Architectural Porch Styles

Architectural Style

• The best way to identify your home's architectural style is by looking at reference books for homes similar in shape and design. Once you have determined the basic style, you also have to look at the regional style. A regional style is a subset of the overall architectural style and it describes how the style was modified to be more suitable in a particular area or region. These modifications were often based on different environmental needs. For example, when Colonial style homes were built in the South, room height increased, window sizes increased and wide porches were added, all in an effort to protect residents from the Southern heat.

Mixing Styles

• Some homes have a somewhat generic Colonial-based style that features a box-shaped house with straight lines, simple symmetrical windows, small overhangs and simple gables. These homes can receive a number of different types of style upgrades to look like homes with more specific designs. The addition of porches, shutters, trims, dormers, pillars and other features create faux or applied styles. When you mix styles, you may make a mistake in size, scale or finishes, leaving a house with a confusing look.

Shared Styles

• Some homes share the same basic underlying style or design and they can be dressed up or dressed down depending on the desires of the homeowner. In particular, Victorian homes range from plain box to painted ladies. If the underlying architectural style is Victorian, you can modify your home within the spectrum of Victorian and it should look good as long as you are consistent with all of your finishes.

Size and Scale

• Older porches are often more generous in size than newer porches. This is primarily due to the rising cost of lots and materials. A porch, while a nice home feature, is not interior living space and won't be valued as highly. When a builder is constructing the house, they are trying for the highest value return as possible. This leads to small 4-foot deep porches that are hardly useful. When renovating, if you have the room, you can expand the depth of a porch to the architectural style standard, which may be twice as deep as the modern porch. For the best presentation, keep the scale of your porch correct for the size of your house.