Use the measurements for the triple window upstairs to figure out how much room you have for the sidelights. It might be pretty skinny. I hope not because I think the porch wall needs a little bit more space filled in.

E.

Just so you can have a sense of scale:

Door is 36", sidelights are 7.5 " of glass and one inch on each side for frame. So each sidelight is 9.5". Total width from left to right including interior trim is 72". I think my total width is narrower than the pix that ARG posted.

and you could see if you liked the front porch lights on either side of the windows. There was not room for them on mine. I ended up with ceiling pot lights. I know, not pleasing, but I live in a VERY windy place and a fixture with a chain was just a bad idea.

I like them all. I really like D and E. I like E the best.

Your house is not symmetrical, so I don't feel the front door needs to be perfectly centered.

For those suggesting side windows, CP is near the water in FL and is required to use impact resistant Windows, which typically have wider framing around the glass and therefore might not even come in the narrow sizes being suggested.

Even though I like E the best, would the outswing door (also for wind resistance) restrict furniture placement? If you wanted two chairs and a side table on the front porch, then D might work better than E.

I like E. I don't like the space without an additional window (C) - it needs SOMETHING else there.

For form, I like D.

For functionality for the UPS man, I like E.

For fun and neighborliness, I like D. (So you can have two chairs to the right, and you're not sitting right in front of the door)

And of course, hanging ferns!

D

D, although if you can do it I'd love to see a picture of C with sidelights that would bring it to a similar width as the window above the door. Then with the hanging lights on either side, I feel like it would have the right weight on bottom compared to the top, even if the widths are the same.

To me E/D gives the lower level a busy/crowded look. I like C. Not only is everything vertically aligned (I realize that perception of that will be a matter of perspective, but it also happens to be truth), but when you add furniture to the porch it won't look over-crowded. I will admit, C was not my first choice, but upon reflection of all options, I like it best and think it offers you the most potential (D was my initial choice).

With no question C with sidelites for me

I know I'm late to the party, but I like the 3 columns. I think it looks empty without one. There's also something pleasing to the eye with things in thirds, or threes.

If you are doing 2 posts, I like the idea of the front door flanked by 2 small windows, no sidelights.

Yeah - how 'bout a feature window that highlights he craftsman nature and gives guests a little jewelry as they enter / approach your front door!

I haven't read all the responses, but I like D because it gives you room for a couple of chairs to the right of the door. A centered door would split up the space; an offset door lets you create a conversational grouping. And it's so nice to sit out on the porch and relax!

Initially I liked D. But I also like the plan with side lights. The foyer and the hallway to the bedroom does not have any direct light source, so I think a window or sidelight is essential, I would say add transom as well. It will light up the foyer and hallway, and the entrance will have a grander feel.

something like this -

Parkway Project · More Info

What Chicagoans said...

Ok here's C with sidelights. This is the maximum width I could go. About 9" wide for the window itself. Does it change anyone's mind? I'm not doing a transom because it would throw off the overall look of the house.

Love C with sidelights. Very grand, and I bet you still have room for seating.

I am rooting for C with sidelights or maybe square windows flanking the door. Here is my reasoning. The two sidelights/front door make a triple. This mirrors the triple window on top of the porch. And it also mirrors the triple window on the front of the garage. Both sides of your home would be flanked by triples.

Thanks hendricks. Yes most everything is in odd numbers. Either the five windows in the living room area or the triple in the garage and the upstairs hallway. Interesting point.

Thanks keywest.

Even though I like E the best, would the outswing door (also for wind resistance) restrict furniture placement? If you wanted two chairs and a side table on the front porch, then D might work better than E.

Yes it would restrict placement a bit. I'm not thinking a lot of furniture on the front porch. Maybe just a swing and a table, so maybe then E would still work since I'd have about 5'9" between the door and the porch railing. Would it look squished on the right if I did that?

For fun and neighborliness, I like D. (So you can have two chairs to the right, and you're not sitting right in front of the door)

And of course, hanging ferns!

Thanks bp. Most likely though, hanging orchids! Or bromeliads.

Thanks paraveina.

although if you can do it I'd love to see a picture of C with sidelights that would bring it to a similar width as the window above the door.

See above. :)

Thanks cski13.

but when you add furniture to the porch it won't look over-crowded.

Do you think with the centered door, that 5'9" will be enough width on the right for the swing and table? I'm not going to add anything to the left of the door because that's the stairway up to the front door.

With E, when guests come in the front door they aren't looking straight down the bedroom hall, but rather at artwork on the wall across. Much nicer!

I agree which is why I tried it reversed. Is it more important for the exterior to work or the interior? Obviously, ideally both should work perfectly together and it's what I do preach. However if a compromise needs to be made, which becomes more important? Having more room outside to sit or opening the front door and not looking directly down the hallway?

and, you could use frosted or stained glass in the window next to the door, to carry the craftsman a bit without overkill, and provide a bit of privacy to that bedroom hall.

Yeah - how 'bout a feature window that highlights he craftsman nature and gives guests a little jewelry as they enter / approach your front door!

Stained or frosted glass is always an excellent option.

I haven't read all the responses, but I like D because it gives you room for a couple of chairs to the right of the door. A centered door would split up the space; an offset door lets you create a conversational grouping. And it's so nice to sit out on the porch and relax!

Thanks chicagoans. Again it's why I'm in a quandary. The one thing I definitely think I prefer is no center column. I like the idea of being able to see the front door.

That last rendition is lovely. I think that with the 2 columns the scale of the larger door assembly works. I'll be over with a beer - please have a comfy porch chair.

C with sidelights is nice, I still like E as well.

We have some outward opening exterior doors onto our porch and at our house it would not be preferable to have seating behind an outward opening door on a narrow porch. YMMV or it might not make a difference to you.

Here's a shot from the inside from my photo above. The window has a 20" RO and the door is 36". It's 3'7" from the centerline of the door to the outside window RO. The vertical measuring tape in the photo is where the outside of your elevator wall is, 4' from the center line of the door.

The window trim is 3.5" As you cans see, with a 20" RO window, which yields about 13" of glass, there's plenty of room. More so if you make it an 18" RO window which would be about 11" of glass.

No change of mind here. I like C with the sidelights. Somehow it simplifies the facade.

Oaktown has a point about the outward swinging door. What about placing furniture against the porches right side railing? Oh, a porch swing! Here's a cool Stickley inspired swing:

Perfect ARG. Thanks you! That's exactly what I needed to know. And it does add more "presence" to the entry. So with 4" trim, I'd probably be better with an 18" RO? And it can die into the side wall of the elevator too?

MagdalenaLee, that is a gorgeous swing! Right up my alley. (Of course DH would complain that it's not comfortable though. LOL)

I like C with the sidelights better than D now. The original C looked a little top heavy to me, but now it looks weighted properly.

Question. Here is the plan with the door centered and a 20" RO. Do I need to go to an 18" RO and will an 18" work?

I'd treat the whole thing (the door and the two windows) as one opening similar to the one with the 5 windows you have in the GR. Between the door and the window is a coupla wood studs presumably like you have in the GR between the windows. If there's concrete block there I doubt it will work. And from the inside (and outside too) you want the thing to appear as one unit anyway like my interior photo shows. That interior trim you see between the door and the window is 5 1/2" wide.

I'm busy now but if you want to go that route I can draw an accurate framing detail.

Thanks ARG! Let me table it for right now and when the time comes make sure it's not going to be concrete block between the windows and/or windows and doors since you said that will not work. I'm assuming it will be one large opening with wood studs as you said, but I do want to double check.

Actually if the mullions between the windows are 4", it couldn't be concrete block, could it?

Late to the party, but initially liked C the best, but now, having seen your last version, with sidelites, I love it. Very attractive, very welcoming.

Getting better and better! :-)

Thanks Sail_away.

Virgil if I keep at it another year, it might wind up being an award winning home. ;) Hopefully though, permits will come through soon. Thank you. That front with the three columns was bothering me. It worked in the old iteration of the house but no more.

I like the door aligned with the hall. With that said, take 'A' and eliminate the portion of the porch right of the center column; now centerline of the porch new gable will align with the centerline of the door and with the left edge of the second floor windows. Add ARG's side windows for good measure.

OT: CP- when do you think we'll start seeing construction pics of this beautiful house?! I'm so excited to see your home come to life.

I like Marks suggestion if you 'really' don't think you'll use that porch for sitting. But I still wouldn't center that door under a gable. I think your house is screaming for something off set, like this, but window on the other side.

I love that picture. The color of the door, the ceiling, and the light. Is that a Houzz pic?

I like the door aligned with the hall. With that said, take 'A' and eliminate the portion of the porch right of the center column; now centerline of the porch new gable will align with the centerline of the door and with the left edge of the second floor windows. Add ARG's side windows for good measure.

Honestly, Mark you lost me. I think what you're saying is to eliminate the porch to the right of the middle column and move the gable so it's centered over the door?

That is NOT possible because the zoning rules of the area we live in say we must have a front porch that is a minimum of 6' deep x 10' wide OR 6' deep x 1/3 the width of the house, (whichever is wider. And the garage doesn't count thankfully.) So our porch must be a minimum of 19' 3". Right now it's 20'4".

OT: CP- when do you think we'll start seeing construction pics of this beautiful house?! I'm so excited to see your home come to life.

Thanks benjesbride! I'm excited too. We are finally in permitting. I'm told that will take 6 weeks and then the builder needs another 2 weeks to get up and moving so to speak. So we are looking at the end of July to start if all goes well and we don't hit anymore snafu's.

I like Marks suggestion if you 'really' don't think you'll use that porch for sitting. But I still wouldn't center that door under a gable. I think your house is screaming for something off set, like this, but window on the other side.

I do like it centered but have to make sure it will work with a window that is wide enough to do it justice.

ILoveRed - no idea where I pulled that pic from. If you do a google search for the image you might be able to track it down. I've had it in my Inspiration file for a while then put it in a Pinterest folder along with a million other things when our architect asked for access to my Pinterest stuff.

Tell the zoning administrator to "Go fly a kite", you're building your home the way the people from Houzz advise you!

(we'll visit you in jail)

Tell the zoning administrator to "Go fly a kite", you're building your home the way the people from Houzz advise you!

(we'll visit you in jail)

But will you pay the price for the variance? (And our rent for the extra 8 months we'll have to wait to get the zoning board to hear our appeal?)

Oh and I can't go to jail. I'm so over decorating with orange and gray.

In your best Mexican accent, tell the Zoning Administrator, "Variances?!?!? We don't need no stink'n variances!!"

(then go watch The Treasure of the Sierra Madre)

Ok just to have it all in one spot, here are some minor changes I made to the front of the house, the friend's entry and the west side of the house which will be hidden by a fence. I'm doing this so I have the complete saga finalized. LOL. Once I start building, I'll start a new thread with a list of the full saga and the build.

I removed the windows in the bedroom on the west wall because I didn't want the heat coming in. (We're in Fl). I made the bathroom window longer since it's on the side with a fence that's less than 5' from the house, so no one will be able to look in really.

I lowered the belly band in the kitchen gable. He had it too high and it was bothering me and I couldn't put my finger on it.

Additionally the porch gable bothered me and I realized he put an additional board across (the name escapes me right now). I got rid of the additional board.

And I fixed the windows on either side of the door so they read more craftsman.

CP.. I looooooove the choice you have whittled this down to. If I had room, I would be adding the side windows. I missed all the previous posts, but I also went with D and then the door.. that is the door I love.. lol. We got something close to it, inside budget, and plan to upgrade to a nice door like that some day later.

R

I like it. How wide is it from window to window including the door and your trim?

what change did you make to your friend's entry?

On the right side elevation, what is the band under the study windows?

First thank you all for commenting. When I break ground I plan on starting a new thread and will start with a link to all the previous threads, including this one, which is why I wanted to make sure this one was updated with the "latest and greatest" in the exterior elevation.

In fact last night I was looking over some of the old threads and was aghast at what I actually started with. While the original layout wasn't terrible, the elevations were ghastly. LOL. (And I'm being kind.) I'm truly thankful that so many of you stuck with me on my journey so far and were so helpful in getting my house to where it is now.

A special shoutout to the architects, especially Renovator8, Virgil and ARG.

Thanks Russ.

I like it. How wide is it from window to window including the door and your trim?

what change did you make to your friend's entry?

Thank you ILoveRed. In the drawing above from window to window is probably a bit too wide in the elevation but it's correct on the plan. So it will probably be just a bit narrower, but I wanted to have it to show the builder how I wanted it built. It's about 9 1/2' from trim edge to trim edge.

Oops. Here's the friend's entry. I've been debating about the molding around the outer frame of the door entry. With or without?

On the right side elevation, what is the band under the study windows?

That's actually behind the master (for now until we change it) but it's the A/C and pool equipment. Both need to be enclosed according to code. However I will NOT have AC's below my bedroom window, especially with my bed up against that wall!

I'm expecting them to move it to behind the study.

I like the trim around the friends entry. It says entry rather than dark hole to me.

I see what you mean about the pool equipment now. I would move it too.

I like the trim as well.

the reason I asked the size in the foyer...I wondered if I had room in my foyer to do something like this. Nope, I don't. I have 7 ft. Darn.

Thank you. That's what I thought too. I like the trim also.

And yes, that pool equipment WILL NOT be under my bedroom window.

And good news. We closed on the lot and we head back down to FL in 2 weeks to finalize most things like doors, windows, roof color, stonework, pool, etc. Plus make all the redlined changes. Very exciting.