Page 114 - South Mississippi Living - January, 2024

HOME
SOUTHERN ARCHITECTURE
A Distinctive Style
Like a familiar friend recognizable from a distance, a Southern home has a distinctive style that visitors to South Mississippi fall in love with and many of us natives forget to appreciate.
Rooted at the intersection of history, heat, and humidity, classic Southern architecture
is defined by some basic design elements on the outside with a beautiful commitment to comfort and hospitality on the inside. They are spaces filled with stories of generations that came before us and full of anticipation of the family gatherings yet to come. The formality of years gone by may have all but disappeared but the harmony of mixing the past and
the future lends a fresh face to a style where everyone feels at home.
One of the most prominent hallmarks
of a Southern home is a deep front porch
or veranda, with a haint blue ceiling of
course. Designed to shield interiors from the blistering sun, porches, and most particularly wrap-around porches are divine. Providing
a respite from the heat, they are a delightful spot for parties, meals, and keeping up with the neighbors. Even if you do not know folks walking by it is a sin not to raise your hand in a friendly greeting.
Not many porches are “sleeping porches” anymore, but they are still a perfect spot for a quick nap in the afternoon after the sun has moved beyond the front of the house and a ceiling fan is turning. Porch swings for two or more have long dressed front porches, as well as cozy additional seating, a drink table or two, a lamp for evening ambiance, and lots of big ferns complete the look. The Southern front porch is an outdoor room where story telling continues well beyond dusk when the humidity level breaks just enough to keep us from sweating to death.
114 | January 2024
www.smliving.net | SOUTH MISSISSIPPI Living
story by Holly Harrison and Shannon Stage