There’s just something about a beautiful porch that conjures up visions of golden sunlight filtering through the trees, the background hum of cicadas, iced tea, and an all-over warmth of summertime. I’m already looking forward to spending plenty of time on our front porch at the lake this summer, and I’m particularly dreaming about installing a big hanging daybed for us to wile away the hours on. I’m particularly inspired by the idea of sleeping porches, a traditional Southern design element that was born in the early twentieth century thanks to lack of air conditioning, as well as some fear of germs/disease (the prevailing idea was that it was healthier to sleep outside in all the fresh air and thus avoid tuberculosis, etc). If you’re a design history buff, you’ll enjoy this article on the history of sleeping porches as well as this more in-depth article on how American culture revolved around the front porch until it started to migrate to the backyard (particularly fascinating).

Check out the rest of my post at Better Homes & Gardens, plus the most unconventional swing I’ve ever seen.