but pay careful attention to pruning as you don’t want vines to creep into the mortar between bricks and affect your home’s structure. We love the double pergolas above the garage and front patio in the virtual exterior design above.
#15 // Complete the Slant
Making use of existing rooflines is clearly a front porch awning solution that our designers frequently employ. Here, it was a simple way to cover the front porch seating area while staying true to the home’s modern bones. The wood accents, stylish lighting, fresh front door (painted in Galapagos Turquoise by Benjamin Moore), and on-trend railing update are all complementary to the look this client requested.
Looking for more ideas to spruce up your front porch and entryway? Check out these front porch railing ideas, front door inspiration images, and our list of outdoor lighting ideas for maximum curb appeal.
#16 // Large White Pergola
The white pergola and raised front porch addition took this ranch from simple to show-stopping. Where there was nowhere to comfortably enjoy the front yard prior, now these homeowners have a great space to relax, grow container plants, and welcome their guests.
Porch Awning Ideas Are Just the Beginning
Adding or updating a porch awning is a great way to enhance your home’s curb appeal. But, as you can see, it’s an update that will make you look at your entire entryway with new eyes. From there, you may start thinking about other elements of your exterior design, like paint, shutters, windows, and more! That’s why our virtual design service was created: To help you come up with a cohesive design plan for upgrading your biggest investment.
Dreaming and scheming about home exterior updates is one thing. Making them happen is another. At brick&batten, our expert designers are ready and waiting to help you turn your home exterior design dreams into a reality. All it takes is a photo of your home and your ideas — with as much detail as you’d like to share — about the look you want. We’ll take it from there. Get started here!
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