Porches & Decks Remodeling Design Dilemma

Need to be creative: Adding a front sitting area

last month

last modified: last month

This is a relatively small part of a very big renovation and I’ll try to keep this question simple. We desperately want to add some sort of sitting area to the front of the house. We’ve wanted to do this from the beginning of our project because not only do I think it will help the aesthetic of the house, but also because we like to sit out front on occasion.

Of course in a perfect world we’d just be adding a full-blown front porch, but we had lots of other priorities (including an in-ground pool and a very large covered porch in the back) so we needed to make some tough choices. We do not want to mess with our roofline in front, so the original plans called for a pergola.

I’ve not totally abandoned the pergola idea, but I’m also considering doing something even more simple. In all candor, the project has cost so much money that I’m looking to save any place I can. (Yeah, maybe I’ve added things along the way increasing the final costs! LOL)

I’m trying to figure out what we could do or how it would look to add a sitting area/uncovered porch. I was thinking to expand the current tiny “porch” to the right under the triple window, all the way to the driveway. The driveway and current walkway are being ripped out and replaced as well, and we would then add a walkway from the road straight up to our front door.

Any thoughts? Thanks in advance.

These are "Frankensteined" photos I used to ask a question here about placement of house numbers. It's our house, but some of the elements are cut-&-pasted in because it's still being worked on.

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Comments (9)

auntthelma
last month
If you expand on that side, you are sitting by cars in the driveway. Why not go the other way? Just a patio. Not a covered patio. Add a bit of fun in front of the windows.
kandrewspa
last month
I think it would look better to pave to the right of the door, so ask yourself whether it is going to bother you to be so close to the driveway like auntthelma said.
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Sorry about the confusion. The "+" sign is a symbol representing the center of a plant. The circle represents its perimeter. In this case, it represents a small tree. The "." symbol is the same thing. In this case it represents a shrub form. The shapes in between the patio and house are generic plants ... there only to give the plan a vague sense that plants in that space are possible. When looking down from above (as in a PLAN) all individual plants are going to look like a circle with a center. The scalloped edge thing is a plant MASS .... where smaller plants are amassed together such that you do not see the individual, but only the perimeter of the group. Here, it's all generic and doesn't yet matter about the plants. I'm only showing them to say that "some plants can fit in this space." At this point, all you need to care about is the patio. The hardscape (patio) comes first. The plantings are subordinate and will comply with whatever way the patio ends up being. Since you don't want a deck, whatever steps you have will come fairly near the door. You'll still need a landing at the door (rather than immediately stepping down as that would be cheap looking and feeling, such as what one would expect to see in a mobile home situation) which is why I suggest make it and steps full width of the wall face. It will work and look much better than if you try to make it only one door width, as it is now. You only need 4 risers for the set of steps. You want a small patio. There is no need or reason to make a contrived or convoluted set of steps with this small, simple need. Keep them spacious and simple and you will have a nice finished package. Get cute or clever and you might like it for a while, but others will wonder why you bothered or the next owner may dislike it. Simple, well functioning steps will work best. You can glamourize them in the construction details, if that suits your taste. If you want something other than straightforward, it would be best if you sketch it out in plan view, and then I'd be happy to react to what you've proposed, giving the pros and cons. I think I mentioned before but did not see your answer .... you'll need to figure out the total square footage that you want for patio space. It doesn't need to be to the square inch. You just need to get into the ballpark on it. While I'm not working to scale -- just proportion -- I estimate the patio in the sketch to be about 170 s.f., which does not count the pure walking space in front of the steps. Including that, it might be around 200 s.f. Keep in mind that in order to do the same functions (cook and eat) requires a little more room outdoors than it does indoors. Outdoors, people move about faster and flail their arms more :-).
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Susan W
Original Author
last month
We're pretty committed to going to the driveway side. Mostly because it just fits there so much better with that open space directly next to the little porch there now. We've always had a little table with 2 chairs set-up there since we owned the house.

Also, there is a carport there and our cars are always (literally 100% of the time) in the carport. The white car in the photo is sticking out a little further than usual because of "stuff" in the carport from the construction. Besides that, we've built a 2 car detached garage in the back, so the driveway is being expanded away from the house so there will always be room for cars farther from the sitting area. We'd definitely not be sitting next to cars.
Susan W
Original Author
last month
I should add, I'm having a hard time imagining what it would look like if we went the other way with a patio. If I thought it would look good I'd definitely consider it, but this is actually the first time the idea has been presented. All of the builders we spoke with and our draftsman thought the way to go was toward the driveway.

But again, we'd be open to anything that would look attractive!
mnmamax3
last month
I think you could consider ripping out your current porch and building a low brick wall (or even a planter like the one in the pictures) along the driveway side to sort of separate it from the porch area. I couldn't find a good picture of what I mean but hopefully this could give you some inpiration.

You could have a higher wide portion under the triple window or make it all the same level for the most flexibility in moving furniture etc. I would also have a walkway that wraps around the porch from the driveway. Unless it's super common in your neighborhood, I would skip the sidewalk to the street. We had that in a home and ripped it up becasue no one ever used it. Even kids on bikes will park in the driveway.

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Lyn Nielson
last month
add pavers to that grassy area.

lots of options... Can you change your entry to the bank of windows?
la_la Girl
last month
last modified: last month
Since budget is an issue - I would do some landscaping at the base of the home and tuck 2 Adirondack chairs in the grassy spot between the porch and the driveway (and landscape that area appropriately) - in other words, I think there are a lot of ways you could create a nice spot to sit out front without having to resort to construction
beesneeds
last month
last modified: last month
You could paver that area in to make sure it's smooth and flat for outdoor furniture, and let the furniture do the work. If you like table seating, get a table that can have an umbrella. Or if you like more casual seating, look for ones that have their own awnings or shades on them. A quick finish of edging the outer side of the sidewalk with some containers of what you like would be nice. Flowers, herbs, small veggies, ect. It will provide a feeling of proper enclosure to the area, with something nice. If you like it you could plan in some more serious landscaping. If you don't, containers are easy to change or move out. Add in a couple outdoor lights.
Susan W
Original Author
last month
@la_la Girl - you are definitely on the same page as I am. I'm really trying to keep it simple and inexpensive.

The entire exterior of the house is brand spanking new - siding, doors, windows, roof - everything. So ripping out or moving or building anything is absolutely not an option.

What you suggest is the closest to what we're thinking. The only difference is we might poor a little concrete there to extend the current porch and lift a couple of chairs off of the ground. (We're in the buggy south!)

I put the question out here to see if there was some sort of simple and inexpensive idea we were overlooking. Thanks to all.

Need to be creative: Adding a front sitting area

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Need to be creative: Adding a front sitting area

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auntthelma

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