Part of the Scene

s an observer of modern domestic architecture, I have frequently noted that today’s housing developers have made a crucial error in designing homes for the urban and suburban markets. For the most part, they seem to have forgotten about the psychological attractiveness, to say nothing of the architectural appeal, that a front porch offers to a home’s overall value. Instead, they typically defer to the back-yard patio or, in sunnier climes, the screened-in lanai, to use the Hawaiian nomenclature, to satisfy homeowners’ outdoor cravings. Yet in my own experience, the front porch is a powerful amenity that would be a “make or break” feature, were I in the market for