Adirondacks, loveseats, framed or simply hung from your porch ceiling–there are now so many porch swing styles and materials to choose from that you’re certain to find one that’s perfect for you. Relaxing, lovely to look at and reasonably priced, here are a few of the many wonderful options for you to consider. Metal Porch Swings Visually stunning, comfortable and sturdy, metal swings provide an elegant option for your porch. Metal porch swings are available in a variety of intricate styles created by delicately manipulating the swing’s metalwork. The result can be lovely latticework, scrolled accents and other intricate designs that are certain to provide added beauty to your home. Photo credit

Wicker Porch Swings The timeless elegance of wicker is reminiscent of a classic southern style veranda. Wicker porch swings look lovely in their natural color, or can be painted to match your color scheme. You can even jazz things up by adding a bright pillow or two. Keep in mind that wicker describes the weave and is not the name of a material. While wicker is often created from plants like cane and rattan, synthetics such as plastic can also be utilized and are typically more durable. Photo credit

Canopy Swings

If your porch or balcony doesn’t have a roof, a canopy swing is the perfect answer to hot, sunny days. Attached to a frame, they are easily moved as necessary and can even sit in your garden or yard.

Rope Swings

Doze the day away in the comfort of a rope porch swing. Rope swings provide the informal look and comfort of a hammock with the style of a swing. Typically manufactured using cotton or polyester, rope porch swings allow you to recline or nap vertically rather than horizontally as you would in a hammock.

Wooden Porch Swings There’s nothing like the natural splendor of wood. Cypress porch swings are considered the most resistant to harsh weather; pine swings each have their own unique designs created by natural knots in the wood; teak offers an exotic option, while white and red cedar is known for its natural beauty.

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Recycled Plastic Swings

You can appreciate the environment and help it at the same time by choosing a recycled plastic porch swing. They are usually made from items like milk and juice jugs that are cleaned and molded into a product known as poly-lumber. Like regular lumber, it acts like wood and can be cut, drilled or screwed into a number of attractive porch swing styles.

Gliders

There’s nothing quite like the calming motion of a glider porch swing to calm frayed nerves. Moving forward and back on a flat surface, the gentle sway of a glider provides a soothing motion that’s perfect for mothers with infants and young children. Add some pillows and you’ll be certain to experience the ultimate in outdoor comfort.

While spending your afternoons relaxing in a porch swing may be an enjoyable pastime, swings can also improve circulation, relieve stress, decrease heart and respiration rates and improve concentration. Porch swings can offer a place for peaceful contemplation, or can help you re-connect with someone you love. Adding both an aesthetic quality to your outdoor living space and a sense of calm to your spirit, a porch swing can be one of the wisest home furnishing purchases you make.

A creator of outdoor-scapes in her spare time, Jessica Hayden teaches children the art of self-defense, and believes all kids can benefit from the discipline and confidence it gives them. Jessica enjoys studying mixed martial arts. She also is a content contributor for Hertao.

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Swings are the epitome of nostalgia. What memory is more representative of childhood than the feeling of swaying through the air, legs pumping back and forth, head thrown back, with your hair flying in the breeze? There was the graduation from the toddler bucket seat to the wooden swing, and then to the tire swing when you were big enough. Next was the “bigger kid” swing with the plastic seat that molded to your body, with long chains reaching up to the sky. Swinging starts with your parents. They just want to get you out of the house, but you’re too small to walk or climb. As soon as you can hold yourself upright, you’re plopped into the baby swing – a circular enclosure with holes for your legs. Your fingers are curled around the chains, and you’re told to hold on tight. Your parents pull you back, gently at first and not too high, and then they let you go. You squeal with delight. Soon, you’re begging for the backyard version, which hangs from yellow ropes and has a movable barrier that you can lift up and slide out of on your own.

Grandma rocks you on the wooden porch swing while she drinks lemonade and you lick a Popsicle on hot summer nights. It’s not about the sensation; it’s about the comfort. You rest your head on her lap while she tells you all about her childhood. Eyelids heavy, you rock to sleep.

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Impossible to ignore, perched on the playground like a skyscraper, is the dinosaur of them all: the giant metal swing set. An a-frame with a row of swings, it’s so simple, yet so enticing. It’s where the Big Kids hang out. They pump their legs, jumping off at the peak of their swing. You can’t get too close for fear that they will crash into you and knock you flat. You wonder how their momentum doesn’t carry them all the way around, taking them up and over the beam to which the chains are securely fastened. It’s one of God’s mysteries.

You wait for an empty seat, and an empty one next to it to make sure nobody bumps into you. Moving tentatively you lay your belly over the seat and scoot back and forth to get your bearings. Before too long you’re sitting upright on the swing, learning how your own motion can propel you skyward. You pump your legs forward and backward, close your eyes, and reach for the sky. As much as you love the playground, you want a swing of your own. The Norman Rockwellesque vision of a wooden swing hanging on ropes from a tree is too romantic for you, now that you’ve conquered the tiger of them all. You need thrill, complexity, and drama. Then, the day arrives when your parents take you into the backyard to show you their surprise: a swing set complete with slide, tree house, climbing wall, and—dangling in the middle of it all—two brand new, untouched swings. Heaven on wheels.

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Rosa Scully has always loved Christmas and currently works as a content contributor for Santa’s Quarters, a retailer of artificial Christmas trees and other Christmas decorations.