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The clients for this project were inspired by the front porch of a building in the Williamsburg historic area. Their existing porch (below right) was a bit on the skimpy side and they wanted something that would better suit their colonial style house. The first step was measuring and photographing the historic porch so we could create our construction drawings. The historic porch wasn’t an exact fit for this house though, so H&G had to modify the dimensions to better fit the clients’ home. |
A Remodeled Porch
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AfterThe new porch design closely matches the original historic model, though with some modifications. Instead of being all wood, the landing is constructed stone and brick and the handrails are metal. New, larger posts are more in scale with the house. |
BeforeThe original porch lacked traditional detailing, and the 4×4 posts were too skimpy looking. |
The Site Plan
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| In addition to the new front porch, the clients decided to take another look at the entire front yard, which involved rethinking the front planting beds. The house had the typical evergreen foundation plantings, but they weren’t very exciting or colorful. We replaced these plantings with some beautiful new plants: crapemyrtles, Japanese snowbell, St. John’s wort, variegated abelia, deutzia and dwarf camellias. And to tie everything together, we added a new system of brick walkways to connect the porch, driveway, street and backyard. |
A New Way Forward
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AfterH&G pushed the front walkway to side to make the approach to the front door more interesting. Warm, inviting bricks have replaced the exposed aggregate sidewalk and the enlarged landing at the street provides a welcoming gesture. |
BeforeThe existing exposed aggregate walkway was somewhat harsh looking, and the arrow-straight path was uninteresting. |
Landscape Lighting
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| Night lighting provides the finishing touch to the project, accenting the porch, house and plantings. |
Around The Yard
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6 Easy StepsH&G replaced four existing steps that were a bit too tall with two sets of three steps that were much more comfortable to walk on. This well- detailed sequence of landing, retaining wall with built-in lighting, and comfortable steps invites visitors into the yard |
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Attention to DetailWe carefully matched the trim on the historic porch to give the new porch an authentic feel. |
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Lighting the WaySolid brass light fixtures will stand up to the elements will blend unobtrusively into the landscape. |
