I think that for your style of home - a Saltbox Colonial - a porch overhang might look out of character. What I would do is add larger lighting on either side of the door, that are more in keeping with the style, What you have seem to be too modern.

With paint, plants in your planter, I think you can have a dramatic make-over without having to add an addition.

I think a portico would look good. I've seen it done on that Curb Appeal show on HGTV. I bet if you look at their website you can find some photos of before and afters.

I wonder if an awning would add the appeal you are looking for.

{{!gwi}}

I think the awning would also look great-they come in so many colors. I also think a portico would look good as well. Unfortunately it would be a lot more costly. I would start with an awning and some complimentary lights to go with it and see how you like it for a while. You could also connect some additional hardscape or raised planter on each side of the steps to inhance/accentuate the entry. I do think your house is lovely though.

Sorry, but I think the awning just looks cheesy. Too much like a city apartment building. If you add something on do a portico to cover the steps, with columns that sit on the front step. Then you have a nice shelter over the front door to welcome guests.

I'm with NHB 100%.

I agree with you that the house front looks flat and needs something. I wouldnt do the awning. I like the idea of the portico. Not sure what style though, I would get a professional involved to ensure you get the look that goes with the style of house and that it will be something you love.

It is a "big box" - that is the nature of a "saltbox colonial".

It's partly the landscaping, partly the paint, partly the house.

1 - The front porch looks like you walk on the grass to get to it. If you had a more prominent approach to the steps, it would anchor the house and look less boxy.

Bring some landscaping (plants, pots, paving?) further out into the front yard to add visual weight to the bottom of the steps and the base of the house. Make it obvious where the front walk is.

2 - It's all pale blue and white. If the sections on either side of the front door were several shades darker or lighter than the main body, it would emphasize the doorway. And the little wing could be shaded too.

3 - If you decide on a portico, pergola or arbor, make it at least as wide as the steps and squared up like the rest of the house.

Think "Arts and Crafts" architecture, not "Georgian" and not "Federal". Square pillars or posts, beams that are the same weight visually as the house's fascia and that white beam across the door, to tie it into the saltbox look.

An arbor wider than the porch - maybe as wide as the section between front windows - would add front interest and avoid the problems that come when you start adding things to houses. Put some rambling roses on it, or other vine to soften the whole front.

An awning would look like a potato stuck on a box.

I agree with lazy gardens and new home builder. You can give more presence to the front door without building a portico.

If I were going to make a major change to that house, I would add a large front porch, not a portico.

Look at this blog entry - I knew I had seen one somewhere.

that's the style I'm thinking of.

Here is a link that might be useful: Portico on a box

There are alot of saltbox homes with portico's. I think it could look great but I too would hire a top notch professional since you have a cantilevered front. Here is a pretty house with a portico. There are alot of styles you might be able to use.

{{!gwi}}

No, I don't think a portico would help the front of your house - you have a beautiful home and it doesn't need help, it needs tweaking! The elements of a saltbox are simple with little adornment. Your trim is simple, boxed out, no fluting or moldings - just what it's supposed to be. NHB nailed it on the lights, and LG has great landscape suggestions.

Because you have no overhangs on the roof line, adding the portico will throw off the proportions of your house, greatly, I'm afraid. To my eye that's part of what's wrong with the home caminc posted. Without the corresponding overhang at the roof, a portico will look 'stuck on', IMO.

When I first saw your house, I thought: Yes, the door needs something. Then I read the negative reasons others wrote, I can see that they are right, it would look odd if the portico was the only thing sticking out. I think what just may be best is not a portico, but some basic moulding.

Looking at the two bottom windows they just out just a little bit, making the door look odd. How about if you added just a little trim above the door that just out only as far as the upper roof line? Kind of like a short overhang. Very plain and simple, no dressing up to it. By breaking the white "line" the trim makes though the center of your house, it may draw the eye more towards the front door when you see the house, and yet not be overdone and kind of keep the saltbox character. It would also be very inexpensive compared to the portico idea. :)

You have architraves over the bottom windows (and a long piece of trim at the top of the siding? Fascia? can't tell) that stick out like dainaadele said. I would build up the trim on either side of the door to look like "columns" and add an architrave supported by those "columns" over the door to bring them out like the windows. Not sure how far to bring it out, I wouldn't bring it out to roofline, I think I'd just make the "columns" and architrave the same thickness as what's over the windows. But just do it over the door, not the whole front of the house, so that the door is emphasized.

I'd change out the lights too, do that after the trimwork is done so you can decide how far out they need to come, how high, and bulbs up or down.

I think what you are seeing as flatness could be solved with hinges and paint.

Look at the photo posted by caminnc...the house is a rich neutral color. A deeper, more natural color would de-emphasize the regular rhythm and texture of your shingles and soften the ground color. The trim and shutters are white and black, which gives much more definition and interest than plain white.

Shutters were originally there for a reason, and always look flat when nailed to the house instead of hinged onto the window frames. I'd consider having them reattached with the right kind of hinges before I'd go to the expense of designing and building a porch roof.

Here's a rather cranky but very well-informed discussion of how shutters can help or hurt an exterior.

Here is a link that might be useful: Cranky shutter guy

Your house is a garrison style...not a salt box unless there is something I can't see in the pictures. A salt box has a short 2nd story in the back.
A portico looks awkward on a garrison house.
And as has been said above your shutters are too small and too tall.
Paint the house a more natural color... a grey-ish green or a tannish brown, or a dark brown and your door will become more important.
Linda C

Linda is correct if you do not have the lean-to on the back. For some reason, I thought you said in a previous thread, that your home was a Saltbox.

Take a look at this Google info I came up with on the Garrison. Some of the threads have photos of Garrisons with porches. One is an updated house that I think looks terrible. Another has sort of a rounded porch that looks very nice. That said, the style of your house does not lend itself to a front porch.

Ditto on those shutters.

Here is a link that might be useful: Garrison

Thanks for all the comments! Thankful that most of you think I should do without the portico!!!

So for those of you suggesting I change the shutters, they should be wider and shorter? They're too tall and skinny right now?

I have another thread posted for color help. Here's the link. I've been leaning towards the grays, but have made so many color mistakes before(hate the current blue on the house) that I'm afraid to pick anything. Let me know if you have any suggestions.

Here is a link that might be useful: What color should I Paint my House?

I am so glad others said no to the portico. I saw your post yesterday & had no time to respond. Your home is beautiful and so is the setting.

My fav colors would be a gray/sagey green with cream & black. BM Cliffside gray or camoflauge for the body?

I am going back to read the cranky shutter link....my house needs serious shutter help & DH has been very resistant to any change.

SMiles:)

Yes, absolutely, and bigger lights those are too small for the size of that home.

Perhaps something like this lantern might look nice on the outside of your home.

Your shutters don't look so out of whack to me, if you don't want the expense of replacing them, and if they were attached correctly, and painted.

The trick with exterior paint jobs is, first, you usually need three colors (one plus black and white counts) to get depth and interest.
And second, colors outdoors look paler and brighter than you think they will. A gray that is taupey can turn purple, and a sage one can look dull and faded next to the fresh greens of plants...a creamy off-white can look yellow...or pink...and light blues can look like the nursery.

Among the B.Moore historic colors (which are good on traditional forms like your house), you might like Whithall Brown or Fairview Taupe for a good neutral with black and white. If you want something lighter, Alexandria Beige or Ashley Gray can look very nice as well.

Monterey White is a lovely trim color with any of those, and the shutters could be black (my first choice) or Hale Navy, which is almost black.
I wouldn't use any of the dark greens with those colors. Then you might choose Hodley Red or Georgian Brick for your front door. I think you would be amazed at the difference.
I always use gloss paint for trim, because it wears better, and the gloss dulls down pretty quickly.

And that's enough advice from me!

I'll second Fairview Taupe - it's one of my all time favorite house colors and would look STUNNING on your house. The Hodley Red, however is another story. A lot depends on what direction your front door faces - mine faces west - and I had Hodley Red on it for quite a while. It was fine in the morning but when the sun came around in the late afternoon it took on a decidedly red/purple cast. Just an FYI.

Looking at your house again, if you want bang for your buck and big impact on the house facade, skip the portico and do exterior window casings instead. It looks like you have some thin trim painted the same as the front door around the windows - yes? I'd skip the outlining effect on all the windows and just do one color, then on the uppers beef up those casings.

I agree with dainaadele, that building a trim box around the door area would re-emphasize the door. I would expand the width of the side panels to encompass the light fixture. (agree with bac717 about a new fixture). Applying some trim to suggest something other than flat wood, but not going fancy or to extremes.

Also, railings on either side of the steps would lead the eye to that direction and up to the door.

Here is how I reframed my door (I need new lights also, but that is another day).

Thanks everyone! I know(or at least have more confidence when it comes to the inside of my house then the outside).

A couple of you have said the shutters aren't attached properly. How should they be attached? I need to buy hinges?

dlm200 - when you say beef up the casings on the uppers, do you mean the windows on the second floor? How would I go about doing that, because the window hits the molding.

Thanks-sorry for my lack of "architectural" knowledge. I'll take a look at the color suggestions. I was actually thinking of a black door....not a good idea?

BTW...We are replacing the door and sidelights. Should I just stick with the style I have? I am so not traditional, and been having a hard time working with the style of the house.

Your home is lovely as it, and correct me if I'm wrong, but it doesn't appear to be a saltbox colonial. I'm seeing a Garrison Colonial with a full upstairs (no slanted back roofline as seen in saltbox colonials.) Your house looks almost exactly like my next door neighbor's house, which I think is "begging" for a portico. If I were you, I'd consult with some architects and look at some computer enhanced graphics of your house with a portico added. I think it would only enhance the curb appeal.

Don't apologize - we're all learning! Do you see the wood trim surrounding the windows in the photo caminnc posted? That's the window trim I'm referring to. Your upper windows don't appear to have any wood surrounding them and if there is, it's very small in relation to the size of the windows and the other trim on the house. Your lower windows on the main part of the house have the large boxed out sections but the uppers and the ones on the lower right don't have that. I think you need simple, larger window trim.

As for the shutters - look at the link bronwynsmom posted for the Cranky Shutter Guy. I haven't looked at it but there are some basic 'rules' about shutters and I'm sure that's what the link will show. The rules are broken all the time (I'm guilty) but shutters do look best when you follow the rules.

Yes, look at the link. Don't just go buy hinges.
If you are going to add trim (a good idea), remount the shutters, and change your door, please get some expert advice. Errors in craftsmanship, materials, and proportion are so much more costly than the price of a good architect's knowledge and design skill.

Just a note, I was referring to the wall/porch area around the door not the door frame. And, sorry about the dirty wood, but it's since been washed down. I need a new pic!

"I am so glad others said no to the portico. Your home is beautiful and so is the setting. "

Ditto! You have a lovely home. :)

Question about shutters and larger casings around the windows.

Re: casings....I don't think I can fit larger casings. If you look at the top floor windows, they pretty much seem to butt up against the trim there.

Re: shutters...i read cranky guys article....but I think window placement on the left side and the right side on the top will prevent me from making these shutters any wider. The 2 windows on the left side I think are too close so if the shutters were widened they might actually touch in the middle. The window on the right upper, the shutter is practically touching the trim right now.

ugghhh......

I also agree with no portico and using a BM Historic color on the house. I love a black door as well, mahlgold and visualize a mossy brown/green/taupe color on your house.

One thing that I would do (LG touched on this) is change your walkway and landing. Increasing the size and possibly changing the shape (half circle with steps?) of your landing would make a big difference. I would look at antiqued brick as the walkway material. Also, taking out the pines on either side (standing like guards by your door) would soften the appearance. Using large urns and beautiful, correctly sized lanterns on either side of your door would make a big difference without a huge amount of cost.

You have a beautiful home and a gorgeous lot-have fun!

Don't give up, mahlgold! If you look at the boxed out lower windows, the trim on the sides and bottom of the windows is stepped back from the upper piece - there's a name for that piece and it escapes me at the moment - anyway, it creates a very nice shadow line. That's really key - shadow lines are wonderful at adding depth and interest. As for the shutters, if you have more substantial trim, properly placed shutters would sit so that they are at the window edge, basically covering most of the side trim - and I can hear you saying 'then why add the trim???' Because it will show a bit from certain angles and the look it creates is not something you can fudge. If it's not there the shutters would be sitting flat on the house (as they are now) not angled back a bit. In an ideal world the shutter size would be so that if they were closed, they would meet in the middle of the window. In the real world, we can't always do that, but we get as close as possible and let the eye imagery do the rest. If you get reasonably close to half window width, it will look fine.

I think a black door would look wonderful with Fairview Taupe or any of the earthy historic colors. However.....with your recessed door you might lose some of the detail and it might look like a hole. I love your brass handset - maybe consider a larger, more important looking door knocker as another way to brighten a black door. And if your handset is the forever brass that doesn't tarnish, make sure your door knocker is the same.

Thanks dlm...I'm not giving up. Found a couple of pics of garrison colonials without shutters but with beefier trim. What do you think of this. 2 of my neighbors' homes don't have any shutters(different style of house), but they have the same wide trim at the top with the window butting up against it. They basically put the wider trim on the 2 sides and the bottom of the window. It looks nice. What do you think of these houses?

The first one is my favorite and demonstrates just what substantial trim can do - no shutters necessary. The second one is also beautiful but your top trim on the upper windows would actually be the frieze (that's the term that escaped me earlier) board, not a separate piece like in the picture. Third house is too hard to see the detail and the trim on the last one, IMO, is still too skimpy.

The second house is not a garrison...notice the roof line.
You sure don't need shutters...
Shutters were originally to close against storms and cold....so it makes no sense to put those little parenthesis around windows.
Am I seeing the trim around the upper windows painted maroon??? If so, paint that white and it will give your shutters the illusion of more width and the window frames more "beef".
It's a lovely house....don't muck it up with adding geegaw.
Linda C

Notice the difference in the houses in terms of windows with/without panes. A very traditional colonial has panes in the windows (8/8 or 12/12). Are your windows replacement windows and if so, you do have the option of adding the panes (I call them pains as I have so many of them in my home!)? They are part of what I think you're seeing that you like in photos 1, 2 and 3 that you posted above.

Your first floor windows are flush with the second floor, which lends a more modern twist to what would otherwise be a very traditional house.

I really don't know, just thinking out loud. We went out to dinner tonight and I was looking at houses with/without porticos. Tomorrow on my walk, I'll take my camera and post some pics!