Rocker ready: 10 homes with magnificent warm-weather porches

Anacortes, Wash.

• 4 bedrooms, 5 baths
• 4,072 square feet
• Porch type: Wraparound porch
• Price: $598,000
• View this listing

Anacortes is the gateway to Washington's famed San Juan Islands. This 1996 Victorian home has a welcoming wooden front porch with a view of Guemes Channel. Inside, a spiral staircase leads to bedroom suites with sitting areas and attached baths, some with claw-foot tubs. When you're tired of watching the boats on the channel, roust yourself from your wicker chair for a short stroll down to downtown Anacortes, the marina and waterfront.

Realtor.com: Browse other homes in Anacortes.

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Richfield, Ohio

• 4 bedrooms, 5.5 baths
• 9,240 square feet
• Porch type: Wraparound veranda
• Price: $1.19 million
• View this listing

Richfield is a village of about 3,300 people between Akron and Cleveland in northern Ohio. At first you might be taken by this handsome mansion's 3,000-bottle wine cellar, its curved staircase and its stone fireplace. Those are great. But come summer you'll really fall for the 2,200-square-foot porch, which is nearly 9 feet deep. The front porch has views of a pond across the street. The back porch overlooks a ravine with a stream. There's also a sun porch, and 10 outdoor speakers scattered around keep the party lively.

Realtor.com: Browse other homes in Richfield.

• Local weather: Check your forecast for outdoor dining

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Cornelius, N.C.

• 4 bedrooms, 5 baths
• 3,700-plus square feet
• Porch type: Wraparound porch
• Price: $795,000
• View this listing

Cornelius is a small town that sits along Lake Norman, the largest man-made lake in the Charlotte area. This architect-designed home sits on more than two acres just across the street from the lake, with access to a community boat ramp. From here it's just 15 minutes to Charlotte and 20 minutes to the airport. The 1997, custom-built, full-brick home has lots of molding and windows; there's also a three-car garage and an 800-square-foot greenhouse. But we're drawn most to the Low Country-style wraparound porch on three sides, which faces a front yard that's been landscaped by an orchid grower.

Realtor.com: Browse other homes in Cornelius.

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Napa, Calif.

• 3 bedrooms, 4 baths
• 3,487 square feet
• Porch type: Wraparound porch
• Price: $2.5 million
• View this listing

Those pioneering families knew what they were doing: This historically significant farmhouse built by an early Napa Valley family has a handsome wraparound porch that circles both the first and second levels — a hallmark of the Colonial Revival style — and that encourages great summer nights outdoors. The porch of the extensively renovated home overlooks more than one acre of landscaped grounds and a pool. Bedrooms each open to the porch's second level.

Realtor.com: Browse other homes in Napa.

• Local weather: Check your forecast for outdoor dining

• Video: Bring interior design to outdoor spaces

• On our blog, 'Listed': Can't move? Maybe you should remodel

Greenville, S.C.

• 3 bedrooms, 3 baths
• Square feet: Not available
• Porch type: Wraparound porch
• Price: $562,000
• View this listing

Greenville is in what locals call the Upcountry of western South Carolina. This home in downtown Greenville is just a few years old, but it's built in the historic Charleston style. Perched on a high point of the property, it has views of the downtown skyline — especially from its second-story wraparound porch. The home seems even larger than its square footage, thanks to the veranda, tall ceilings, transoms over the doors and large windows — and to ceilings painted light blue, another Charleston-style detail.

Realtor.com: Browse other homes in Greenville.

• Video: How to make a mosaic patio table

• On our blog, 'Listed': Here's a wall you can eat

• MSN Living: 14 products to pretty up your porch

Point Pleasant, N.J.

• 5 bedrooms, 3 baths
• Square feet: Not available
• Porch type: Wraparound porch
• Price: $999,000
• View this listing

Do the words "Jersey Shore" send a shiver down your spine? The whole place isn't as bad as Snooki may make you think. Exhibit A: this gorgeous Victorian home in Point Pleasant, on a barrier peninsula off the coast of central New Jersey. The renovated three-story home from the turn of the century has sweeping ocean views — not to mention cooling summer breezes — from its two-story, wraparound porch, as well as views of the beach and Point Pleasant's historic, mile-long boardwalk. You can practically reach out and grab the cotton candy.

Realtor.com: Browse other homes in Point Pleasant.

• Local weather: Check your forecast for outdoor dining

Slide show:  14 inspirational outdoor rooms

• MSN Living: 10 porch decorating ideas

St. George Island, Fla.

• 4 bedrooms, 4 baths
• 4,005 square feet
• Porch type: Screened-in gazebo and decks
• Price: $850,000
• View this listing

Can't decide which kind of porch you like? Why choose? This home, called "a Victorian dream," has 'em all: a screened-in gazebo, a deck, a lanai — and even a widow's walk up top from which to wait for your sailor. The home is in a gated subdivision on a Gulf of Mexico barrier island off the Florida Panhandle, an area nicknamed the Forgotten Coast. Sitting on more than one acre one row back from the gulf, the home has no high-rise condominiums or structures in the way, so you can still get the views from all these vantage points.

Realtor.com: Browse other homes in St. George Island.

• Bing: What's the first day of summer?

• Video: Hundreds of hummingbirds flock to one porch

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Denver

• 6 bedrooms, 5 baths
• 6,442 square feet
• Porch type: Covered porch
• Price: $850,000
• View this listing

Want to sit out front of a small piece of history? The Anfenger House, built in 1884, is on the National Register of Historic Places. (The original owners were involved with the formation of the National Jewish Hospital.) This home has been upgraded and remodeled, yet has kept its original Queen Anne style. All of the original woodwork is intact, and the home has seven working fireplaces. But we like what's out front: a big wraparound porch anchoring a bigger corner lot where you can park your bottom and wave to the neighbors on a cool Denver summer evening. Want more of a view? Head upstairs to the rooftop deck among the trees.

Realtor.com: Browse other homes in Denver.

• Local weather: Check your forecast for outdoor dining

• Video: Bring interior design to outdoor spaces

• On our blog, 'Listed': Can't move? Maybe you should remodel

St. Helens, Ore.

• 3 bedrooms, 3 baths
• 2,912 square feet
• Porch type: Wraparound porch
• Price: $679,000
• View this listing

St. Helens is a town of about 10,000 people on the Columbia River, 30 miles north of Portland, named for its view of the eponymous volcano that blew its top. This home, built in 1992, sits among 40 rain-dripping acres of cedar and fir, surrounded by creeks and trails. It's a private oasis, and yet it's close enough for a commute to Portland for work. A wraparound porch overlooks the expansive yard, the paver-stone patio and trails. The porch is a great place to kick back at twilight and watch for the deer and elk that like to wander through.

Realtor.com: Browse other homes in St. Helens.

• Bing: What's the first day of summer?

• Video: Hundreds of hummingbirds flock to one porch

• msnNOW: Discover the web's 'biggest movers'

Lahaina, Hawaii

• 6 bedrooms, 7 baths
• 2,896 square feet
• Porch type: Wraparound lanai
• Price: $3.499 million
• View this listing

Lahaina is in West Maui, near famous beach resorts. The town's Front Street has been ranked one of the "Top 10 Greatest Streets" by the American Planning Association. But when you want to get away from the tourist crush, this secluded, fenced and gated retreat, right downtown, is the place to head. The home was built in 1991 for country-music star Randy Travis, who never lived in it full-time, agent Lori Powers says. The plantation-style wraparound lanai has 2,144 square feet of tile, and the overhang is all cedar, as is the siding on the house. Every room of the house has sliding doors that open to the porch. Access to a half-mile of sandy beach is right across the street.

Realtor.com: Browse other homes in Lahaina.

• Local weather: Check your forecast for outdoor dining

• Delish: 9 homemade lemonade recipes

• MSN Living: 10 porch decorating ideas