Shelter from a Storm

An attractive zinc porch enhances this country house. I’m not sure about the caterpillar hedge though !

It’s when it rains that the absence of a porch or canopy over the front door is particularly noticeable as you fumble for your keys while water drips down your neck. Sometimes a porch isn’t practical or affordable (a properly built porch can be surprisingly expensive), but a canopy is an effective way of keeping you dry while you let yourself in. Garden Requisites, the Bath-based company that makes all sorts of lovely decorative metal and wirework for the home and garden, manufactures a range of attractive zinc-galvanised steel canopies that look perfectly at home in a period setting and can also enhance a plain exterior. If it is the visual effect that matters rather than a dry neck, they also make the same canopy design in wirework so that you can frame the door with climbing plants – perfect for French windows leading out into the garden.