By Dave and Mary

Front Porch Designs for Colonial Homes

Marie from New Hampshire writes:

I have a basic two story colonial house with five windows on top and four on the bottom with the door in the middle. Right now we have just the basic builders one step concrete porch which I really don't like at all.

I have one landscaper come out and suggested replacing it with a red brick with concrete slab on top.

Or he said a pressure treated wood step and porch would look good and then paint it. He also said we could do granite step and porch.

I don't have a lot of room to work with (about 6 ft. wide by 4 ft. depth).

My house is light beige siding with hunter green shutters and cream trim. I am really confused as to what would look best. Do you have any ideas?

Front Porch Designs for Colonial Home

Marie, thanks for writing us. The suggestions you've been given are fine. The porch floor/steps are a main component but so are the roof and columns.

Front porch with 9 foot depth

Roof Option Designs for Colonial Home

I can't tell from your inquiry if you currently have a roof or pediment over your existing entry. Also, I'm also not sure why you are limited to the 6x4 foot pad and will address that further down in my reply. My suggestions below will be based on the 6x4 foot pad.

I am going to assume you currently do not have a roof over your entry. You have a few really nice options that will dress up the front of your home.

First, you could opt not to have a roof and install a pediment over the door. These can be as plain or ornate as you like. Pediments tend to draw the eye to the door and will give your home a more formal look.

Another option is to install a porch awning over your entry. There are many styles and colors to choose from and outdoor fabrics (like Sunbrella ®) tend to last much longer than in previous years. An advantage of an awning is that you do not need columns which will give you added space since your porch is relatively small in size.

nice awning over front door on beautiful home

nice awning over front door on beautiful home

A third option is to build a porch roof over your entry. The roof design is important and is often dictated by how much room you have from the top of your front door to the windows above. Local codes will dictate how close your roof can be to those windows.

nice side porch on beautiful home

Shed roof design

That distance will dictate whether you can build a gable-style roof or a shed-type roof (see photos below). Depending on where you live, the slope requirements (rise and run) are again, dictated by your local building codes for your area.

Use our photos for design ideas remembering your roof will be significantly smaller in size. You can still have a roof that is quite charming.

beautiful front porch on home with landscaping

beautiful front porch on home with landscaping

Gable roof design

Based on the size of your porch, you would want your porch columns to be smaller also. I would investigate using aluminum or wrought iron as they would not overwhelm your porch and you can often have them designed to your specifications.

Regarding the Porch Floor

You have so many options for porch flooring; all of which would probably work fine. Depending on the effect you want to achieve, I would investigate stained or stamped concrete or stone. Since your slab is small, the cost may be well worth it. If you haven't already, check out our porch decking sections - they are packed with information on all types of flooring ideas for your porch.

6x4 Food Pad

You state you are limited to the 6x4 foot pad. That is difficult to address without a photo but you may want to see our section on patio ideas for porches - we have lots of ideas for extending a porch just like yours.

3D Renderings

Lastly, because you are going to make an investment in your home and one that you really want to make sure satisfies your requirements, I recommend you invest a small amount into 3-D renderings so you will know exactly what your porch will (or would) look like before you build.

Here are some examples of such drawings that have been done for others. There is also a link on that page to someone who can do them for you if you'd like.

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Front Porch Designs for Colonial Homes