A perch on the porch

One of the first big renovations I did on the house was to put a large screened in porch on the front facade. This wasn't my idea. My initial thought was to put a small portico over the front steps as a covered entry to the front door. But a friend of a friend who was an architect came to look at the place, I wanted to enlist his help in the design. He took one look and said, "Did you ever think of putting a large porch on the front of this house?" I hadn't, but the thought was intriguing. He did a little sketch to show me what it would look like.

Stephen's first sketch of the new design

He suggested a low-slung dormer above the porch railing to balance the bay window on the left. Now, the house was a pretty basic Cape Cod style structure. Simple but plain Jane. No 'oomph'. One thing I pretty much hated was the railing on both sides of the front steps, I'm sure it was a village code thing. I joked that they looked like handicap rails. Here's a picture from the first day I saw the place:

A simple little Cape house

You can't get any more basic than this, right?
Here's another from one of the first winters I spent here:

The ugly 'handicap' rails

The first weekend after I closed on the house.

I liked the idea immediately, it would jazz up the curb appeal right away. I had seen a few other houses with screened in porches--there was even one on my block--so I felt comfortable that it would be in keeping with the look of the village.
Doing this project would be easier said than done though. That's a story for another blog post.
Suffice it to say, the porch turned out to be one of the best things I could've done. In the summer I live out there constantly, it's a whole other living room, an outdoor space for entertaining, relaxing, and beating the heat. I love it. And can't imagine life at the house without it.

The front of the house as it looks now:

The porch today, steps lead to front door

A view from the other side

A view of the driveway and a dogwood tree