910-777-4786
OPEN MON - FRI 10-6 & SAT 10-5
CLOSED SUNDAY
7036 MARKET ST. WILMINGTON NC 28411
About Us
Our Mission
At Porch Concepts, we are committed to providing sustainable and eco-friendly outdoor furniture options. We believe in creating beautiful outdoor spaces while minimizing our impact on the environment. Join us in embracing a greener future for outdoor living!
Our Story
Porch Concepts was "born" in October of 2015 in order to supplement the amazing customer experience that our sister company, Porch Conversion, has created. We are a family owned and operated company. For over 35 years, owners Paul and Mary Maki have been designing and creating stunning sunroom additions and outdoor furniture for families in the Wilmington and surrounding areas.
They began with building backyard wishes and patio dreams, turning backyards into sanctuary retreats. Porch Conversion, now owned by Tom and Taylor Waddle, is an award-winning sunroom builder who made America's Top 50 Remodelers in 2018! Due to high demand in the sunroom industry and the need for Mary to "complete" backyard dreams, she created Porch Concepts for homeowners to get the exact vision they were aspiring to achieve. Finally, there became a one-stop shop for your outdoor space. They build the space, while we furnish & decorate it!
Porch Concepts is an idea that just made sense. After building your new sunroom, enhance the exciting experience and design with gorgeous outdoor furniture, ready to be delivered and enjoyed in your new outdoor space! With a 24,000 sq. ft. indoor & outdoor showroom, the sky is the limit!
Even customers with outdoor decks, patios, and porches can take advantage of our vast selection of outdoor furniture including wicker and rattan selections, powder-coated aluminum frames, Poly-Lumber, and Sunbrella fabric. Our interior designer and design consultants have over 50 years experience in the furniture industry and are guaranteed to make your outdoor furniture shopping a true delight.
Our goal is to become Wilmington's Showroom for all your outdoor, sunroom, porch, and patio furniture needs. We can fit into any budget, with a huge selection of manufacturers, superior customer service, and we even have financing options available for our valued clients.
Meet the Team
Paul & Mary Maki
Our Founders
Growing up in the west of Ireland and sharing a home with nine brothers and sisters, Mary learned at a young age that everything has value. Her beginnings were full of color! Using these colorful surroundings, her mother inspired the children to paint to enhance their young creative minds and to foster cheer for one another and the community. This imaginative approach taken by her mother would come to serve Mary greatly in life.
Paul and Mary have been designing beautiful award-winning sunrooms since 1985. While passionate about enhancing the value and quality of the home, their creative and colorful sides still desired more. The perfect solution came to them; sister company Porch Conversion builds your dream sunroom, while Porch Concepts furnishes & decorates it! Porch Concepts was born to bring even more joy to their sunroom customers. Now you can add a sunroom to the home and truly make it yours with all the color and furnishings you desire. Building these outdoor retreats is now easier then ever.
Mary is making her American dream come true by helping everyone in our community build theirs! We are most grateful that Porch Concepts and Porch Conversion is the hotspot for patio enclosure and furniture!
April Aldridge
General Manager
Interior Designer
April received a BFA in Art concentrating in Interior Architecture from Longwood University in Virginia in 2003. After graduating, she worked as an interior designer in Richmond, Va. In 2009 she decided life is too short NOT to live at the beach so she packed up herself and her dog, Marley, to move to Wilmington in 2009. After years of managing art galleries and furniture stores, she was excited to join the Porch Concepts team. April's ability to build rapport, match your needs with the perfect furniture, and to be knowledgeable of this industry is unmatched. You will never go wrong when working with this amazing woman.
At Porch Concepts, we understand that interior design can be tough and at times very overwhelming! We are here to help you every step of the way, as much or as little as needed. We offer complimentary design services for those looking to furnish their outdoor living spaces. Give our manager & Interior Designer, April Bush a call or stop by to see her today, she would love to help!
Emily Kirk
Assistant Manager
Design Consultant
Emily has dedicated three years to our growing team, adding many years of experience in the furniture industry. She began her career in furniture with the world's largest furniture supplier, Ashley, in a local home store. At Ashley, Emily led her team in sales, mostly due to her excellence in customer service.
Shortly after joining our team, she was promoted to assistant manager. Emily is a vital part of the Porch Concepts customer journey from showroom to your sunroom.
Rachel Edwards
Design Consultant
Rachel is another amazing addition to our growing team. Hailing from the corn fields of Illinois, she has a love of nature and a passion for all things creative. Rachel brings a positive midwestern disposition and a background in spatial design with a colorful perspective.
Coming from a state where bonfires and fireflies light the evening sky, she knows a thing or two about the necessity for comfortable outdoor furniture. When you stop by our showroom, ask how she can best assist you in bringing your outdoor retreat to life.
Carla Pagi
Design Consultant
Carla has long been a staple here at Porch Concepts. She has had a long and varied career in sales, which has given her a diverse skill set that anyone would love to have in their toolbox. From furniture sales to advertising, television production to real estate, Carla has done it all.
She enjoys helping customers finding the perfect solutions to design their living spaces. The time and patience she spends with each customer, as well as the ability to match customer needs to our products, makes her a keen asset to our company and a wonderful person to work with for our patrons.
Cailey Marinaro
Design Consultant
Having joined in September 2023, Cailey is the fresh face behind our social media. When not working, Cailey can be found comfortably surrounded by the Carolina long leaf pines, in the kitchen cooking dinner, or at a pilates class.
Her passion of enjoying life outdoors, sustainable efforts, and the arts complements a long history of customer service. As the youngest member of our team, Cailey is here to bring a youthful energy, connect, & create the coziest spaces for our community!
Bryan Aldridge
Warehouse Manager
IT/Web Development Manager
Growing up in Topsail Island, Bryan is a local to southeastern North Carolina. He moved to Wilmington to attend UNCW and has been here ever since. With a degree in Commercial Management Technologies, Bryan has streamlined processes in our warehouse that have tremendously improved our efficiency and capacity. He began his career during college where he apprenticed under two master carpenters. He can repair and fix anything he touches.
We are in the process of a new website design and thanks to Bryan's experience in technology, we have been able to add a 3D virtual showroom to our website for clients to view our entire outdoor furniture store online as if you were actually here. April and Bryan have also introduced a new POS and inventory tracking software to allow us to maintain the largest IN-STOCK outdoor furniture selection in the Cape Fear region. If you have any technical questions about your furniture, look no further in getting the best possible solutions for your concerns than Bryan.