What Is a Veranda? And Is It Different from a Porch?

What Is a Veranda?

A veranda is a deep, wraparound porch attached to a house. Unlike a porch that is limited to covering an entry to the home, a veranda extends to two or more sides of the house. Although it is roofed, a veranda is not enclosed at any point; there are no walls, windows, or screens other than the home’s exterior. At most, a veranda may feature railings for style and safety. Functionally, a veranda is an extension of indoor living; it is an outdoor space intended to be used and not purely ornamental to the house. 

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A Brief History of the Veranda

Verandas became a classic American architecture element during the Picturesque Movement, which emphasized a desire to utilize both a home’s architecture and its surrounding landscape to create painting-worthy settings. Inspired by Italian homes and villas, British designers in the late 1700s and early 1800s began designing homes with the landscape in mind, and those practices spread around the world.

Architectural features like verandas not only added to the beauty of the home’s exterior, they also provided a location to view the surrounding landscape that was integral to the movement. In the United States, verandas had the benefit of providing convenient and necessary outdoor living space.

Andrew Downing Jackson, one of the founders of landscape design in the U.S., helped define the veranda and its uses, solidifying its place in American architecture through his work. In his 1844 book, A Treatise on the Theory and Practice of Landscape Gardening Adapted to North America, he sets the scene for the veranda, noting some of its architectural features while also connecting it to a British ancestor:

“The unclouded splendor and fierce heat of our summer sun, render this very general appendage a source of real comfort and enjoyment; and the long veranda round many of our country residences stands instead of the paved terraces of the English mansions as the place for promenade; while during the warmer portions of the season, half of the days or evenings are there passed in the enjoyment of cool breezes, secure under low roofs supported by the open colonnade, from the solar rays, or the dews of night.” 

—Andrew Downing Jackson

Architectural Styles with Verandas

Verandas are common to the architectural styles that were popular in the 1800s, including Victorian, Queen Anne, and Gothic Revival houses. Verandas are also especially common to architecture of the southeastern United States, notably French Colonial homes and grand plantation-style houses, where outdoor living was essential due to the climate. But even in 1844, Jackson Downing noted the veranda’s versatility, noting its “obvious utility” across any style of architecture.

Today, the romance of a wraparound porch, and its extended living space, makes the veranda appealing to homes where outdoor living is part of the lifestyle. “In the forested areas of Catskills, for example, elevated verandas provide an area free of ticks and other critters that are more prone to ground patios,” says Paulina Hospod of Aha Interiors in New York. “Furthermore, a veranda can be quite useful in areas with varied views,” Hospod adds, noting that the porch’s extension to multiple sides of a home offers multiple seating areas with diverse views. Hospod also points to the opportunity for homeowners and pets to spend more time together outdoors on a veranda.