Photography by Golden Gate Creative
Design ideas for a mid-sized country backyard verandah in San Francisco with with columns, decking, a roof extension and wood railing.

Inspiration for an expansive country front yard verandah in Little Rock with with columns, natural stone pavers and an awning.

This is an example of a mid-sized contemporary front yard verandah in Detroit with with columns, brick pavers, a roof extension and metal railing.

Large outdoor covered porch with built-in gas fireplace.
This is an example of a transitional backyard verandah in Raleigh with with fireplace, a roof extension and wood railing.

Enhancing a home’s exterior curb appeal doesn’t need to be a daunting task. With some simple design refinements and creative use of materials we transformed this tired 1950’s style colonial with second floor overhang into a classic east coast inspired gem. Design enhancements include the following: • Replaced damaged vinyl siding with new LP SmartSide, lap siding and trim • Added additional layers of trim board to give windows and trim additional dimension • Applied a multi-layered banding treatment to the base of the second-floor overhang to create better balance and separation between the two levels of the house • Extended the lower-level window boxes for visual interest and mass • Refined the entry porch by replacing the round columns with square appropriately scaled columns and trim detailing, removed the arched ceiling and increased the ceiling height to create a more expansive feel • Painted the exterior brick façade in the same exterior white to connect architectural components. A soft blue-green was used to accent the front entry and shutters • Carriage style doors replaced bland windowless aluminum doors • Larger scale lantern style lighting was used throughout the exterior

This beautiful new construction craftsman-style home had the typical builder's grade front porch with wood deck board flooring and painted wood steps. Also, there was a large unpainted wood board across the bottom front, and an opening remained that was large enough to be used as a crawl space underneath the porch which quickly became home to unwanted critters. In order to beautify this space, we removed the wood deck boards and installed the proper floor joists. Atop the joists, we also added a permeable paver system. This is very important as this system not only serves as necessary support for the natural stone pavers but would also firmly hold the sand being used as grout between the pavers. In addition, we installed matching brick across the bottom front of the porch to fill in the crawl space and painted the wood board to match hand rails and columns. Next, we replaced the original wood steps by building new concrete steps faced with matching brick and topped with natural stone pavers. Finally, we added new hand rails and cemented the posts on top of the steps for added stability. WOW...not only was the outcome a gorgeous transformation but the front porch overall is now much more sturdy and safe!

Having an outdoor escape doesn’t necessarily mean “roughing it.” Our clients have plenty of room within their covered porch for comfortable furniture for lounging and relaxing. Amenities here include a ceiling fan and recessed can lighting in the ceiling, too. Because the space is wired with electrical outlets, they can add lamps or other appliances as needed.

Inspiration for a traditional front yard verandah in Other with with columns, decking and wood railing.

Photo of a large beach style backyard verandah in Austin with with fireplace, stamped concrete, a roof extension and metal railing.

Interior Design, Custom Furniture Design & Art Curation by Chango & Co.
Photo of a mid-sized beach style backyard verandah in New York with with fireplace, decking and a roof extension.

This beautiful screened porch is the perfect place to enjoy the outdoors. The vaulted ceiling has skylights to allow light into the interior of the home. The fireplace makes it enjoyable year round.

This is an example of a large transitional backyard verandah in Nashville with with fireplace, decking and a roof extension.

Outdoor entertainment and living area complete with custom gas fireplace.
Inspiration for a mid-sized transitional verandah in Salt Lake City with with fireplace, a roof extension and metal railing.

We designed a three season room with removable window/screens and a large sliding screen door. The Walnut matte rectified field tile floors are heated, We included an outdoor TV, ceiling fans and a linear fireplace insert with star Fyre glass. Outside, we created a seating area around a fire pit and fountain water feature, as well as a new patio for grilling.

Design ideas for a transitional verandah in Dallas with with fireplace and a roof extension.

Patrick Brickman
Inspiration for a mid-sized transitional backyard verandah in Charleston with with fireplace, decking and a roof extension.

Contractor: Legacy CDM Inc. | Interior Designer: Kim Woods & Trish Bass | Photographer: Jola Photography
Mid-sized country front yard verandah in Orange County with with fireplace, a roof extension and concrete pavers.

Ed Gohlich
Inspiration for a mediterranean verandah in San Diego with with fireplace and a roof extension.

Stone House is the alteration to a single storey vernacular house in the rural landscape setting of northern NSW Australia. The original house was built with local materials and craftsmanship. Over the years various additions were made to the house exhibiting the different layers in its occupation. The brief was to renovate the house within a limited budget whilst offering better living arrangements for a holiday house that would suit their growing family. Our proposal was to reinstate value with little intervention; with this in mind we had two design strategies. One was the idea of preservation; wherever possible elements of the building fabric would be salvaged but only to reveal its qualities in a meaningful way. We identified four building elements worth preserving. The stone wall was providing protection and privacy from the main road. The internal masonry walls were defining rooms at the rear of the house. The expressed timber ceiling provided a unifying canvas within the whole house. The concrete floor offered a calming palette to the house. Second was the idea of addition. Given the budget limitations, the additions had to be singular and multifunctional. A ‘breathable’ facade frame was the response. The frame was inserted along the whole length of the building. The new facade had a number of uses. It allowed supporting the roof rafters along the length of the building hence both creating a open plan arrangement that would enjoy the beautiful district views as well as enabling a strong connection to the extensive backyard. The new facade is composed of glazed sliding doors fitted with flyscreens to mitigate the impact of insects very common in this sub-tropical climate. Lastly, a set of retractable slatted blinds was integrated to provide both shade from the afternoon sun and security during unattended seasons. Stone House combines these two design ideas into a simple calming palette; within the house all walls and floors were kept to neutral tones to reveal the exposed timber rafters as the only feature of the interior. The shell of the house merges the existing stone work with the new ‘frame’ creating a new whole and importantly a clear relationship to the landscape beyond.