Front Porch Addition Styles

Porch Foot Print

• Use graph paper to define the house dimensions from a bird's eye view. Draw the porch footprint to see how much room you are willing to devote to the porch. A good-size porch that is 12 feet wide by 20 feet long, for example, is a possible choice if your front yard is large. Once you figure out how large the porch decking will be, plan the roof lines around this base area.

Roof Slope

• Sketch various roof lines. Start with a basic sloping roof. Draw the house facade from different angles, using a 30-degree pitch for the sloping porch roof. Sketch another drawing with the roof a little steeper at 45 degrees. From a labor perspective, a sloping roof is typically less complicated to build than a porch roof with multiple angles.

Hip Roof

• A hip roof can work to cap a formal porch. A small porch on a two-story colonial featuring a hip roof on the main house requires a hip roof over the porch, too. A hip roof over the main house is one with four sides that all slope gently downward. A hip roof can prevent a large porch from looking overly bulky on a formal house. The sloping roof sides keep the upper porch section looking trim and streamlined.

Open Timber Roof

• A timber-frame A-shaped porch roof looks appropriate with a mountain chalet. If you build a high-end home, your front porch may need a dramatic focal point. By installing stone columns with a highly-pitched open timber porch roof, you will give your home a lodge-style look.

Extended Porch

• Wrap-around porches have great appeal. If your house is a Southern or country home, for example, consider building a porch across the front and around one side. This kind of room creates outdoor living and entertaining space. The wood flooring of the porch can match the wood flooring of the first-floor entry and main living area, too. Use a durable wood such as cedar or fir to accomplish this.

No Frills

• A simple porch with a flat roof can fit the home's architecture. Don't assume that every roof must slope or have complex roof lines and huge floor space. An elegant roof built over a brick-covered concrete stoop can work on informal homes or high-end houses. In fact, you might use the upper part of the front porch as a fire escape deck for the second-floor bedrooms.

Porch Amenities

• Columns, steps and flooring add to the porch style. If you use high-quality round wooden columns, for example, the porch will have a colonial look. Stone or stacked stone columns can give the porch a European flavor. Formal steps with wooden hand rails will change the porch style further. Keep in mind, too, that a wooden porch floor is much less formal than a concrete porch covered with hand-cut stones. Take all of this into consideration as you design the home's front porch entry.