Entry Recipe: New Focal Point for a 1970s Ranch House
A covered terrace draws visitors to the front door and creates a modern, interesting approach in a Baltimore-area home
Before Laurie JB Stubb renovated the entry of this Baltimore-area home, the owners and their visitors were more likely to enter through the garage than the front door. No wonder: The stoop provided little visual interest and protection from the elements, and it hid around the corner from the usual approach to the house.
“Getting to a front entry of this nature is always a difficult task,” Stubb says, so it’s important that the destination inspire the journey. The design team replaced the path, siding, windows and front door, and built a covered terrace to create an experience that draws people to the entry. “Now, it is interesting, unique and inviting,” Stubb says.
“Getting to a front entry of this nature is always a difficult task,” Stubb says, so it’s important that the destination inspire the journey. The design team replaced the path, siding, windows and front door, and built a covered terrace to create an experience that draws people to the entry. “Now, it is interesting, unique and inviting,” Stubb says.
BEFORE: “The existing entry was recessed in the elevation and not a prominent element on the house. The porch hung off the front door and had no relationship to the landscape,” Stubb says. The original entry also provided minimal shelter from the elements, with much of the landing uncovered.
The Recipe
Approach: A straight path runs from the driveway along the front of the house and front yard to the redesigned, and now covered, entry terrace and new front door.
A series of stairs and landings paved with Pennsylvania bluestone step up from the path to the door, enhancing the entry as a destination and creating an easier transition from the path to the door. “The bluestone terrace conveys even more interest, as it gradually moves upward, morphing into steps, until it reaches the porch,” Stubb says. The risers and adjacent wall are faced with Bucks County Country Ledgestone by Cultured Stone, the same material used along the base of the house.
Approach: A straight path runs from the driveway along the front of the house and front yard to the redesigned, and now covered, entry terrace and new front door.
A series of stairs and landings paved with Pennsylvania bluestone step up from the path to the door, enhancing the entry as a destination and creating an easier transition from the path to the door. “The bluestone terrace conveys even more interest, as it gradually moves upward, morphing into steps, until it reaches the porch,” Stubb says. The risers and adjacent wall are faced with Bucks County Country Ledgestone by Cultured Stone, the same material used along the base of the house.
Front door: T.W. Perry fabricated this custom cherrywood door based on a photo from the client. “The glass door allows visual impact as well as the connection to the landscape,” Stubb says.
Exterior siding: Horizontal CertainTeed fiber cement siding in a contemporary blue-gray replaces the original vertical wood siding. The same Bucks County Country Ledgestone from the terraced steps runs around the base of the house. “The color scheme — blue-gray siding, cherrywood door and roof underside, and varied shades of tan and blue stone — is complemented by the crisp, contrasting black accents of the thin, round metal columns, railing, window sashes, and the roof fascia board and gutters,” Stubb says.
Overhang: The new covered porch offers protection, creates transition from interior to exterior and announces the entry to approaching visitors. “It was important for the covered porch to extend past the house so it was visible from the street and the driveway,” Stubb says. She wanted a visual cue to call out to people on the path, inviting them to the home’s somewhat obscured entry.
The slope of the existing roof inspired the angle of the entry overhang, and Stubb inverted the slope so that it opens up toward the approach from the street. “The shape of the angled porch roof sets the tone for a truly modern entryway,” Stubb says.
The builders constructed the cover using round steel posts set on footers. A wood-framed structure with a standing seam roof and a cherrywood underside tops the posts. The fascia is wrapped in black aluminum. The roof is 9 feet 2 inches tall at its highest point and 11 feet 6 inches wide by 10 feet 10 inches deep.
Overhang: The new covered porch offers protection, creates transition from interior to exterior and announces the entry to approaching visitors. “It was important for the covered porch to extend past the house so it was visible from the street and the driveway,” Stubb says. She wanted a visual cue to call out to people on the path, inviting them to the home’s somewhat obscured entry.
The slope of the existing roof inspired the angle of the entry overhang, and Stubb inverted the slope so that it opens up toward the approach from the street. “The shape of the angled porch roof sets the tone for a truly modern entryway,” Stubb says.
The builders constructed the cover using round steel posts set on footers. A wood-framed structure with a standing seam roof and a cherrywood underside tops the posts. The fascia is wrapped in black aluminum. The roof is 9 feet 2 inches tall at its highest point and 11 feet 6 inches wide by 10 feet 10 inches deep.
Other Features
Lighting: The covered entry has six exterior UL-rated recessed lights. “We chose to recess the lights in the underside of the roof so the roof itself would be the dominant element,” Stubb says.
Drainage: A downspout drains water collected from the cover to the planting bed next to the walkway to an underground pipe. Originally the team had installed a rain chain, as seen in a previous photo, but replaced it later with a pipe to better handle the water volume.
Lighting: The covered entry has six exterior UL-rated recessed lights. “We chose to recess the lights in the underside of the roof so the roof itself would be the dominant element,” Stubb says.
Drainage: A downspout drains water collected from the cover to the planting bed next to the walkway to an underground pipe. Originally the team had installed a rain chain, as seen in a previous photo, but replaced it later with a pipe to better handle the water volume.
Considerations: “The porch was the driving force for this project, but the overall curb appeal of the house was key in making the entire project come together,” says Joseph Smith, managing partner at Owings Brothers Contracting. This included working with a design team to make the windows, window trim, siding and front door blend with the new covered entry and walk.
Architect: place architecture:design
General contractor: Owings Brothers Contracting
See more ways to improve your home’s curb appeal
Architect: place architecture:design
General contractor: Owings Brothers Contracting
See more ways to improve your home’s curb appeal
Goal: To update and enhance the curb appeal of a 1970s spec house, and create an inviting and accessible front entryway within the landscape
Designer: Laurie JB Stubb, principal of place architecture:design
Location: Brooklandville, Maryland, a suburb of Baltimore