# Ideas for adding depth to front of house?



## tigerbalm2424 (Feb 28, 2007)

Looking for suggestions on adding depth to the front of the house. The garage extends to the right . The entire building is flat in the front with exception of the 1 foot bump out where the main picture window is. I really hate the main picture window and the vinyl white bordering around it. I have even thought of removing the window altogether. 

If anyone has any interesting ideas I would love to hear them!


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## Ron6519 (Mar 28, 2007)

Look at a front porch that covers the entrance to the house. If you're up to changing the front of the house, something simple like a color change on the trim to give it some contrast to the siding.
Landscaping would help a lot. Plant some trees, scrubs, periennals, annuals. The house is a bit stark.
Ron


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## troubleseeker (Sep 25, 2006)

A roof over the entry. I would nix the trite full arched window over the door and project a gable roof out with a couple of 8" columns for support. Proper flashing/waterproofing is critical where it will tie into the structure, as it will create some potential water traps, so be sure you have an experienced/knowledgable roofing and sheet metal guy, not just a "shingle nailer" for roof work.
Ditto the nix for the ridiculous , undersized, out of place louver over the picture window. Consider projecting a simple shed roof (typicaly seen in the Craftsman/bubgalo style) with a couple of brackets for support. A functioning vent could be located up high where it would look more apppropriate, if needed.
Definately some landscaping with vertical accent to take away the squat proportions of the lower level of the structure.
Your structure is not a dedicated atchitectural style, so I would not have any problem mixing in something like the Craftsman shed roof overhang.


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## hyunelan2 (Aug 14, 2007)

I would say before you start structurally changing the house, add landscaping. Landscaping goes a long way in adding depth and character to the building. Here's a quick 10-second sketchup example:


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## Steeler99 (Jan 30, 2011)

yeah, my first thought was landscaping...and I love the window above the front door, I wouldn't get rid of that.

Shutters would help too, part of the issue is lack of color and contrast


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## pyper (Jul 1, 2009)

I think I would really like a roof over the entrance.


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## troubleseeker (Sep 25, 2006)

Landscaping will definatley help the overall apperance of the house; no matter what structural changes are made, but depth perception on the structure itself will only happen when more planes are added to the facade.
If you like the entry window, an open gable roof can be designed to preserve it.
However, IMO there cannot be any saving grace for the pathetic louver over the window. I don't know if the builder thought he was going to mimic a palladian window (he was sadly misinformed if so) or what, but it just has no positive attributes.


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## gma2rjc (Nov 21, 2008)

Another thing is that the sliding windows look too plain. I have a split-level (raised ranch?) house that looks similar to yours in some ways. It had the same kind of windows that you have and most of them are now changed to double-hung with mullions (grids). It looks a lot better than it did. The rest will be replaced this summer, so they'll all be the same.

I have to agree with the others about the landscaping too. It will help.


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