I don’t care for stick frame wood houses from any era: but here we are stuck with them all over the landscape. These structures have far less integrity than brick or stone. Most of them can be expected to last 16-20 generations. About 1/3 of the lifespan of a comparable brick structure. Thats still enough lifespan to justify preservation though, for the good examples of the building method.
This challenge involved taking a 20th century porch addition and styling it to make sense with the rest of the house.
My first idea was to punctuate the addition and date it in the arts and crafts era. The theory being: an addition should read as an addition and not attempt to “fake” consistency with the rest of the building:
This design features a shiplap lower apron, continuous sill, and stucco wall finish. Simple 1×6 trim for the windows.
The next design is more in keeping with the style of the house. It features a paneled layout with the trim reduced and pilasters defining the layout. The corbel brackets from the main cornice are repeated here and carved half-round reliefs are used to give the trim pilasters some texture.
The “fancy” one would take nearly double the labor and demands high grade materials for the sill, moldings, and pilasters so it’s a real show off, for a small addition to an already grand structure.
Trad Building 