What Would 1860 Front Porch Furniture Look Like?

History

• The 1860 porch would have looked very different from our own, with no screens and little space. Victorian architectural styles of the 1860's included Greek Revival, Gothic and Italianate. Greek Revival porches were decorated with fluted columns, but neither Gothic nor Italianate homes had large porches. Porches were not enclosed by screens, and were usually constructed of flat boards. "In keeping with temple models, the porticos on high-style classical houses often eschewed railings," writes Brent Hull in "Porch Details by the Book."

Rocking Chairs

• Rocking chairs were the most common piece of porch furniture. The slat-back rush seat rocking chair, perfected by the Shaker communities of mid-19th century America, was a popular style. By 1860, these useful chairs were being made by machine, so the cost decreased and most middle-class people could afford an outdoor rocker. Windsor-style rocking chairs with rounded bow backs were nearly as popular as ladder-back, but they dated from the 18th century and had thus been in use for many decades.

End Tables

• Small occasional tables or end tables, made of wood with a simplistic design, were another piece of 1860 porch furniture. While not built for exclusive outdoor use, these tables were lightweight enough to move outdoors, and provided a surface for an oil lamp or beverage.

Other Furniture

• In 1860, pieces such as stools, footrests or wheeled tea carts were brought outside as needed to serve as porch furniture. The modern category of outdoor furniture hadn't been invented, so whatever was used outdoors was moved back indoors after use or before inclement weather conditions.

Considerations

• To achieve an authentic look for an 1860's porch, it is best to use ladder-back or Windsor-style rocking chairs, small occasional tables and perhaps one or two pieces of accent furniture. The more decorative and ornamental Victorian-style furniture of the later 19th century had not yet come into vogue. According to "The Caner's Handbook," "Wicker furniture became enormously popular from the 1870s onward."