A face-lift with flair

The addition of front and back porches with distinctive rooflines transformed this humble 1950s home.

Some houses are simply blah. There's nothing really wrong with them; they just lack personality or distinguishing features. Such was the condition of Phyllis Sale's 1950s home in Richmond. It was crying out for a face-lift, but Phyllis didn't want to make drastic alterations to the body of the house.

Enter architect Burt Pinnock, of BAM Architects, with an unusual plan. He proposed front and back porch additions with rooflines that seem to fly upward. These reversed roof slopes, sage green paint, and some new windows infused the house with needed character. Burt used Arts and Crafts influences, one of Phyllis's favorite styles, as inspiration for the porches' framing details. "I didn't want anything that would close down what little view there was of the front of the house," explains Burt. "The upward slope makes for a more inviting facade."

The front porch is also detached from the existing roofline, adding to the floating effect. The detached roof has a gutter on the back edge that picks up water and feeds it into the main gutter on the front of the house. It also includes a discreet wheelchair-accessible ramp to the right, allowing entry to the porch from the side of the house. The attached back porch is screened in, but it mirrors the framing details of the front porch. "The most radical intervention to the existing house was replacing one of the front windows," says Burt. "We redefined it to be consistent with the Arts and Crafts attitude."

The exterior redo included removing the shutters and replacing the front door. "I really enjoy the porches the most-their openness and the gorgeous vistas," Phyllis says. Landscaping also adds to the home's attractive facade. Now it no longer suffers from the blahs and is surely the subject of multiple admiring glances.

where to find it

A FACE-LIFT WITH FLAIR

Page 104: Architecture by Burt Pinnock, BAM Architects, Richmond, (804) 8191750; landscape architecture by William H. Spell, Richmond, (804) 673-6970.

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Copyright Southern Progress Corporation Jul 2002
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