An Outdoor Oasis

by

Community

A covered outdoor addition creates year-round entertainment area for this Hartland home

When Dr. David Kramer and his wife, Starr, moved into their home in their home in the Estate section of the Hartland subdivision, they knew that wanted to change their porch.

During 2020, they decided to take on that project to expand their porch and create an all-season living and entertaining area.

“Before the rebuild, it was just a wood deck with steps out into the yard,” said Dr. Kramer, an anesthesiologist at Baptist Health. “I’d go out there and grill, but in the summer with the sun hitting the brick, it was just too hot out there. The deck was unusable during the summer and winter.”

The new, 525-square foot porch provides the family with a covered, outdoor entertaining area they can use practically all year long, he said.

“We are out there a lot,” Dr. Kramer said. “In the winter, I can go out and turn on the heaters and it’s comfortable in about two hours. During the spring and fall, we are out there nearly every day. In the summer, we are out there a couple times a week.”

Dr. Kramer said the porch was his wife’s dream. Working with Back Construction, the Kramers were able to design a large outdoor living space that features a custom fireplace with a reclaimed wood mantle, screened windows with motorized screens, an outdoor television system, exterior infrared heaters and gas pendant lights.

“They wanted an outdoor living area, something they could use to entertain with and extend their seasons outside a little bit,” David Towes, the project manager with Back Construction said. “He already had a sketch done up, but one of our designers worked with him to design an outdoor porch patio. Really, it’s an extension of the house.”

Instead of building up the existing 14-by-14-foot wooden deck, Towes said, they built a frame of concrete block walls to bring the floor of the extension level with the house and capped it with concrete. Then, they added bluestone pavers to give the addition a more outdoor feel.

“It’s harmonious with the footprint of the home,” he said.

They also removed a large window from the back of the house and put in a sliding door to open the main house out onto the porch.

The remodeled porch wraps around the back corner of the house featuring an area with a large dining room table on one side, an entertainment area facing the fireplace and television in the middle and a grilling area on the other side. The layout allows the family to open their home directly out onto the porch for entertaining, Dr. Kramer said.

“My favorite part of the porch is the fireplace and the sliding glass doors,” Dr. Kramer said. “During the summer, we are able to eat outdoors without the bugs.”

A ventilation system over the grilling area also allows the family to cook outdoors on the porch without filling the space with smoke, a problem in some covered patios.

Even more importantly, the remodel reflects the family’s personal style. Over the dining table, gas lanterns serve as glowing reminders of Starr Kramer’s Lafayette, Louisiana roots.

The remodel only took a few months, Towes said. The biggest hurdle was marrying the house with the remodeled porch.

“I think the biggest challenge was attaching it to the home and adding it without disturbing the house itself,” Towes said. “It’s a pretty stout structure. It’s solid concrete around the perimeter and the house has a full, finished basement, so we had to get all the power out to the remodel without disturbing the inside. But they were able to live in the home the whole time.”

Bringing the outside in has become a popular trend in the area, Towes said, and the Kramer house is a stunning example of what is possible.

“We do a lot of covered porches but most of them are wood decks with nice ceilings and ceiling fans or screened porches,” he said. “The fact that this brought the hard surface all the way up to the level of the home, and the architecture of it, and how nice it is made it special. There are details on the addition that made it blend into the house so it looks like it’s always been there.”

The addition has been featured in several home shows, Dr. Kramer said. For the Kramer family, however, the remodel makes their home a comfortable place for parties throughout the year.

“This was never a dream of mine; it was a dream of my wife’s,” he said. “But now that it’s done, it has turned out to be a great thing. People have asked if we’re going to have a Derby party this year. My wife’s birthday is near then, so Derby parties are really popular at our house. Even if it’s bad Kentucky weather, we can still have the party outside on the porch.”