After sharing the Rockaway bungalow redo happening on casaCARA’s blog, Betsy posed an interesting question,
…Sarah, what’s your thought on off-center front doors on a porch like that. I’m sure it’s not worth the cost to move the door, but it always make me wonder.
I love this question simply because I remodeled a house that had an amazing front door that was off center.
This is the house I lived in before Bungalow 404, before the 2007 remodel was complete.
I’ve never shared this house mainly because I renovated it before I really began blogging and I don’t have images that present an accurate before. Interestingly enough, my friends, real estate agents and neighbors loved this house and I just kind of thought it was ok. We had a tag sale when we moved and everything was downstairs in the living room and I kept catching people wandering around upstairs. It sold in 14 days in 2009, what does that tell you—I should’ve increased the price, no…well ok maybe but people just really liked it. Anyway, lets get to the point here.
This house had a grand front door that was at least 7 feet tall but was just left of center and it could not be moved because of the structural and interior layout.
We had to balance things out visually on the exterior… so we added more windows.
The before of the downstairs (sorry no picture) only had one big window to the right of the front door which left a lot of empty space between that window and the front door which emphasized its off center position. To strike the balance that I mentioned, we added a larger, triple bank of windows to the right of the door which drew the eye over to the right instead of to the awkwardly position front door.
So to answer Betsy’s question–if moving a door or window is possible without rebuilding the whole house and there’s no alternative remedy then I say move it!
P.S.-
This is the before and after of the backyard that Dan and I put a lot of weekends, blood, sweat and tears in to turning around.
Before- a nuclear testing site?
After
Those Leyland Cypress lined along the fence grew 4-5 feet in 3 years, that’s why they are such a popular barrier tree.
Adding the triple window is a great solution that worked for the house! And, clearly you must have done great things to the house for it to sell in just 2 weeks in the middle of a recession.
I’d love to see a picture of the front of that home now, with the time for the landscaping to take hold in the front too! If you happen to cruise by anytime soon, snap one for me!
I loved that backyard, and so did Pollock. Especially the late summer nights on the back porch. I wonder how your coral maple is doing back there.
You do have a memory after all… I wonder how that tree is doing too? We will drive by and do an update!