side-entry garage openings that face the front door...

12 years ago

I am guessing that the reason this arrangement is so popular is that, like front-entry garages, they allow smaller lot sizes. Except...I am seeing them now on a lot of larger luxury homes, too. I can't warm up to this idea due to the fact that it makes the area directly in front of the home and entry into sort of a motor court, something I don't really find appealing. I much prefer grass and plantings to be what I step onto outside the front door and keep what I consider utilitarian car related hard surfaces to the side or back, but again, larger lot required. Even the front entry is preferable to this inward-facing side entry IMO. Modifications, anyone, lol?

Featured Answer

gobruno

12 years ago

OT-but jenswrens, I love the house you posted!

Anyway, I can see pros and cons to all garage placements. When you have little kids, I can see how the sideloader facing the front door is appealing bc our kids spend most of their outdoor time in the area right in front of the garage doors, riding their bikes, playing street hockey, basketball, hopscotch, etc. In some ways, it's nice that they can do that right in front of the house and the garage. There are ways to make it look nice, like in the picture that jenswrens posted.

Sort by:Oldest

Comments (9)

spf5209
12 years ago
In addition to the aesthetics, we changed our design to front-entry because I was not crazy about having to drain all of that impervious driveway surface away from the foundation and around the house somehow on our sloped, hillside lot. Running the driveway into the front entry solved that problem.
macv
12 years ago
How would a side-entry garage opening face a front door?
Related Discussions
Side Entry Garages
Q
Comments (54)
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 More
Front or Side Entry Basement Garage...comments much appreciated
Q
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 More
For those of us with front facing garage doors: can we accent them?
Q
Comments (77)
Thanks. meanom I did start a new thread on adding some whites to speak to the windows. One suggestion was to paint white casing around garage (currently that is grey). Since so many helped on this thread with the difficult garage door decision, I wanted to make sure I wasn't messing with the garage door if we add some white. Here is the long shot. Feel free to comment on the other thread or here. Please tell me if you like J or this new J with white version: J with white casing: Here is the link to the repeating white on the exterior thread, for those that can stomach one more of my exterior design elements. If not, thanks for all the amazing help on my garage door decision. You guys are the best! Carol [Thread: Repeating white on the exterior to speak to windows [(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/repeating-white-on-the-exterior-to-speak-to-white-windows-dsvw-vd~3185395)
...See More
Flat-Front Home with Side-Facing Door
Q
Comments (26)
Really nice house. Yard already has the beginnings of curb appeal with the bricked path. If you don't use a front yard patio, don't keep one. Consider adding a row of plants on both sides of your bricked path to outline it -- perhaps liriope https://www.pinterest.com/pin/88101736443381440/ -- or another plant to line your bricked path that is suitable to your planting zone. https://www.bing.com/images/search?q=Plants+to+Line+a+Walkway&FORM=RESTAB and then focus on finding a good shade friendly grass or other ground cover easily maintained by mowing -- perhaps clover or something else that is suitable for your planting zone -- for the rest of the yard. While having a door open toward the side of the house doesn't seem ideal, the reasons this was done are obvious: -- the door is facing the driveway on that side of the house and, more importantly, -- it enables the house to have (not just the one) two large forward facing window groupings. Unless you're willing to give up all the natural light the second window grouping brings into the home, the door would need to stay where it is. If you're considering changing the front windows on the left side of the house anyway, you could enclose what is now the porch to create a new, one with the door forward facing in the new front exterior wall. You could then add a new porch by extending the roof of the forward facing gable another 8' or so.
...See More
jenswrens
12 years ago
Like this...
chisue
12 years ago
Our garage is at a 120-degree angle to the front of the house. To me, it looks like an enveloping 'arm'. (We also chose to have a bluestone gravel driveway to stall run-off.)

Note: No garage wing looks great if it dwarfs the house, regardless of where the garage doors are placed.

I don't like a recent trend to build a separate, additional garage in front of a house, with its back to the street. Where I've seen this there is an attached garage for two or three cars, plus this additional garage for another more vehicles. I guess it's an attempt to minimize the huge garage wings I mentioned above!
krycek1984
12 years ago
I don't personally like side load garages because when you have guests, they have to walk around the entire front of the house (or around the garage that sticks out) to the front door. The front door then becomes a bit of a hike and less inviting. It also takes up a lot of room if you're on a wooded lot and you want to preserve the woods.

The most efficient and logical garage is a front-facing garage attached to the home. Aesthetically it may not be the best option, but there are ways to vastly decrease the "impact" of it, such as not building a HUGE garage that is attached to the front of the house. A garage that goes into the house and doesn't make the garage protrude 22' out helps, or one under the main roof. Two doors instead of one also help aesthetically.

I suppose the motorcourt appeal is that it saves room, such as with a side-load, but doesn't make guests hike around the house for the front door.
Michelle Liberty
2 years ago
We are in the beginning stages of building our home and in the covenants and by-laws it states that we must of a side-entry garage. We want the side entry to be facing the front door. Our POA/HOA are saying we can’t do that and that the garage must face the other direction, however, it doesn’t state that in the covenants, it just says “side-entry,” it doesn’t specify which side. Also, there is another home in the neighborhood that has the side-entry garage that we plan to have.
PRO
Mark Bischak, Architect
2 years ago
The last comment in this discussion was made nine years ago. Regarding dealing with HOA's, have you heard of the term, "Herding Cats"?
Michelle Liberty
2 years ago
Yes lol

side-entry garage openings that face the front door...

gobruno

Comments (9)

spf5209

macv

Related Discussions

jenswrens

chisue

krycek1984

Michelle Liberty

Mark Bischak, Architect

Michelle Liberty

COMPANY

BUSINESS SERVICES

GET HELP

CONNECT WITH US