I have mixed feelings about our enclosed porch. Pros: - great storage place for large stuff like drywall - great holding place for extra construction garbage (we have to pay extra for more than 2 bulk items, so our old carpet etc went out there as it was disposed of 2 rolls at a time) - great place to leave groceries as the car is unloaded (the dogs get into them otherwise) - great place to store garden equiptment and yard tools (since the garage isn't attached and doesn't lock it's a little safer) - great place to sit and have lunch on a warm day - keeps the cold wind away from the front door and windows - keeps the outside dirt 'outside' the house (we have enough indoor dirt!) Cons: - doesn't allow for light into the living room - isn't in keeping with the original design of the house - is too cold to be really used in the winter

Hi - I'm looking for some pictures, ideas, thoughts, advice, you name it. I am thinking of enclosing a front porch using french doors with interchangable screens/storms. The front porch is really not much of a porch. It is about 11 feet long and about 3 feet wide/deep. On one end is the side door into the garage and on the other is the door into the house. Along the front 11 foot expanse are two arches with one column/post in the middle. My goal in enclosing it is to provide some protection from the weather and give us a place to remove snowy boots, clothes, etc. before entering the house. Has anyone done this? Any thoughts? The other issue is that the floor of the porch is significantly lower than the floor of the house, making the step from this porch into the house very high. I'd like to also address this issue by raising the floor height of the porch during the enclosure process. Thanks in advance for your help!!

Thanks kay - unfortunately there's no spot for a transom, but I have found I can add a tall, thin window at one side of the porch. At only 3'6" wide I can't even fit a "standard" 19-20" deep closet/seating thing - there'd only be 22" of width left to squeeze thru! However, I've found shoe storage that comes in at about 6" deep, and a separate coat rack at the top end will work. And I'm adding a motion detector for the ceiling can so light will come on automatically when you enter. Luckily both doors can open away from the interior of this space, which helps a lot.

zzest, If you ever still peruse this site, I am curious what you decided to do. We have a similar situation where we are totally rehabbing our screened porch to a 3 season room. The current red siding matches the house, but the contractor does not think it can be saved. New red vinyl not an exact match and a premium color to boot. We have a cream garage door, fascia and soffits. I will probably paint the whole house a different color anyway somewhere down the road, but not at this point. Thanks for any input.