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Deseret Morning
News, Friday, May 13, 2005
Well-designed porch
looks good and welcomes visitors
Essential elements are a raised landing,
shelter and windows
By Ann Robinson AIA
and Annie Vernon AIA
We have all had the unwelcoming experience of approaching
a home without a porch. It's raining and you hug as close
as possible to the door to avoid the dripping rain from the
eave. Balancing with one foot on the step and the other on
the pathway, you hope someone heard your knock and comes quickly.
The entryway of this home will be more welcoming with the planned
addition.
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This is obviously not the kind of entry that provides a warm
welcome and sets a proper tone for your interactions with visitors.
The entry of a home is critical to the initial impression guests
receive. A sheltered entry is a receiving place that helps you
and your visitors make the transition from public to private
space. When properly designed, a porch not only makes visitors
feel welcome, but also improves the looks of a home by adding
a place of focus and interest.
The essential elements of a porch include a landing, a cover
and windows in or around the door. Even when steps are not
needed, a slightly raised landing acts as a receiving place,
prepared for guests to wait until the door is opened. When
steps are necessary, the landing also provides a stable and
roomy surface to stand on.
The cover is essential to provide shelter from the weather,
keeping rain, snow, or hot sun off your guests from above
and keeping ice from forming below their feet. Providing a
window in or near the door will help your guests know that
the doorbell worked or their knock was heard because they
can see you coming.
Architecturally, porches do more than protect an entrance.
They provide a sense of scale and should add to the beauty
of a home. Because of their position on the front of a home,
they are often the most prominent feature of the design. Porches
can range in size from a simple gable over the door to a large
wrap-around porch to a complex two-story structure. Porch
columns and railings provide a strong design statement and
must be carefully chosen to enhance the style of your home.
Psychologically, porches hark back to an earlier day when
life was slower and neighborhoods friendlier. Before the advent
of air conditioning, porches served as places to gather to
cool off in the evening breeze, to relax with a refreshing
drink and to catch up on the local gossip from passing neighbors.
The entryway of this home with a covered porch with columns, a raised
landing, and sidelight windows around the front door.
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Now, decades later, a new enthusiasm for porches has emerged
as people today look for a return to gentler times and for places
to gather their friends and family around them.
Architects
Ann Robinson, AIA, and Annie Vernon, AIA, welcome your design
questions at Ask@RenovationDesignGroup.com.
Robinson and Vernon are founding principals of Renovation
Design Group, a local architectural firm specializing in residential
remodeling design.
To register for "Designing a Remodel with Character &
Class," call 533-5331 or click
here for details.
© 2005 Deseret News
Publishing Company
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