Screened Porches I’d Like to Drink Wine In – Part One

By Susan Christian

With the onset of warmer weather in Michigan we are all longing for the outdoors. The usual Michigan winter along with three months of pandemic lockdown, has brought my appreciation of outdoor living to new heights. I noted in a previous post how much I love a great outdoor deck on a summer evening, but a couple of days of rain has got me reminiscing about some of the really amazing screened porches we have done over the years. Here is one that we completed last year and it’s modest in size but large on design!

Modest, Modern and Mood Changing

This screened porch was part of a whole home renovation, addition and an eye-popping exterior transformation. Our clients came to us with a long list of wants and needs, but probably the most emotional was a desire to create a screened porch reminiscent of one from the owner’s childhood. A secondary driver was a desire for better connection to the beautiful shaded back yard area.

This home started out as a manufactured home. Originally built in 1997, the home could not fit onto the narrow lot as designed so it was turned 90 degrees. The result: The street facing side of home was designed to be a side elevation, and likewise, the backyard facing elevation was designed to be the other side of the home.

As you can see from the above before photo of the front – there was not a lot of curb appeal (read about the exterior facelift here). And the only access to the back yard was via a sliding glass door on the side of the home. The few windows on the back of the home were in one of the kid’s bedrooms and the basement.

We added onto the home a modest-sized kitchen addition that transformed both the interior spaces and the exterior aesthetic. The addition was extended to include a right-sized (10.5′ X 12′) screened porch. Windows with full screens both top and bottom were utilized allowing the owners to stretch the use of the 3-season porch into the fourth season on a sunny winter day.

Rather than just a typical shed roofline, our designer offset where the rooflines met – making the roof look less like an addition and more like a custom-designed home. It also added interest and a distinctive custom feel on the interior.

A fence with modern elements that matched the exterior cladding was added to provide screening for privacy from the neighbors home. The result is a three-season (plus) porch that is private and offers visual and physical connection to the serene wooded backyard.

Dreaming about a three-season porch addition onto your home? We’d love to start a conversation about possibilities.

Professional Photography by Sean Carter