The name Porch House is apt to get this house for a family of four southwestern Missouri, given the way the porch wraps four sides of this home plan plan. However, a fast glance in the design, by Matthew Hufft of Hufft Projects, reveals that the porch is … quite un-porch-like.
Where would be the columns holding up the roof? Where would be the railings? The cantilevered roof and open sides indicate that this house is a combination of traditional and contemporary. Let us have a tour via a house that manages to hit a good balance between these generally irreconcilable extremes.
in a Glance
Who lives here: Hannah and Paul Catlett and their 2 boys
Location: Springfield, Missouri
Size: 6,000 square feet on 3 acres
That’s interesting: Paul Catlett and Matthew Hufft have been buddies since they were 17.
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From a distance the porch is not very notable. If anything, the gable type, the standing-seam metallic roof, along with the oversized dormers draw the maximum attention. These components mention the farmhouses of this portion of the Ozarks, but in a minimalist vein.
In this view we’re looking toward the entry, beneath the roof overhang at the close of the rock steps in the driveway, which extends past the rock wall on the right into a three-car garage that occupies a single leg of the L.
The entrance is on the east side of the house, and this is also the beginning of the wraparound porch. Small windows are located beside the entry, underneath the cantilevered porch. The dormers overhead seem to stretch up to loosen up the sun’s rays.
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Another interesting twist comes across in the dormers. For starters, they extend all of the way into the exterior wall rather than being set back, as in conventional gable houses. What might not be apparent from the outside is that these rather large dormers are part of a one-story house; there is not another narrative for them to serve. Later we’ll see how much light this brings to the inside, but let us walk around the house to see the rest of the porch.
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So does the roof, in which it engages the massive chimney as we turn the corner into the south. Immediate access is just to the right of the chimney given by double glass doors .
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The portion of the porch functions as an outdoor eating area. There is A fire pit a extension. Corner steps provide access into the backyard. It must be said that the porch is more than 1 or 2 feet above level, thus the capability to dispense with a guardrail.
This view from the west indicates the close of the porch, which begins at the entry on the other side of the house and proceeds in a P shape. The rectangular window in the foreground functions the master bath; behind it instantly is your master bedroom, looking south.
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1 part of this porch is with no cover, also here Hufft added some wood slats on the surface of the glass walls to cut back on direct sun’s entering the house from the late afternoon and early evening.
From here let us head inside via the glass doors into the living room just to the right of the photo.
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As could be anticipated with the tall gable and just one narrative, the inside is quite open and light. Like the exterior, the interior of the house is quite contemporary, with light finishes on the ceilings and walls and minimal details. The walnut floors and occasional wood detail (the peninsula in the kitchen here) add some warmth.
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In the kitchen we’re now looking toward the south side of the house and the split-face concrete block fireplace.
In this element we see another departure from the conventional: Instead of this fireplace’s being based about the gable, it is based on the living room that occupies the right half of the great room. (The dining room is just out of this frame on the left.)
Even the hearth is off center in the brick chimney.
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Here we’re looking from in front of the fireplace into the dining room and one of the dormers facing east.
The dormer brings in considerable amounts of light, necessary for illuminating such a grand area. Barely visible between the lower window and the dormer is a horizontal projection housing concealed uplights that create the identical effect after the sun goes down.
Both of these boys have been blessed with dormers in their bedrooms. In between their bedrooms is a shared private bathroom, accessible in their bedrooms although not the corridor.
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Visible on the gable end of the house we saw from the first photo are two squarish windows, one over the other. Like the dormers, these give the impression of a two-story house. However, since this view of the laundry room illustrates, those windows serve one room.
Considering how many laundry rooms are wrapped in bathrooms or windowless spaces, this looks like a space where I’d need to hang out, not just do laundry!
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A corridor leads from the kitchen, bedroom and laundry area past the garage (on the right) into the master suite. Family photos hang about head height on one side of this hallway, opposite south-facing windows shaded by a cantilevered roof.
A glass door in the visual terminus of this hall provides a view of the garden along with direct access to the porch.
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The master suite is indeed far removed from the rest of the house (beyond the three-car garage) that it doesn’t have a door; a door is provided in the bathroom but not otherwise. Like the corridor, the bedroom faces south west. A full-height curtain on a track blocks out direct sunlight while keeping direct access to the porch in the hallway (viewed in previous photo).
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A sliding barn door separates the bedroom and bathroom. It’s another touch of warmth from the bright and light spaces.
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The large bathroom is open to the garden on the southwest, in which the roof overhang (bigger, given the blow off of the bathroom from the corridor wall in plan) shades the area from the summer to keep it cool.
Blinds tucked at the header of this window provide privacy when wanted.