side-entry garage openings that face the front door...
sanctuarygirl
13 years ago
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spf5209
13 years agomacv
13 years agoRelated Discussions
Side Entry Garages
Comments (55)I surely strayed OT when gabbing on about a swimming pool, but I was looking at the examples and photos as issues that include both true access (to the front of the home or the main entry or the heart of the home, or all 3) in terms of physical layout, proximity, obstacles, versus how to achieve "welcome to my entry" or welcome to my garage or to my driveway. So one part of the original discussion was that we should strive have both (good access and good identification/welcome), and part of the discussion was about how we do various other things or remedial things to mitigate either poor planning or site limitations. Very often, color is an easy way to link or separate or highlight, or to creat drama, and the properties of color and hue make big differences. So I am interested in how perhaps the exact same design, executed in different colors and materials, might create different effects. That is one of the fun things about seeing some of the photoshopping of paint and siding colors on previous posts relating to balancing garages with the houses, or front doors, or whatever. From a design observation, I think the blue driveway color has an impact of de-emphasizing the front door and kind of "popping" (yes, I used that awful word) right at the street edge and flowing away from the house rather than drawing you in. But, for others, it may create an opposite response and seem to flow toward the house and entry and pull you in from the street....See MoreFloor Plan Review -- Side Facing Front Door
Comments (19)How about something like the plan below (with stairs flipped?). Two changes to the exterior - I brought out the front by the game room to create an entryway, and I pushed out the little hallway to outside by the dining room to create space to enter the master bedroom from there. The entry to MBed is no longer as private, though, I did like it better when you got to the Mbed from the front of the house. Your stairs are no longer the decorative focal point in this plan, which I am guessing your architect was trying to emphasise before. So for such a big and light filled stairwell, the plan I have here is kind of wasting that. That said a grand, two story entry with expansive stairwell isn't casual Florida beachy cottage....I'd be picturing more something like this: This post was edited by robotropolis on Mon, Oct 6, 14 at 8:54...See MoreFront or Side Entry Basement Garage...comments much appreciated
Comments (10)They both look nice. However I am not sure that 20 ft is enough for a side entry garage. I would go drive around in a parking lot with cones to check. Remember the front entry garage will be 10 ft below the main level and wont look so intrusive on the symmetry of the main level. Disclosure I had a side driveway before and didnt much like it because it was so narrow and I had to make a 3 pt turn to get into the garage....See MoreNeed exterior design help for side facing front door
Comments (9)Since the houses you've shown have little landscaping, and since that's my interest, I don't have a whole lot to offer other than to again suggest that the entire hedge needs removal across the front of your house. Note the wide walkways in both of your examples. I would do something similar from the parking pad to your porch leaving a wide entry pad in front of the porch, similar to how wide the steps are in both of your examples, such as from the wall with the door over to the center post. Consider whether continuing the walkway out the road makes sense; does anyone walk to your house or park down by the road? Add a pair of tall pots on a firm surface off the porch to frame the entry, one in front of the pillar and one in front of the wall just to the left of the door, but not where it will hide the door. Choose pots that fit your aesthetic and with colors that work with whatever you do with the house. If the brick on your house goes down to near the ground, put in a bed of evergreen groundcover from the right pot over to the end of the porch and from the left pot over to the shrub at the end of the house. Be sure the bed has a cleanly maintained edge to keep it looking tidy. If you want some shrubs, you can add them to the groundcover bed (being sure that the bed is deep enough to accommodate whatever you choose) or place shrubs or trees further out into the yard to give some feeling of shelter from the road, and consider using some of the same plants used in the garden to the left will provide continuity. If you live in an area with a lot of snow and ice, choose your plants across the front of the house to be able to tolerate snow getting dumped on them, especially if you decide to go with a metal roof. I have a similar area that has groundcovers, perennials that die back for winter, and some shrubs that if damaged by roof dumps can be cut to near the ground and will grow within a few weeks. In doing landscaping, do the home work first such as roofing, painting or repairs, then do hardscape such as walkways, and finally do bed prep and planting. Choose plants that won't overgrow the space they are planted in to reduce pruning work. If you choose to paint your brick to get the feel of your examples, be aware that you will have taken a low maintenance surface and turned it into one that will need ongoing maintenance - cleaning and painting as needed which will add time and expense. I am not wild about your current black shutters and white trim. Perhaps start by choosing colors with a less stark contrast between the brick and the trim such as a sage or the color of the siding on the ell and painting all your trim that same color. Live with that for a while to see if it works better aesthetically for you....See Morejenswrens
13 years agochisue
13 years agokrycek1984
13 years agoMichelle Liberty
3 years agoMark Bischak, Architect
3 years agoMichelle Liberty
3 years ago
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