Improve curb appeal by adding front porch? What style do you see?

last year

last modified: last year

Hi! I would like to improve the curb appeal of this modest, 1350sf, 3 bed bed/1 bath 1930’s home. I think the style might be “craftsman cottage”, but i am not sure. The eave support brackets and those supporting the diminutive entry gable suggest a Craftsman style, but beyond those elements, the “4 over 1” windows throughout, and the 4 small, low, and symmetrically placed brick porch column bases in front of the home, there are few details to help place it clearly in any design category. If you see more clues than I currently see, please let me know your thoughts.

The best thing it has going for it is the symmetry of the center front door with 2 sets of 4 over 1 windows on each side. The small gable “porch” over the entry does not appear to be original to me. I wonder if the 4 column bases have always defined an uncovered front porch or if they may have supported columns and a larger covered porch at one time.

The home sits on a street and in an area of some more architecturally significant homes. There are a wide range of styles as is often the case with homes built in the 30s-40s-50s just a few blocks from a large university. I would like to elevate the curb appeal so it will subtly “hold its own” while embracing the simple lines of its construction. I am curious what you guys would suggest.

I will be replacing the roof soon, but want to tie it in to the overall look of the home. If I “rebuild” what i currently believe was the original front porch, I will obviously need tie that roof into the main roof. I am open to all of your thoughts and ideas!

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Comments (5)

landphil1
Original Author
last year
Lyn Nielson
last year
wondering if someone WANTED a crafstman style and did the brick work, and never added the roofline?

It looks like an overhaul if you want to continue the porch style to include the pillars.

It would also require removing the portico overhang that already exists.

How much of an investment are you thinking???

If it were mine, and I was replacing shingles, soon, I would replace the roof with a taller pitch.

at that time, I'd add the required porch roof to accomodate the existing pillars and create a so called craftsman style. Is it worth the effort and expense??? Is the brickwork stable enough to re use? Something to think about.

with all that said, I'd remove the Bricks and build a nice composite deck, create a cute cottage look. You asked.
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I think Hoovb makes a great point. Start by cleaning up the landscaping. It's got great bones, just needs to be pruned and edited. Get a good pruning book and basic landscaping book. I recommend Cass Turnbull's "The Complete Guide to Landscape Design, Renovation, and Maintenance: A Practical Handbook for the Home Landscape Gardener" 1991. It's out of print but get it from your local library inter-library loan or buy it used on Amazon. He's a great writer about freshening up a landscape and design principles but correct pruning is the first step to maintaining a good front yard landscape. Why spend money redoing something that will look great with just a little TLC. Then same with the rest of your house, just tweak it and then when everything else is said and done and you still want to paint it, then paint it. I had similar issues when I first bought my house, I had a lot I wanted to do but I chose projects that would impact my day-to-day living in the house first and were big ticket items, like taking out carpeting and redoing the wood floors. If everything else about the house is perfect at this point, then paint it. You've got two good options either way.
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Thanks so much, this is hugely helpful. That glass awning shared is amazing. I will see about talking to a local awning company about it to start. The current awning is actually burgundy, not that it makes it much better :). Definitely agree on the landscaping too and have considered starting with yanking that bush out the blocks the front door, even if we wait on the rest until spring. I never thought about the downspout color being different, and now it stands out like crazy. We’ll definitely have that painted to match the brick. Would you leave the other paint as is? On the door, I also like the idea of having the sides be the same color. What color would you paint it? I wouldn’t mind replacing the door but the side lights are matching to the glass - does that matter? There is also a storm door if that makes a difference. The windows are definitely dated but haven’t been the highest on my priority list to change out - as you can imagine, several things inside look like 1995 too. Thanks so much!
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You have a wonderfully low maintenance home. Adding a porch to older homes I have noticed really does elevate them and bring them a more modern look, curiously. Curious because front porches are a thing of times gone by really. Adding a porch to your home would add maintenance. At this point 36 years in I am not sure that makes sense. As stated your home is lovely as is. I am sorry you have never embraced its look, but I am guessing your vision as a young homeowner had you thinking a totally different sort of home. You can't turn a ranch into a Farmhouse/two story Colonial by adding a porch. Perhaps a wider front walk, maybe give it a bit of a meandering curve...sometimes we just need a bit of a change I get it. You could also widen the front steps/stoop so you could get a chair or two on it. Create a bit of a seating area. That would look better with your roof line than an add on roofed porch. Extended to the left under the smaller window would keep you away from your picture window.
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Sigrid
last year
It's a cute house. I see little Craftman about it. The brick porch appears to belong to a completely different house. While the 2 inner brick posts flank the door, the outer ones line up with the middle of your windows, making for a very awkward look, both interior and exterior if you turned them into porch columns. I would remove the brick. If you want to use your porch, put a low, wood railing on it.

Add a bit of landscaping.
kandrewspa
last year
Unfortunately, anything more than minor modifications of this house strikes me as nonrecoverable cost unless you're in a very high cost area, can DIY the whole thing or plan on living there for a very long time. I like the blue with the yellow door. I think you have maximized the attractiveness of the house, but could definitely use more landscaping. I would remove the brick partial pillars as they add nothing, and in fact look odd.
jck910
last year
You may be able to get the original blueprints from the building department in your town. Then you would know what the original looked like. I did that and found out that a previous owner had closed in a farmer's porch and moved the kitchen into that space thus losing the character of the facade of the home

Improve curb appeal by adding front porch? What style do you see?

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landphil1
Original Author

Lyn Nielson

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Improve curb appeal by adding front porch? What style do you see?

Comments (5)

landphil1Original Author

Lyn Nielson

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Sigrid

kandrewspa

jck910

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landphil1
Original Author