Room of the Day: A Colorado Porch for Year-Round Enjoyment
New windows, insulation and other upgrades turn this sun porch on a 1914 stone house into a 4-season room
This 1914 stone home along Bear Creek Canyon in Colorado was in sorry shape when this family purchased it. “The porch was in such a dilapidated state that it was barely even a one-season room,” Luke Mann of Rangeline Homes says. Many of the single-pane windows were damaged, there was an old pellet stove, and the floor was in need of repair. In addition, the room had no insulation. “These homeowners were ready to bring the house back to its former glory,” Mann says. As part of the extensive restoration, the porch was renovated and now serves as an inviting space all year round.
The original structure had double doors and transoms here, which served as the main entry years ago. The ones seen here are new and open up to the gardens and front yard, and the main entry has been relocated closer to the driveway.
To make the space ready for year-round use, the team had to do a lot of renovations. The stone columns are original, and the team made the walls thicker in between them in order to add insulation, pushing them farther out on the exterior side. They also added insulation under the floors, replaced all of the windows with double-paned low-E glass and added hot-water baseboard heat.
To make the space ready for year-round use, the team had to do a lot of renovations. The stone columns are original, and the team made the walls thicker in between them in order to add insulation, pushing them farther out on the exterior side. They also added insulation under the floors, replaced all of the windows with double-paned low-E glass and added hot-water baseboard heat.
The beadboard is original to the room. While the ceilings were in great shape and didn’t even need restaining, the walls needed patching, repairing and painting. The floors are original but were repaired and refinished. New trimwork was necessary, and all of it was made onsite to match the existing trim.
A high table fits well into the narrow space. One of the homeowners made the lamp himself, fashioning it from an antique wooden tripod and an old heat lamp that he converted into a light.
“We have no need for air conditioning here,” Mann says. “In the summer they just crank open the windows, enjoy the breeze and listen to the creek.”
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A high table fits well into the narrow space. One of the homeowners made the lamp himself, fashioning it from an antique wooden tripod and an old heat lamp that he converted into a light.
“We have no need for air conditioning here,” Mann says. “In the summer they just crank open the windows, enjoy the breeze and listen to the creek.”
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Room at a Glance
What happens here: A couple who recently relocated from Texas and their son (when he’s home from college) relax, read, visit and listen to the creek below.
Location: Evergreen, Colorado
Size: About 500 square feet (46.5 square meters)
Designer: Luke Mann of Rangeline Homes
The porch runs across the front of the house, which is tucked into Bear Creek Canyon and faces the Lariat Loop national scenic byway.
The homeowners furnished the room with antiques they’d collected. They also held on to old tobacco tins, cans and other found objects Mann unearthed during construction, and put them on display around the house. With the scattered Native American rugs and blankets and comfortable antique chairs, the furnishings recall those of an iconic Evergreen resort back in its heyday — both Teddy Roosevelt and Franklin Delano Roosevelt used to stay at the Troutdale-in-the-Pines resort, which was located nearby.