All too familiar
This is a poster child for this all too familiar problem. What we have here is an abrupt two story wall with the yard running right up to it. Nobody goes to the front door of this house, so they can choose between the garage or that back deck – not too inviting!
Now that’s more like it!
This new porch leads guests to an inviting entry where it belongs, leading into a mudroom and on into the open living area of the house. We have cover, and this new roof extends to a new screen porch and french doors from the living area.
An inviting welcome
Here at the entry door you look forward to coming inside. There is a generous bench for taking off dirty shoes, or just lingering to enjoy the back garden and view.
Organization at hand
These cubbies provide most everything every member of the family needs to drop things off or pick them up on the way in or out. There are plenty of hooks, a seat to put on shoes, cubbies for everybody’s stuff, wire baskets for wet hats and mittens, space for shoes and boots, and shelves for papers and sorting mail.
The Communication Center
No entry transition is complete without a communications center to organize the family and deal with mail, calendars, and notices. Here is a shelf for keys, niches for papers, a cork board and the phone and answering machine. As you head into the living area there’s a good chance that none of this stuff will end up on a counter or table or draped on a chair.
TWO PORCHES. TWO PURPOSES
This was another one of those “boring backs of houses.” Two porches were added, with a walk connecting them that stepped down to a shared stone patio. The immediate porch created a covered entry to the kitchen area, and an easy way in and out both for coming and going and heading out to the patio.
Under Cover
This space provides shelter for arriving guests. It also makes the connection between this entry area and the other “outdoor rooms,” including the second screen porch at that extends off the dining room. Note the subtle arcs shaped into the pergola that connect these two porches and organizes the central patio off the back of the house.
