How to Place Furniture on Sun Porches

Functional Areas

• Creating distinct functional areas that still flow well together make the best use of the sun porch space. Decide how you plan to use the space. Common uses include dining, entertaining or spending time with your family. Allocate space on the porch for each type of activity. For example, you might place a patio dining table near the sun porch entrance nearest the kitchen so you can serve the food easily. Create a seating spot in another area of the porch with chairs or benches. A coffee table in the middle of the seating area accommodates drinks, games and other items.

Maximizing View

• The outdoor view is often the reason people enjoy sitting on a sun porch. When you're placing furniture, consider the view so you'll enjoy what you see as you sit on the porch. For example, you might arrange the seating area with the chairs facing out toward the windows so you can see a garden you've planted. If the sun porch wraps around to another side of the home, consider which area gives you the most attractive views.

Conversational Arrangements

• Since sun porches are often used for entertaining, the seating arrangement should facilitate conversations. The most common option is to set up seating opposite one another so the chairs all face in toward the middle. For example, you might place a wicker love seat on one wall and two individual chairs on the opposite wall. This allows all parties to join in the conversation. If you often entertain large numbers of people, two or three conversational seating areas allow guests to break off into different groups.

Tips

• Measure the sun porch area first before you decide how to place the furniture. This gives you an accurate sense of the available space. Patio furniture is often lightweight so you can move it around to try different arrangements. Once you have the furniture placed where it looks best, test the flow by walking around on the porch as you might while entertaining. Scoot out all of the chairs on the dining table to ensure there's still enough room to move around. Adjust the arrangement as necessary to make the space more functional.