VICTORIAN WRAP-AROUND
With grand Victorian homes making up much of the
neighborhoods in Winchester, Mass., homeowners sought
to turn their home's exterior into a stately residence.
Cummings Architects — Mat Cummings, principal
architect and owner — in Ipswich, Mass., was hired
to design an expansive wrap-around porch that created
shaded outdoor living space while further blending the
home with the Victorian streetscape.
"It was traditional for Victorian homes to have large
porches as a meeting place at that time," explains Chlöe
Rideout, manager and head of marketing for Cummings
Architects. "Te porch wraps around on two sides, so
the homeowner still has ample play space for toys in the
back for the kids and garden space in the front. Te porch
actually improves the use of the outdoors as it provides
covered, usable space for the family to gather and is more
welcoming than the bland front yard."
To blend the 620-sq.-ft. porch with the existing home,
many custom details were incorporated to maintain and
further the Victorian style. Rich colors were used to match
the fabric of the neighborhood. "Details like the goose
neck handrails and lattice work are graceful and frequent-
ly used in original Victorian architecture," Rideout says.
hile the focus of outdoor living
spaces revolves around how home-
owners plan to use the space, it
also is important to determine
whether they want their new space
to blend in with their existing
spaces or stand out as unique. Te following projects
achieve blending seamlessly with the existing architec-
ture, and decking selection played a role in accomplishing
that balance.
Transition with Decking
Outdoor living spaces designed to blend with existing
architecture use decking as the base for coordination
By Kacey Larsen
Mahogany decking and clear fir bead
board for the porch ceiling worked
well within the Victorian color scheme
selected for the exterior renovation.
W
Photos:
Eric
Roth
of
Eric
Roth
Photography
PROJECTS: QR Outdoors
36 January 2016 QR QualifiedRemodeler.com