How to Spruce Up a Back Porch

Head over to Hooper and Read Patterson’s house in Wilmington, N.C., and chances are you’ll find the family of five hanging out on their back porch. That’s because Hooper, an interior designer and blogger (Birds of a Feather), turned the once-empty space into the home’s go-to spot. "I didn’t want the back porch to feel like an afterthought," she says.