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[2nd of 2]
The first thing we had to do was fix the front steps. Tearing the green carpet off revealed some gaping and slightly scary holes, so simply sanding off the old adhesive was not an option. Tearing out the old stairs altogether wouldn’t work either, because there was no good way to get heavy equipment through the narrow entrance of our brick courtyard. No heavy equipment means manual labor, which for us would mean $$$. So, we capped the stairs (built a superstructure over the existing stairs and poured fresh cement) instead.
Next, we needed a new door. I love natural light. One of the very best things about our house of many flaws are the huge windows and large sliding glass doors. Our home is filled with light, but the entrance was a noticeable exception. The old dark brown door sucked up all the light like a black hole. The white paint-splashed pink sidelite did let in a little light, but pink light in a yellow room?
I knew that decorative glass was something I was interested in. I did my research and discovered that decorative glass doors are triple paned so they are more energy efficient than you might initially guess. Also, I wasn’t swayed by the security concerns that some people mentioned. Yes, in theory a burglar could shatter my triple paned door to get into the house, but he could also do the same to the large window in the room next to the door. Privacy was the final concern mentioned by the friends and family I surveyed. I understand why this is an issue for some. The most beautiful glass doors usually do have some transparent pieces, but most designs also make use of many different textured glasses to obscure the view. And, alas, I am the woman who has gone without front window coverings for 3 1/2 years. [Yes, dear neighbor, I do plan to get window coverings. It was on the list right after that peeling green carpet. No, I haven't ordered any yet.] It would appear that privacy is not my highest value. I gathered every catalog with decorative door glass that I could get my hands on and fell in love with the Renfield pattern from Western Reflections.
View from Inside
View from Outside
Because of the difficulty of opening our old door, I was particularly concerned about ease of getting in to the new one. I don’t ever want to be locked out of the house. I don’t ever want my children locked out of the house. I lose things. So, buying a front entry keypad lock from Schlage was the right decision for us. I was afraid that it would look too utilitarian, but I am quite pleased with the result. What do you think?
Front Entry Keypad Handleset and Lock
Finally, Pdad was keen on getting an awning. Our front steps were entirely uncovered so it was possible to get quite wet while waiting for the door to open. Now, I am not sure what you think of when you hear “awning,” but I was imagining something a little downtown shop would have, some sort of sunshade made out of canvas. I was concerned that it might cut off the light to my beautiful door. I was also concerned that it would obscure the view of my beautiful door from the street [because all of you were going to drive by all day, oohing and ahhing over it, right?]
Awning
It turns out that in this case an awning is a small aluminum roof. People often order these as patio covers. I kept worrying that the top of the awning would look funny because it wouldn’t match the title on our roof. The salesman was right; you can’t see it, it isn’t a problem. I can see the top of the awning from Duncan’s bedroom window, but even there it looks fine.
We had our choice of installing a chocolate brown awning or a white one. I am so glad that we chose white. Since our entire house has brown trim and a brown tile roof, choosing white for the door and the awning was a scary decision. I was nervous that it would look ridiculous or make our off white brick look dirty. But actually, I am thrilled with the result. I think as we replace and repaint the gutters and roof trim we will want these to be white as well. Dark brown trim and offwhite bricks shouts “late Seventies!” And while I am under no illusion that we can make our house shout “built yesterday” (would we even want it to?) changing the color of the trim updates it quite nicely.
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3 Responses to “Planning the New Porch”
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Ooohh, pretty door. Love it! I haven’t seen a picture of your whole house yet, but the entryway looks very nice!
Oh, wow, I just read the first post and saw your “before” picture. Much improvement! I bet you’re loving it!
What an incredible improvement! It’s a beautiful transformation. I think the keypad is something we might start thinking about as the kids get older – great suggestion.