Porch of the Week: Refreshed Ranch for Indoor-Outdoor Living
A designer and a contractor remodel a California home and give it fresh cottage appeal and a clever screened porch
This porch story is a double feature — it includes a welcoming front porch as well as a versatile screened-in back porch. One of the homeowners had grown up in this California ranch house, and she tasked designer Kendra Rosenberg with transforming it into a home that would suit her and her family’s lifestyle. Her priorities were promoting indoor-outdoor living and creating a place where she and her husband would feel comfortable aging in place after their two young sons grow up and move out.
The exterior materials also give the house a cottage feel. “We went through a lot of options for the exterior materials and had decided we’d paint cedar shingles blue, because the house had been blue during the homeowner’s childhood,” Rosenberg says. “However, when the shingles arrived and she saw how beautiful the cedar was, she knew she wanted to leave them natural.” The designer added white trim for a crisp contrast to the cedar.
Rosenberg also added gentle arches to the front porch design. “These soften the look of the exterior, giving it a more cottage feel,” she says. The contractors custom-made the louvers at the tops of the pediments to allow for ventilation into the attic.
Seen here is Rosenberg’s dog, Donut, who joined her on photo shoot day.
Rosenberg also added gentle arches to the front porch design. “These soften the look of the exterior, giving it a more cottage feel,” she says. The contractors custom-made the louvers at the tops of the pediments to allow for ventilation into the attic.
Seen here is Rosenberg’s dog, Donut, who joined her on photo shoot day.
“We used a walnut slab-front door to offset the cedar shingles. They go together beautifully,” Rosenberg says. Painted V-groove paneling adds texture to the ceiling. The patio surface is Connecticut bluestone.
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“The house used to have a big bay window here, and the homeowners’ two dogs would sit inside the house and watch the action on the street,” Rosenberg says. The designer replaced the bay with the two large windows seen here. She added a bench beneath them inside for the dogs to sit upon and keep watch.
10 Ways to Refresh Your Porch for Spring
10 Ways to Refresh Your Porch for Spring
This is the view from the flagstone path that leads to the side yard gate. “We didn’t like the way downspouts looked here, so the homeowner suggested using rain chains instead,” Rosenberg says.
Through the gate and down a sidewalk are the backyard and screened-in porch. Rosenberg designed a pergola-covered dining patio directly off the house and porch. The porch measures 285 square feet, and the dining patio measures 175 square feet.
While the wife led the charge with the renovations, there were two things her husband dreamed of having. As the main cook in the house, he wanted a great kitchen. The other item on his wish list was a putting green. It’s within view of the porch and patios.
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While the wife led the charge with the renovations, there were two things her husband dreamed of having. As the main cook in the house, he wanted a great kitchen. The other item on his wish list was a putting green. It’s within view of the porch and patios.
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The back porch was an important part of the home’s full renovation, because it was the key to the indoor-outdoor living concept. It was also structurally complicated, so it was the first space Rosenberg, Changras and Frey worked on during the design process.
“The homeowner had a good vision of what she wanted for the screened-in porch, and we were there to make her vision come to life. [Changras] called in the structural engineer early on in the design process. It was so helpful for all of us to sit down and work out how to make it happen,” Rosenberg says.
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“The homeowner had a good vision of what she wanted for the screened-in porch, and we were there to make her vision come to life. [Changras] called in the structural engineer early on in the design process. It was so helpful for all of us to sit down and work out how to make it happen,” Rosenberg says.
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This lounge patio lines up with the porch. The porch is completely open to this patio and the adjacent dining patio when the screens are rolled up.
When the homeowners want a more enclosed feel, they can close motorized screens on two sides of the porch. These screens are hidden up in the soffits and roll down with ease. There is both a wall switch and a remote for controlling them.
“My clients keep the remote indoors. They can be sitting in the living room and decide they want to sit on the porch with the screens down. They simply hit the remote, and while they are sliding the exterior doors open to enter the porch, the screens are rolling down,” Rosenberg says.
When the screens are down, there is not a direct way to get from the porch to the other patios. This was intentional. “My clients thought about adding a door but ultimately decided they did not need it,” Rosenberg says. The times when they want the screening are generally times when they don’t need access to the yard. Also, all it takes to roll one side of the screens up for easy access to the yard is the push of a button.
Pros Share 8 Design Tips for Screened-In Porches
“My clients keep the remote indoors. They can be sitting in the living room and decide they want to sit on the porch with the screens down. They simply hit the remote, and while they are sliding the exterior doors open to enter the porch, the screens are rolling down,” Rosenberg says.
When the screens are down, there is not a direct way to get from the porch to the other patios. This was intentional. “My clients thought about adding a door but ultimately decided they did not need it,” Rosenberg says. The times when they want the screening are generally times when they don’t need access to the yard. Also, all it takes to roll one side of the screens up for easy access to the yard is the push of a button.
Pros Share 8 Design Tips for Screened-In Porches
The structurally challenging part of designing the house was creating an open corner between the porch and the interior without having to install a post. This is why working with a structural engineer from the beginning of the design process was very helpful. Frames composed of steel beams provide structural support for the open corner.
The exterior cedar shingles continue on the porch walls. The flooring is colored concrete that resembles limestone, and the ceiling is covered with the same V-groove paneling as on the front porch ceiling.
“The porch helps reduce a lot of the solar gain from heating up the house too much. However, we did want to bring light into the interior through the porch,” Rosenberg says. This comes via three skylights in the porch roof. The V-groove paneling on the ceiling continues up the sides of these light wells.
The exterior cedar shingles continue on the porch walls. The flooring is colored concrete that resembles limestone, and the ceiling is covered with the same V-groove paneling as on the front porch ceiling.
“The porch helps reduce a lot of the solar gain from heating up the house too much. However, we did want to bring light into the interior through the porch,” Rosenberg says. This comes via three skylights in the porch roof. The V-groove paneling on the ceiling continues up the sides of these light wells.
This shot from the living room shows why the porch was so important to the indoor-outdoor living concept. The porch doors are custom-made inverted corner-pocketing multislide doors without posts. They slide and stack into recesses in the walls, completely disappearing from view when open.
Here’s the view from the dining area to the patio with the porch doors closed.
The doors are steel with powder-coated black grids. “The homeowner decided on the composition of the grids,” Rosenberg says. The panes play nicely off the other windows in the house.
The doors are steel with powder-coated black grids. “The homeowner decided on the composition of the grids,” Rosenberg says. The panes play nicely off the other windows in the house.
Here’s the same view with the porch doors open. “This porch makes the main floor really flexible and emphasizes indoor-outdoor living,” Rosenberg says. “Opening the doors takes the interior floor plan from an L shape to a rectangular shape.”
Taking the house down to the studs created the opportunity to replace all the plumbing and electrical systems. Now, the house also meets California’s Title 24 requirements for energy efficiency. The design moves included using low- or no-VOC finishes, adding solar panels, maximizing natural light and choosing double-pane fiberglass windows.
The overhangs from both porches reduce solar heat gain. “This house is very passive, even when the air conditioning is off, due to the orientation, overhangs and natural ventilation,” Rosenberg says.
Taking the house down to the studs created the opportunity to replace all the plumbing and electrical systems. Now, the house also meets California’s Title 24 requirements for energy efficiency. The design moves included using low- or no-VOC finishes, adding solar panels, maximizing natural light and choosing double-pane fiberglass windows.
The overhangs from both porches reduce solar heat gain. “This house is very passive, even when the air conditioning is off, due to the orientation, overhangs and natural ventilation,” Rosenberg says.
When closed, the massive porch doors provide delineation between the dining area and the living room.
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This photo shows the transition of the flooring from indoors to out. Look at the door’s tracks in the floor on the left. Changras continued the porch’s limestone-colored concrete flooring on the interior side of the door to create a border at the edge of the interior’s white oak hardwood flooring.
“We didn’t use bluestone on this porch, because that would have had too much contrast with the interior flooring. The color of the concrete works really well with the color of the white oak,” Rosenberg says. The colored concrete also plays off the living room fireplace surround.
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“We didn’t use bluestone on this porch, because that would have had too much contrast with the interior flooring. The color of the concrete works really well with the color of the white oak,” Rosenberg says. The colored concrete also plays off the living room fireplace surround.
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The island in the foreground marks the edge of the kitchen, which Rosenberg placed in the middle of the floor plan. Along with the living and dining areas, the kitchen enjoys the view through the porch doors.
While the house has been fully renovated, it’s still full of nostalgia for the homeowner. From the new porches, she and her husband watch their kids play where she played as a child. Also, taking down the walls revealed a special surprise. “They found a horseshoe with my client’s name on it in one of the walls. She said she hadn’t seen it since she was 7 years old,” Rosenberg says. “It was such a lucky charm.”
While the house has been fully renovated, it’s still full of nostalgia for the homeowner. From the new porches, she and her husband watch their kids play where she played as a child. Also, taking down the walls revealed a special surprise. “They found a horseshoe with my client’s name on it in one of the walls. She said she hadn’t seen it since she was 7 years old,” Rosenberg says. “It was such a lucky charm.”
Here is a glimpse of the same view with the porch doors open. When you’re done reading this article, check out all of the photos in slideshow mode. Click the first image to enlarge the photo, then use the right arrow to view the photos in slideshow format. The way these shots were taken with the porch doors and screens open and closed provides a fun “now you see it, now you don’t” effect.
See more photos of the fully renovated home
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See more photos of the fully renovated home
More on Houzz
Browse thousands of porch photos
Read more stories about porches
Hire a general contractor
Shop for your porch
Porch at a Glance
Who lives here: A couple and their two young boys
Location: Los Altos, California
Architect: Kendra Rosenberg of KNR Design Studio
Contractor: Changras & Frey Construction
This was a down-to-the-studs whole-home renovation, and Rosenberg collaborated closely with contractors John Changras and Walter Frey from the beginning of the design process.
The result nods to the home’s original California ranch style but with a fresh look. “My client was amazing, and she had a vision of what she wanted,” Rosenberg says. “We went through a lot of different iterations of different home styles. I tend to lean a little more modern, but she wanted something with more of a comfortable and cozy cottage feel. She did a really good job of steering it in that direction.”
This new front porch plays a big role in creating the inviting style the homeowner wanted. “My client grew up playing in the cul-de-sac, and wanted a place where she and her husband could sit comfortably and watch their boys playing there,” Rosenberg says. A flagstone path curves off the entry walk to a side yard gate on the right.
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