Archadeck of Birmingham has the scoop on what’s new, what’s hot and what you will most likely want in your new Greater Birmingham porch design.
Explore 2026 porch trends in Birmingham, including front porches, screened porches, porch patios, and three-season designs, with material and layout insights from Archadeck of Birmingham.
As more households long for a greater sense of community connection, several professional designers forecast that there will be a demand for front porches. Famous design pros suggest you should keep thoughtful moments in mind and suggest deep seating for comfort during longer visits.
For use during the evening hours, layered accent lighting is best to avoid harsh glows and intense beams of light.
An intelligent placement perspective is to arrange the front porch furniture in conversational groupings when possible. Do this with materials inspired by the indoor aesthetic but using outdoor performance fabrics.
To add visual interest, design pros are advising multiple varieties of greenery that add a calmness while providing a sense of welcome. This can be done with outdoor potted plants, as well as a front door wreath to welcome family and friends.
Harmonizing the greenery, floral and textures with your front landscape and garden areas on your front porch should also sync for fluidity of atmosphere.
What Color Ways and Design Tips Can You Suggest for Covered Porches?
A covered porch does a great job diffusing or eliminating the overhead rays of the Birmingham sun. This makes it important to keep the sides of the porch relatively open for fresh air circulation.
While spending refreshing outdoor living moments, being able to peer out over lawns, trees and gardens helps foster the enjoyment of nature’s bounty.
As for covered porch color pallets in paint, fabrics and textures, design pros forecast the move from neutrals to more vibrant and expressive hues.
To add layers of visual textures, pros suggest including curve-shaped elements of architecture and area rugs with an open weave with earthy tones. Focusing now on more comfortable conversations, covered porches should include weather-resistant cushions and pillows in textiles that complement the seating arrangements.
Covered porch outdoor rooms are a critical part of Birmingham homes today, as architects plan flow from the inside of the home to the outdoors.
Their thinking, albeit correct, is that covered porches today must be designed as part of the home experience – no longer an afterthought.
What Material Selections Should Now Be Considered for Screened In Porches as We Enter 2026?
Many of the aesthetic touches, nuances and traffic flow considerations previously mentioned here also hold true for screened in porches, with focus on building materials.
As leisure is key with screened in porch outdoor living room environments, it stands to reason that upkeep of these areas should not be stressful.
With a nice and easy mindset and attitude, special attention should be paid to screened in porch building materials and sustainability. With that in mind, cedar porches are not considered maintenance-free but they do a great job resisting insects and rot with their natural oils.
When thinking long term, it is wise to choose screened in porch building materials that age well over time, like TimberTech composite or AZEK PVC. Both these eco-friendly materials are purposely manufactured to look just like wood, but they wear in ways that wood just can’t.
A Covered Patio Combines the Comfort of a Porch with the Durability and Utility of Hardscape Construction
The solid, strong surface of a patio, fashioned with hardscape materials or pavers sets the stage for everything wonderful in outdoor living. Fresh air. Gentle breezes. Shimmering rays of sunshine. These qualities make porch patios, one of the most versatile, outdoor living additions for year-round use in Birmingham.
As for their porch patio functionality and characteristics, the overhead covered roof keeps the space dry and gives shade from intense sunlight.
A porch patio permanent roof cover is often tied to the structure of the home – it is typically not freestanding. This allows recessed lighting, ceiling fans and heaters to be installed for greater useability and functionality.
Freeform utility and diverse functionality are paramount inside these inventive outdoor room environments.
What has Become Overdone or Passe in Outdoor Porch Ideas and Trends?
Let’s face it. Style and creature comforts evolve over time, and porch trends are a good example of this. Remember when string bistro lighting was all the rage? Well, those days are falling out of favor as people who entertain frequently outdoors now want more subtle illumination, with a romantic glow, if you will.
Especially when glancing up to enjoy starry skies, string bistro lighting can appear to be intrusive and jarring. Using solar powered lamps could be an eco-friendly alternative instead.
Another porch style trend that is waning is heavy groupings and arrangements of matching furniture in seating groups, matchy matchy, as they say. Using unique pieces of furniture is now better suited to the spontaneity of porch gatherings these days. The same is now also true for fire features, as more creatively fashioned fire pits are starting to replace massive fireplaces. When it comes to heating porches, and when it comes to sources of warmth, less is more is the new trend.
What Porch Types are Trending in Birmingham In 2026?
1. Front Porches: They’re a wide-open opportunity to foster community and conversation, while showcasing curb appeal in interesting ways. They are becoming the new social hubs here in the Greater Birmingham area. Front porches that remain empty, glowing with coach lights after twilight, do not speak well in any shape or form.
2. Rear Porches and Back Porches: The quintessence of outdoor living necessities and niceties, outdoor living rooms are the new rage in comfort and utility. Designed to augment the style and personality of the homeowners, many now feature redecking with composite and PVC materials for longer life and weather resistance.
3. Screened Porches: A genius solution to stay bug and fly-free, our mesh protection screening allows natural airflow while keeping the bad stuff out. Interestingly enough, screening also helps dampen the volume of private outdoor conversations, too. Thankfully, the days of shiny and shimmering screens manufactured from aluminum are slowing becoming dated and antiquated.
4. Wraparound Porches: Capturing the classic charm and conviviality of romantic days of the past, wraparound porches always seem to tell a story of their own. The natural fluidity of the space gives ample opportunity to create several leisure zones for versatility of use. They are also a seamless way to integrate the flow of your landscape into your oasis of leisure.
5. Covered Patios: When desiring a home improvement addition for maximum functionality and useability – with virtually no maintenance at all, porch patios reign supreme. Typically designed and constructed without a lot of fuss, porch patios can be easily upgraded and converted to screened rooms. The days of simple concrete slabs with no rhyme or reason are coming to an end.
6. Three Season Porches: You’ve taken so much care and effort in cultivating beautiful lawns, flowering trees and gardens, don’t hide them. Using vinyl window and screen systems, you can enjoy daylight, decreasing the need for electrical lighting. Enclosed porch spaces that are dark and dreary have gone the way of the telegraph.
For More Insights on Porch Trends, Call Us or Click
It’s easy to talk with our outdoor living professionals, so easy in fact, we invite your call to our local Archadeck Outdoor Living owners at 205-576-5780.
You can also click this link to connect!
Derek & Carissa Crews, owners Archadeck of Birmingham.
