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Architecture/Front porch renovation & recommendations for change in exterior

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Expert: Rikki Nyman - 3/31/2010


Question

Our house
(I just sent this question, but wanted to add some questions that I forgot to ask in the previous submission)

Hi,

We just bought this house in Jacksonville FL, and would like to change the front facade a bit. It's a 1926 Craftsman (?) style house in a historic district. We were thinking of opening up the front porch area which is now screened in with the arches into an open wrap around porch, with white rails and supports. Any idea how much that would cost? Also any recommendations on sprucing up the exterior color scheme would be great. When we bought the house, we felt that the exterior needed something extra, but we were not sure in which direction to go. Any thoughts would be appreciated. Also we'd like to keep with the historic look of the neighborhood. I'll attach a pick of the house. Also, you can take a look at the house on zillow's website. http://www.zillow.com/homedetails/photos/44490285_zpid/



Thanks,

Rose

Answer
Rose -

If you are planning on redoing the porch, you'll want to check with a contractor who has experience working with vintage homes, especially Craftsman-styles like yours. He (or she) can give you an accurate estimate of costs for your area as they vary from region to region.

That said, from the images you pointed me to, your porch does not appear to be original to the house. That gives you some design freedom if you want to take advantage of it. I'd open the porch up by adding either clusters of three Craftsman-style columns or battered styles, but either way would try to open it up as much as possible to lose the heavy appearance those arches impart. The hedge in front of the porch also pulls it down, so I'd add lower profile plants to show off the new porch.

Your house has had quite a few additions made over the years; a well-designed porch will pull it together and enhance the façade overall. Go to www.antiquehomestyle.com and wander through some of the plans for 1920s houses and see if there is something you could use. You could even incorporate a pergola into the porch. It was a popular technique during the 1920s and allowed for more light into interior rooms.

As for color, since you are in Florida, you might consider color schemes using saturated colors like brick red, pea green, or a brighter mustard yellow ... all of which were popular on bungalows back in the day. Most used white or ivory trim which gave them a crisp, tidy appearance. I recently found a house painted pea green and eggplant, and while it's not for everyone, it was visually very interesting. If you incorporate window boxes, that would put the cherry on the sundae.

Hope this helps!

Rikki Nyman
Editor, www.antiquehomestyle.com

Rikki Nyman

Expertise

Residential architectural questions concerning houses designed between 1900 and 1950, where the question pertains specifically to styles, designs, plans, building materials, color schemes, paint colors, interior finishes and so on. I am NOT qualified to answer engineering questions or issues involving construction methods, plumbing, electrical and the like. For example, I can describe what an appropriate color scheme would be for a vintage 1920s kitchen, or sources for plans for Storybook Style houses. I can not tell someone how to replace the electrical wiring in their old home.

Experience

I have been researching old houses and writing about them for more than five years. (See www.antiquehomestyle.com, which is my site.)

Organizations
Oregon Historical Society Architectural History Center, Portland Oregon

Publications
www.antiquehomestyle.com

Education/Credentials
B.S. History, Minor in Architectural Design

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