IMO I think at least some pitch to that roof would have been better since now it looks like a deck with no way to use it . That transom also does not seem to realte to the door below so curious as to waht that was installed for at all.

I think a railing would make no sense if there's not a french door or at least large window behind it. Here, it would mostly serve to block light from your transom. Skip.

It's a multislide pocket door with the transom window above the patio roof . it looks like this on the inside. We couldn't have some pitch to the roof because of the transom

Will you ever experience the house from the vantage of that photo? Take a shot closer to the canopy.

That's the view on the golf course from the green behind our house

From that vantage it would seem a railing might help give the canopy a little more presence. Maybe cable rails and a thin black rail to cap it off? The strong horizontals of such a railing would work better with the horizontal canopy, very modern. It would also allow more light through into the transom.

IO lose the transom it ruins the exterior IMO or lose the roof on the porch.

The transom is a little odd but assuming you’re in no mood to go backwards, the railing might actually improve things by concealing it a little (or at least drawing the eye to the railing, not the transom). Can further improve, possibly, by painting the siding, in line with the the transom, black from corner to edge of railing.

A roof slope (4/12) and no transom would look better than a functionless railing. Does it snow where the house is located?

I think a transom and flat roof is a mistake. I can't see how you will avoid potential leaks.

Midwest, we get snow and rain a lot

The roof does have a little slope to it but not a lot.

My advice just goes straight to your question about aesthetics, and again, trying to make most of what you have. However, snow accumulation on this low slope roof, together with the transom, is a problem for sure.

What a strange design. Cannot comment on whether lipstick would improve it.

Ok thanks for your input. We're talking with our builder about it and wanted to hear other opinions

Are you wanting to use the top of the porch as a balcony or fire escape and that is the reason you have a flat roof for the porch? If so, a waist high deck railing might be a good idea.

This porch would look really good all across the right side of your house:

https://patioroofcovers.com/gallery/all/gable-roofs/

The shed roof with the gable over the front entry door.

You could even create a kind of "/cellar" under the right end of the porch for lawnmower and/or BBQ grill and/or bicycle/toy storage.

Your inspiration photo is somewhere tropical and the transom fits on that house. It looks strange on your house and makes no sense to have a flat roof in an area that gets lots of snow. Disaster waiting to happen.

Make it look like a pergola or make it into a pergola Imo the style of your homes exterior is not compatible with that inspiration interior photo Both are nice but so very different

If light entering onto the porch is an issue, you could add skylights to a shed roof porch or the two slopes of a forward facing gable over the entry door.

We wanted to do the transom above the porch roof to get more light into the house not the porch

If we sloped the roof it would block the transom window to let light into the room in the house

Also there's second story windows we didnt want to cover up with a porch roof

To get more light into your house, you'd need to get more light onto your porch ... and skylights in a shed roof might well do that depending upon which direction the sun hits the porch.

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/86905467789051597/

Another idea:

https://www.houzz.com/photos/mountain-resort-rustic-porch-phvw-vp~8510947

Our back porch roof doesn’t have a lot of pitch, either (but a bit more than you.) We did skylights in the porch roof. They let in a surprising amount of light.

Echoing other comments, it looks most peculiar. The flat roof will leak unless sloped and drained. (This requires sloping the roof behind the parapet and adding a downspout.) Better to scrap it entirely. Alternatively, re-size it to protect the entry and the transom.

Here's how I did a flat -roofed entry in a 2004 build. (It still required regular cleaning of leaf accumulation and gunk in the roof drain.)

If you already have a rubber membrane on the roof, you can't go sticking posts into it to add a railing. Ask me how I know.

The roof does have a little slope to it but not a lot.

Ask me about my almost flat roof in NY and the leaks we had inside. This is just a leak waiting to happen in your neck of the woods. When you get 20" of snow, who's going to go out on that roof and shovel it off so your window doesn't get leaks and under the roof doesn't leak?

And aesthetically that transom just looks odd as does that flat roof with the look of the rest of the house. The transom and porch roof tend towards contemporary and the rest of the house is not.

Being an architect from the Midwest, I see that transom window as a really bad idea. It may leak. It may get covered by drifting snow. It may be broken by falling ice from the roof above. Have funds saved to eliminate the transom window when it becomes a problem.

Do not add railings, they will increase the chance of problems.

I'm so glad you posted. Please lose both the transom and this flat roof.

You might add a gabled roof that rises higher over the entry door, casting less shade there. I'm not seeing skylights there, nor should they be necessary.

Our entry faces north. Our covered stoop is six feet deep. Our door has sidelights on both sides. The foyer isn't dark.

I just realized in my first post I said porch, this is the back of our house with the patio living room that has the transom and slightly sloped roof.

At first glance I thought the transom window was just a pile of random building material stacked there. After enlarging the picture, I could see that it’s the strangest window I have ever seen. A bad idea. :(

Heather if you want to keep the transom windows then ditch the porch covering. It looks odd and out of place.

Didn't have time to read all the comments, but I've looked at a lot of houses and I've never seen a flat porch roof between a transom and door below. Very odd. If it were me, I would demolish the flat roof and build a sloped roof which hits the house above the transom. Make the sloped roof mostly skylight(s) to maximize the light coming thru the transom. This will solve what will otherwise be serious and ongoing leakage and maintenance issues.

Bad ideas are bad no matter what you call them.

On the bright side, the water stains on the wall below the transom could be a sourse of entertainment trying to identify what the abstract shapes look like. What's the name of that test with the ink spots . . . .

rorschach test?

Front or rear, the problem remains.

Our (rear) screened porch is in the SE angle formed by the breakfast room and the dining room. It's about 14 X 14 and has a cathedral ceiling with two skylights in the E angle of the roof. The porch and the interior rooms are bright summer and winter.

I like houssaon's shed roof -- whether standing seam or not -- but IDK if it could give you enough coverage. How big is the porch? Will it be screened? What direction does the porch face?

Here's another idea. How about removing the porch roof and replacing it with a pergola? You save the transom and avoid water issues. Something like this, but much larger.

Ipuka Residence · More Info

Do the Phantom motorized screens work in the horizontal?

^^^No but they could get a retractable awning.

That back roof area is an outdoor living room with fireplace, outdoor kitchen and will have heaters in the ceiling.

The transom looks off, actually. Can you remove it, and pull up elevation on the porch roof so heavy rains and snows more easily wash off of it? Yes, more money, but it will both look better and function better.

A railing would only look good if you planned to hang out on the porch roof as a matter of course (in which case one would be necessary). Your windows don't indicate that.

If you need a roof, I think you should remove the transom. Or build the roof over the transom. Or do nothing and risk bigger problems down the road.

Let us know what you decide and good luck.

The root of the problem is the style of your house does not suit your preferred porch …the right look would be a peaked roof over the porch…or a shed roof the full length of the house… your window inspiration is more suitable in a more tropical climate