The screened-in porch may be the most family-friendly room in a house. It’s certainly the least expensive, and perhaps the greenest addition. Screening in an existing porch usually costs less than $200 and, while somewhat complicated, can be completed in a weekend if you have reasonable carpentry skills. Building a porch from scratch will certainly set you back less than adding a "family" room, and you'll pay no heating or cooling bills, nor worry about off-gassing building materials. We find the porch more essential than another bathroom, and if pressed, I would sacrifice my washer and dryer before giving up my screened porch.

Once a standard feature in American homes, this room lost favor with the advent of air-conditioning, but it makes perfect sense for today’s families. It’s a like a playroom for the entire family that you can clean with a hose. Even if mosquitoes aren’t a problem in your area, screens provide a magical intimacy. The space becomes more of a room, and this opens up its usefulness. People linger at the table. Nerves are calmed. Sleeping outside begins to feels like the right thing to do. And consider these family friendly benefits:

• Messy meals are no problem. Sweep up the food, hose it off, or leave it. In the morning, the baby-flung rice is magically transformed into silver snail trails. (Not recommended if your scavengers are mice.)


• A simple meal on a porch feels like a picnic. Bird songs, breezes, and afternoon sunlight can’t find you in the dining room.


• Our child spends hours spotting squirrels and pointing out birds.


• For parents, the porch provides an escape from the noise of the washing machine, the telephone, and the to do pile.


• Messy art projects are no problem. I recently provided 6 toddlers with brushes and paint, and watched them paint the paper, themselves, and my porch with nary a moment’s worry.


• Being outside takes the edge off a crying baby, a harried mother, and the visiting mother-in-law.


• A rainstorm becomes a theatrical experience.


• It’s your turn to sit in a swing.


• After the kids go to bed, when you open a bottle of wine and sit on the porch, you’ll feel like your vacation self, something every parent should feel as often as possible.

The smell of fall in the air always makes me sad to leave the garden, but I’m brokenhearted to leave the screened porch. A porch with a even a small footprint can make your house feel much larger, with no new mortgage required.