55 Front Verandah Ideas and Improvement Designs

The verandah is the part of the house that does the talking before anyone reaches the door. Queenslanders worked this out a century ago, and half of the 55 ideas below are rediscoveries of it. Some are paint-and-cushions weekend jobs, some are proper builds. Take whichever suits the front you've actually got.

1. Outdoor Curtains

Light outdoor curtains soften all the hard edges a verandah collects, and they double as a screen against low western sun. Buy UV-stabilised fabric or they'll be rags inside two summers.

2. Black Pergola

A black pergola off the verandah edge extends the roofline without calling in a builder. Train a climber over it for shade.

3. Hanging Planters

Verandahs have far more vertical space than floor space. Hanging planters use it.

4. Stone Steps

Wide stone steps announce the entrance before the door does. Sandstone suits most Australian facades and wears its chips gracefully.

5. The Rustic Sofa Swing

This one is a recycled pallet hung on sisal rope. A swing earns its place on any verandah, but mind what you screw into; it needs a structural beam, not the lining boards.

6. Step Lights

Step lights save ankles and guide guests after dark. A low-voltage kit is an easy Saturday job.

7. No Railings

Removing the railings opens the whole front up and makes the columns read taller. One legal note: this only works if the verandah floor sits less than a metre above ground. Higher than that and a barrier is mandatory.

8. White and Blue

Powder blue against white, with sheer curtains and skylights. Cool to look at, cooler to sit in.

9. Bougainvillea Climber

Bougainvillea is about the toughest flowering climber you can put on a verandah, and in the warm half of Australia it blooms most of the year. Wear gloves when you prune. The thorns are serious.

10. Screened Verandah

Insect screening keeps mozzies and leaf litter out without blocking the view. In humid suburbs it turns the verandah from decorative into usable.

11. Rustic Modern

Warm timber decking, minimal furniture, straight lines. Nothing else.

12. Creative Drop Lights

A statement pendant marks a corner out as a room. One is enough.

13. Shades of Brown

Tan cushions, cream walls and ceilings, terracotta pots. A brown palette sounds dull on paper and reads warm in person.

14. A Touch of Greece

Columns, arches and a blue-on-white palette. I'd keep this for rendered homes; against face brick it fights the facade.

15. Large Modern Planters

A pair of large geometric planters in a single colour gives the entry a focal point. Underplant with something structural like agave or a cycad so the pot stays the hero.

16. Tropical Inspirations

Cordylines, philodendrons and a monstera or two make a verandah feel like Port Douglas. In the southern states keep them potted so they can shelter from frost.

17. Vertical Blinds

A glass-fronted verandah with vertical blinds: fully open when the weather is good, closed in five seconds when it turns.

18. A Pop of Colour

Stone floor and timber panelling are the quiet base; the colour comes from printed cushions and flowering pots. Swap the cushions and it's a new verandah for $80.

19. Comfy Sitting Nook

Screened on two sides and deeply cushioned, this corner feels like a lounge room that happens to have a breeze.

20. Hanging Lounge Chairs

Hanging egg chairs, one each, so nobody has to share. Kmart and Bunnings both sell versions under $200 now, which is why they're suddenly on every second verandah.

21. Potted Garden

Small pots on a triangular stand give you a garden you can rearrange in ten minutes. Easier than beds, and it moves with you if you're renting.

22. Grey and White

Grey and white, with one huge pot of hydrangeas doing the flourish. Hydrangeas want morning sun and afternoon shade, which is exactly what most south- and east-facing verandahs offer.

23. Rustic Modern

Timber columns, wicker seats, dark decking. Character without clutter.

24. Modern Neutrals

Mocha and cream let the greenery carry the colour. It won't date, which matters on the one part of the house everybody sees.

25. Clear Roofing

Clear roof sheets keep the rain off without stealing the light. On a north-facing verandah they can cook the space in summer; I'd go tinted there.

26. Bare Brick

Bare brick does the decorating on its own. Keep the furniture plain and let the texture carry it.

27. Flower Perfect

A crowd of bright flowers fixes a drab front faster than paint. Geraniums and petunias handle verandah conditions well and don't sulk in pots.

28. Built-in Bench

A built-in side bench that works as a seat, a screen and a shelf at once. On a narrow verandah, furniture that does two jobs is the only kind worth having.

29. Louvered Shutters

White louvred shutters give a columned verandah shade you can adjust by the hour. The dark furniture and green accents stop all that white going sterile.

30. Burnt Orange on White

Burnt orange, warm browns and greenery over a plain white base. Cheap to trial, since it's all cushions, pots and a rug.

31. Flower Boxes

Flower boxes fixed to the railing put colour at exactly kerb height. Herbs work too, if you'd rather pick than admire.

32. Roman Inspired

Heavy columns, marble-look floors and iron furniture under a covered pergola. It's a lot. On a grand federation facade it lands; on a small frontage it overwhelms.

33. Carved and Cushioned Chairs

One genuinely good piece of furniture can carry a verandah by itself. Carved chairs like these turn up at estate auctions and country op shops for less than a new outdoor setting.

34. Candle Lanterns

Candle lanterns clustered in odd numbers, lit when the night calls for it. Citronella candles inside them pull double duty through mozzie season.

35.Trellis Side Screen

A white trellis defines the edge without building a wall. Give it a star jasmine and two seasons.

36. Greenhouse Inspiration

A glass wall, old garden tools on display, timber chairs and plants packed in close. The working-greenhouse mood without the humidity.

37. Comfortable Rockers

Rocking chairs. No verandah list gets away without them, and nobody who sits in one complains.

38. Lovely Lavender

Keep everything else about the classic light verandah and swap the white for a soft lavender. Different house, one coat of paint.

39. Dreamy Daybed

A daybed narrow enough to sit on, wide enough to nap on, with a curtain for when the street doesn't need to watch. Verandah sleeping is an old Australian habit worth bringing back.

40. Plant Privacy Screen

Layered climbers grown into a green wall: jasmine for speed, clematis for flowers, wisteria if you're patient. I'd skip the rose unless you enjoy pruning at head height.

41. The Grand Entrance

Matched plants either side of the door, one bold paint colour on it, and lighting that means it after dark. Symmetry does most of the work.

42. Shabby Chic

Shabby chic fails in one direction only: cheap pretending to be old. Start with well-made pieces and let the wear be genuine.

43. Wicker and White

Wicker on white with a red-painted floor. The floor is the gamble, and it pays off.

44. Hanging Garden

A hanging potted garden gives you shade you can water. Uniform planters and small, tidy plants keep it from tipping into jungle.

45. Contemporary Stylish

Earth tones, clean lines, a little rough texture. Contemporary without being cold.

46. Wooden Bench

One wooden bench and a few pillows on an otherwise bare verandah. Sometimes that's the whole answer.

47. Privacy Shutters

Shutters give you the open verandah and the private one, depending on the hour. Handy on busy streets where you want both.

48. All Shades of Yellow

Yellow in a single dose is loud; spread across three or four shades it turns cheerful instead. This one gets the mix right.

49. Homey Hammock

A hammock. That's it, that's the idea.

50. Lots of Red

Red pulls the eye from the end of the street. Wicker furniture and sheer curtains soften it enough to live with.

51. Chic Class

Bold colours, formal furniture, everything deliberate. Not a relaxed verandah, and not trying to be.

52. Wisteria Screen

A wisteria curtain in flower stops people on the footpath. It takes three to five years to establish and wants a sturdy frame, because a mature vine is heavy enough to bend gutters. Worth every year of the wait.

53. Relaxed Oasis

Green and grey, soft seating, nothing demanding attention. The kind of front that makes the walk to the door slower.

54. Bright Furniture

The verandah itself is plain. The furniture isn't. That's the entire trick, and it's a cheap one.

55. Metal Railing

Cool neutrals with a chrome railing for the modern edge. Restrained rather than showy, and it photographs better than it sounds.

That's the lot. If yours is on a heritage-listed or character home, check with council before touching railings or roofing; everything else here you can start on the weekend.