Yard of the Week: 3 New Porches and 2 New Decks
A designer remodels a midcentury ranch house for indoor-outdoor dining, lounging, soaking and entertaining
Becky Harris
April 29, 2023
Houzz Contributor. Hi there! I live in a 1940s cottage in Atlanta that I'll describe as "collected."
I got into design via Landscape Architecture, which I studied at the University of Virginia.
Houzz Contributor. Hi there! I live in a 1940s cottage in Atlanta that I'll describe... More
This Austin, Texas, couple entered their marriage with property — she had a place, and he lived in a home on Lake Travis. But they decided that a midcentury ranch home he owned in the city was where they wanted to spend the most time. The house needed work, which made it a prime spot for them to put their own stamp as a couple. They hired design-build firm CG&S to help them remodel, add on and make the most of every side of their yard.
A garage addition topped with a screened-in porch was the priority, but the project’s scope grew as the couple made the house their own. A new front porch, a porch off the primary bedroom with a deck and a spa, and beautiful landscaping on all four sides of the house have led the homeowners to spend almost all their time at the urban ranch house.
A garage addition topped with a screened-in porch was the priority, but the project’s scope grew as the couple made the house their own. A new front porch, a porch off the primary bedroom with a deck and a spa, and beautiful landscaping on all four sides of the house have led the homeowners to spend almost all their time at the urban ranch house.
Photos by Ryan Davis of CG&S
Project at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple
Location: Austin, Texas
Size: The garage is 600 square feet (56 square meters) and the screened-in porch is 350 square feet (33 square meters)
Designers: Kaelee Pearson of CG&S Design-Build (architecture and interiors) and Mark Biechler of Pearson Landscape (landscape)
Project designer Kaelee Pearson spearheaded the remodel and additions. There were two major additions: a new garage topped with a screened-in porch and dining deck and a primary bedroom with a new porch and a deck with a spa. The project also included a full remodel of many of the interior spaces as well as the exterior. The house had extensive termite damage, and the scope included reframing the entire roof and replacing the siding. The home also got a new metal roof.
Because the kitchen is close to the front entry, the house has an upper driveway. This eases carrying in groceries, since the new garage and its driveway are located one story below.
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Project at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple
Location: Austin, Texas
Size: The garage is 600 square feet (56 square meters) and the screened-in porch is 350 square feet (33 square meters)
Designers: Kaelee Pearson of CG&S Design-Build (architecture and interiors) and Mark Biechler of Pearson Landscape (landscape)
Project designer Kaelee Pearson spearheaded the remodel and additions. There were two major additions: a new garage topped with a screened-in porch and dining deck and a primary bedroom with a new porch and a deck with a spa. The project also included a full remodel of many of the interior spaces as well as the exterior. The house had extensive termite damage, and the scope included reframing the entire roof and replacing the siding. The home also got a new metal roof.
Because the kitchen is close to the front entry, the house has an upper driveway. This eases carrying in groceries, since the new garage and its driveway are located one story below.
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The changes to the front of the house included new siding, painting of the brick, a new walkway, fresh landscaping and a larger front porch complete with a swing. The front door is also new, with panels of obscure glass that let in light and add visual interest. The new porch is stained Douglas fir. Smaller details that freshened up the entry include midcentury modern house numbers, a rain chain, new outdoor lighting and a new mailbox.
The planting plan for the front yard includes ‘Natchez’ crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia ‘Natchez’, USDA zones 6 to 9; find your zone); bamboo muhly (Muhlenbergia dumosa, zones 8 to 10); beaked yucca (Yucca rostrata, zones 5 to 10); Bells of Fire tecoma (Tecoma stans ‘TEC6010916’, zones 9 to 11); Little Ollie dwarf olive (Olea europaea ‘Montra’, zones 8 to 11); and aromatic aster (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium, zones 3 to 9).
Previously, stormwater had been a problem, and collecting water on the site was also important to the homeowners. The rain chain and all the downspouts drain into a new cistern that collects the water for reuse.
15 Ways to Manage Excess Water in Your Landscape
The planting plan for the front yard includes ‘Natchez’ crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia ‘Natchez’, USDA zones 6 to 9; find your zone); bamboo muhly (Muhlenbergia dumosa, zones 8 to 10); beaked yucca (Yucca rostrata, zones 5 to 10); Bells of Fire tecoma (Tecoma stans ‘TEC6010916’, zones 9 to 11); Little Ollie dwarf olive (Olea europaea ‘Montra’, zones 8 to 11); and aromatic aster (Symphyotrichum oblongifolium, zones 3 to 9).
Previously, stormwater had been a problem, and collecting water on the site was also important to the homeowners. The rain chain and all the downspouts drain into a new cistern that collects the water for reuse.
15 Ways to Manage Excess Water in Your Landscape
The project started with the husband’s love of cars. The house didn’t have a garage, and on his must-have list was room for three cars (made possible by a car lift inside), as well as an alcove for moped parking. Because this is a sloped corner lot, Pearson was able to place the garage off the side street at the same level as the home’s lower level. Then she added a screened-in porch and dining deck on top of it. Frosted glass on the garage door lends a light look, while the gridded pattern of the panes suits the home’s midcentury vintage.
The garage is 600 square feet, and the porch added 350 square feet of indoor-outdoor living space. Reframing the roof of the house meant they could extend it out to form the roof of the new porch.
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The garage is 600 square feet, and the porch added 350 square feet of indoor-outdoor living space. Reframing the roof of the house meant they could extend it out to form the roof of the new porch.
Hire a local garage door professional
“This couple love to entertain, so the porch provides a great indoor-outdoor space to host people,” Pearson says. Screens keep the bugs out, while fans cool things down on hot days.
Shop for an indoor-outdoor ceiling fan
Shop for an indoor-outdoor ceiling fan
The porch flooring is a wood-look porcelain tile. “We fully waterproofed the flooring,” Pearson says. The same material continues out past the porch onto the dining deck. “Because of the way the site slopes, this porch really has a treehouse feeling, especially when the trees are fully leafed out,” Pearson says.
Reframing the entire roof of the house allowed the great room’s formerly low ceiling to soar into a vault. Pearson clad the ceiling in cedar tongue-and-groove paneling that has a very light gray-white wash. “This toned down the red tones in the cedar,” she says. The vaulted ceiling continues seamlessly outside to create the new porch, providing strong continuity between the two spaces. And triangular transom windows keep the view of the ceiling open between the interior and the porch.
Browse outdoor lounge furniture in the Houzz Shop
Browse outdoor lounge furniture in the Houzz Shop
Also creating continuity are five-panel folding doors that can transform the great room and porch into one large entertainment space on nice days.
The couple wanted to keep the original hardwood floors, and the team was able to preserve them.
The couple wanted to keep the original hardwood floors, and the team was able to preserve them.
With the great room and new screened-in porch now serving as the entertainment hub, an eye-catching bar was in order. The great room was taken down to the studs as part of the project. One subtle new detail to note is the coved shelf that runs beneath the ceiling. The designer installed strip lights on a dimmer to uplight the cedar ceiling. They add a pleasing glow to the room at night.
The kitchen had been renovated before this project began, and Pearson matched the brilliant blue color of the kitchen cabinets on the bar. Then she added glamour with brass mesh screening on the upper cabinet doors. This allows a peek at the couple’s glassware and bourbon collections. The lower cabinet doors open to a beverage fridge with storage for wine on one side and beer on the other. This fridge is one unit with two panel-ready doors.
The kitchen had been renovated before this project began, and Pearson matched the brilliant blue color of the kitchen cabinets on the bar. Then she added glamour with brass mesh screening on the upper cabinet doors. This allows a peek at the couple’s glassware and bourbon collections. The lower cabinet doors open to a beverage fridge with storage for wine on one side and beer on the other. This fridge is one unit with two panel-ready doors.
The back of the bar is mirrored. “This bar is located at the back of the room, so we wanted to bring in as much light as possible,” Pearson says. Chevron-shaped shelving at the top is designated as wine bottle storage. Pearson also installed lighting under the shelves to illuminate the bar.
The counter is quartzite — a remnant from a slab purchased for the new primary bathroom, which was also part of this project.
The counter is quartzite — a remnant from a slab purchased for the new primary bathroom, which was also part of this project.
Just off the porch is a new dining deck that features the same wood-look porcelain floor tile. The designer chose a steel cable railing system to keep the views as open as possible, and she painted it matte black to match other exterior details.
The existing home had three modest-size bedrooms, but the homeowners each needed a home office and they wanted to have a true guest bedroom. So the team designed a new primary suite addition that measures 540 square feet. This new porch is located off the suite.
“This house has streets on three sides, so the setback limitations were very tricky to work with,” Pearson says. Between those limitations and the fact that the yard sloped significantly in two directions, they had to get creative with where they added on and how they could make the backyard usable. It was also important to the clients that they preserve the existing tree seen on the right side of this photo.
New to home remodeling? Click here to learn the basics
“This house has streets on three sides, so the setback limitations were very tricky to work with,” Pearson says. Between those limitations and the fact that the yard sloped significantly in two directions, they had to get creative with where they added on and how they could make the backyard usable. It was also important to the clients that they preserve the existing tree seen on the right side of this photo.
New to home remodeling? Click here to learn the basics
“Due to the site topography, we had the opportunity to create a multizone deck off the primary suite,” Pearson says. “This allowed for a more private sitting area for the bedroom as well as the large spa deck with separate access from the interior hallway.” This means guests can get to the deck without having to walk through the homeowners’ bedroom. The railing to the right of the porch leads to the separate entrance.
The new decking is a composite material that can stand up to weather, and the post-and-beam structure of the porch is stained 8-by-8-inch Douglas fir that matches the wood used on the front porch. “This has a timber frame look,” Pearson says.
Replacing all the siding with HardiePlank and painting the brick on the entire facade made the new additions look seamless — as if they had always been part of the home.
The new decking is a composite material that can stand up to weather, and the post-and-beam structure of the porch is stained 8-by-8-inch Douglas fir that matches the wood used on the front porch. “This has a timber frame look,” Pearson says.
Replacing all the siding with HardiePlank and painting the brick on the entire facade made the new additions look seamless — as if they had always been part of the home.
The beloved tree rises from a sunken courtyard below on the right. “Before, you couldn’t get to the garage side of the yard from this side of the yard,” Pearson says. She designed a new staircase to provide access to the courtyard, and the tiered planters she designed help create a pleasing look for the dramatic grade change. The stairs and planters were built by landscape architect Mark Biechler of Pearson Landscape. He also designed the planting plan.
Out back, that plan includes weeping willow (Salix babylonica, zones 5 to 10); ‘Hopi’ crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica x fauriei ‘Hopi’, zones 6 to 9); bamboo muhly; aromatic aster; Roman Red salvia (Salvia splendens x darcyi, zones 9 to 11); trailing rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis ‘Prostratus’, zones 8 to 11); ‘Silver Falls’ dichondra (Dichondra argentea ‘Silver Falls’, zones 10 to 12); and foxtail fern (Asparagus densiflorus ‘Myers’, zones 9 to 11).
Caution: Asparagus densiflorus can be considered invasive, depending on where you live and your garden’s conditions. ‘Myers’ is considered less of a threat. Check your region before planting, as this varies by locale. Foxtail fern is toxic to pets if ingested.
Out back, that plan includes weeping willow (Salix babylonica, zones 5 to 10); ‘Hopi’ crape myrtle (Lagerstroemia indica x fauriei ‘Hopi’, zones 6 to 9); bamboo muhly; aromatic aster; Roman Red salvia (Salvia splendens x darcyi, zones 9 to 11); trailing rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis ‘Prostratus’, zones 8 to 11); ‘Silver Falls’ dichondra (Dichondra argentea ‘Silver Falls’, zones 10 to 12); and foxtail fern (Asparagus densiflorus ‘Myers’, zones 9 to 11).
Caution: Asparagus densiflorus can be considered invasive, depending on where you live and your garden’s conditions. ‘Myers’ is considered less of a threat. Check your region before planting, as this varies by locale. Foxtail fern is toxic to pets if ingested.
Another item on the homeowners’ wish list was a large spa. Pearson sunk it below the deck for a clean, modern look.
Check out photos of the remodeled interior spaces
Check out photos of the remodeled interior spaces
After: The screened-in porch is at the top left and the bedroom porch and deck are at the top right. There’s a sunken courtyard between them, and two new sets of stairs allow access to it from both of the decks. Also worth noting is the separate entrance that leads to the spa deck from the hallway. “We added this so that guests would not have to enter that deck through our client’s bedroom,” Pearson says.
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More on Houzz
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Read more stories about porches
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Fantastic!! Wow!! ❤️
Very well done.. Its hard to enjoy outside space in Texas.. this is brilliant!!
48” refrigerator in a kitchen