Making An Entrance

the front porch (5)There have been times when I was concerned about making an entrance. The opening party for Detroit Garden Works in March of 1996 – I fretted for weeks about my outfit and shoes. Would my choices be good enough for that entry? Momentary or event driven entrances are just that-momentary. I am sure the only person who remembers what I wore to that event is me. Shortly thereafter, Rob and I sped downtown after work to make the opening curtain of La Boheme. I had 40 minutes to trade my jeans and dirty boots for a silk top, skirt, and high heels. Rob drove his heart out-we were downtown in 22 minutes. He made his entrance in his own inimitable style. We fit in with all the other opera goers in floor length gowns and tuxedos. We were just as fine with young people dressed in their innovative and alternative versions of making an entrance. A regular client did not recognize me; I had to introduce my dressed up self. That was great fun-a theater full of people making an entrance.

Creating a proper entrance to a home is both an architectural and landscape event.  This gorgeous Georgian colonial house that belonged to a client of mine has the most amazing brick entrance. All of that generously styled brick work, on multiple levels, makes for a grand entrance. It is a walkway, a set of steps, lighting, and a retaining wall –  all rolled into one. Is this the entrance of everyone’s dreams? No. This entrance is appropriate to the architecture, period, and scale of this particular house, and the representation of the taste of a particular person. What works for your house will be particular to you.

the front porch (3) No matter the architecture, an entrance that celebrates a front door should be wide and generous. Some of the reasons why are utilitarian.  No guest or UPS delivery person should have to guess the location of the front door. A front walk and porch should be able to accommodate two people approaching, side by side. Single file implies the need to be be in line. No guest should ever have to get in line to get to your front door. A porch and walk should be scaled to embrace a front door with room to spare. Other issues are aesthetic.  An ample walkway and wide porch visually celebrates an entrance. A well done entrance feels gracious and welcoming.

the front porch (8)This gorgeous home built in the 1920’s has a beautiful front door, and limestone surround.  The landing repeats the shape of the door, laid down on the ground. The size of the landing helps to make a front door placed in a corner feel more spacious. A pair of cap yews-one planted in the gravel drive court, and the other in a shrub border, frame the view to the door.

the front porch (2)This client has a brick porch too narrow for the entrance.  If you look closely, you can see that we added brick wings on either side.  Those wings are now home to a pair of generously sized pots that celebrate this entrance.

the front porch (12)This entrance was properly wide of the front door, but left a pair of awkward alcoves on either side. The porch and step railings further isolated those alcoves from the presentation of the door.  I specified very tall Belgian wood planter boxes in an effort to make those alcoves feel more a part of the entrance. The boxes filled those awkward spaces with something substantive. The boxes were always difficult to plant, as the only way to get to the back of the box was to jump over the railing.    the front porch (9)When the driveway needed replacing, I advised my clients to extend the porch and steps to the full width available. And I also suggested that they make the steps deeper, which would make it easier to navigate the steps without a railing. They did as I suggested. This new entrance is less complicated and more spacious. Their Halloween party for their young daughter and her classmates was a big hit. We had lots of space at the entrance to express the season.

the front porchAnother client had an entrance with a porch of proper dimension, but the landscape obstructed the view.

the front porch (6)We moved all of the tall shrubs away from the porch. This made it possible to see the pots, and the plinths they sit on, from a distance.

the front porch (7)This porch is perfectly wide of this front door. The large rocks were moved to either side. It took a change in the landscape to make the entrance more appealing.

the front porch (11)This client has steps up, and a porch that is very narrow. Imagine a porch that goes wide of the pediment and pillars.  The pots planted with boxwood would be effective placed to the outside of the pillars, and in front of the large area of white siding. Adding a third element to the pairs of windows on either side of the door would draw more visual attention to the entrance. A larger porch and steps would permit the second set of pots to be offset from the boxwood pots, so all 4 pots could be viewed separately. I did discuss this with the client some years ago. Redoing a porch and steps is a major undertaking, and we had just finished a sizeable landscape project for her.  The time was not right. A simpler alternative would be to place the boxwood boxes off the porch, on a pair of pedestals the same height as the boxwood.

the front porch (10)The clients who own this home have completely redone the landscape. Lacking the architectural interest of a porch and steps, the plan included a very large entrance landing.  The size of it permitted the placement of 4 Branch Jackie boxes with red mandevilleas to the outside of the door and light fixtures. Lovely, this.

 

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At A Glance: A Gorgeous Entrance

making an entranceMy clients in Ann Arbor have an entrance to their front door that stops me in my tracks. Per my request, they sent pictures.

making an entranceThe proportion and scale is unusual and striking.

making an entranceThere is plenty of room for Banjo on the generously scaled steps.

making an entranceBanjo helping to make an entrance

making an entranceThis entrance is all of their own making. It is incredibly beautiful, is it not?

 

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