When An Idea Spins Out Of Control (Plus, My Final Workshop Door Design Decision)

Yesterday, I posted four different ideas to add dimension and interest to the front door of the workshop. Since the front of the building is very flat, I want to add something with depth over the front door.

On Wednesdays, I have lunch with my mom. And when I say lunch, I mean that we spend 45 minutes eating and talking and then spend another 3 1/4 hours sitting at the restaurant talking. Every week. And at yesterday’s lunch, you’d be surprised how much of our discussion was about my workshop front door options. 😀

We read many of your comments (I read all of them when I got home), and discussed the various options and suggestions. When I thought about putting a trellis or awning over the door, I was thinking that it would only serve a decorative purpose. It was just to add some depth and architectural detail to the otherwise flat facade of the building. It had never dawned on me that the trellis might actually be used to grow a vine. (The whole plant and landscaping thing is so not my wheelhouse that my mind never goes there.) I just like the look of a trellis on its own and for its own design, even without a vine growing on it.

But when so many of you mentioned growing a vine, that sent my mind spinning. Who doesn’t love the look of a vine-covered doorway, right? It’s very storybook, if you know what I mean.

I could just imagine a gorgeous, full vine growing over my shop door, and I loved that idea. But then I wondered how in the world the vine would get onto the pergola. It needed something going down to the steps to climb on. And the more I thought about it, and the more I dreamed about it, and the more I tweaked the design in my head, before I knew it, I had decided to build a full-on free-standing arbor with trellis sides around my front door and door steps. I mean, I was so full-speed ahead on this idea that the last things I was googling last night before I went to bed were “what’s the easiest and fastest way to dig post holes” and “how deep to dig a hole for arbor post” and “best way to secure arbor post in the ground“.

I wasn’t thrilled when I learned that concrete remains the best method (far superior to that expanding foam and any other method), and for best results, it needs to be premixed rather than just dumping the bag of dry concrete in the hole and adding water. I also wasn’t thrilled to learn that the holes for arbor posts that are buried in the ground need to be 1/3 (at minimum) to 1/2 the measurement of the post. That’s a lot of digging! But my mind was made up, and I wasn’t going to be deterred by nuisances like having to buy a wheelbarrow and an auger of some sort, or spending an entire day (probably) digging 3- to 4-foot deep post holes, or lugging heavy bags of concrete and pre-mixing them before pouring it in the holes. When I went to bed last night, I was pretty determined.

But somewhere between going to sleep last night and waking up this morning, I kind of lost that steam. It’s not that I’m not up for the challenge or the hard work. I’d do it if I thought it was the best option. But what I didn’t like about that idea is that if I do succeed in getting a vine to grow and fill in a free-standing arbor with trellis sides around my front door, it would make my front door feel so closed in. I think it would further accentuate the low roofline and short distance between the roofline and the top of the door. That’s definitely not what I want.

So when I woke up this morning, I gave it some thought and reigned things back in. I think I tend to be more reasonable in the early morning. By the time I go to bed at night, I’ve had a million creative ideas swarming through my head and I can easily let plans spin out of control. In the mornings, my mind is calmer and more focused.

First, I really evaluated those four options that I presented yesterday, and I decided that the pergola is definitely my favorite.

I like that it’s flat, so it won’t cover over any of the door. I don’t think there’s any way to attach an awning in that space without covering over the top portion of the door, and that will only accentuate the low roofline being so close to the door. So I’m going with the pergola.

But then that left the decision…wide or narrow? This was a harder decision, and I can’t even count the number of times I went back and forth on this. Honestly, I like both of them. But my eye kept being drawn back to that wider one. And that’s where I finally landed.

What I like about it is that it seems more intentional and pre-planned. With the pergola being in proportion with the width of the steps, it seems (to my eye, at least) like it was all part of an original planned design, whereas the narrower one seems like a last-minute addition.

But what I didn’t like about it is that the wider the pergola is, the more it accentuates the low roofline. Also, my mom had used a picture of a pergola that I had sent to her to use for the mock up, but that pergola picture that I sent her had really short brackets on each side. If I’m going to use brackets that match the awning* over the side studio door, they would be much taller.

*Side note: Tell me what you would call this structure. I used to call it a portico, but it’s not technically a portico. But calling it an awning doesn’t seem right, either. What is the actual term for this thing I built over the side studio door?

And if you missed how I built that…whatever it is…you can see that process starting here: How To Build A Small Portico Above A Door – Part 1 – The Basic Frame

Also, another comment from yesterday’s post kept coming to mind. Marianne asked, “…is there a reason you could not make the underside of it be at the same height as the roof?” Well, no. I can’t think of a reason it needs to be under that roofline or the facia board, and I can’t think of a reason why I can’t raise it up.

So I got up early this morning, with my early morning calm and rational mind before the crazy takes hold and spins out of control throughout the day, and I did a few tweaks to the mockup, including adding in the steps. This is what I ended up with.

I’ve already been out this morning looking, planning, measuring. I think I have a plan to make this work, and I think it’ll be the perfect addition to the front door of my workshop.

I even bought a bandsaw (a tool that I’ve wanted for so long!!) specifically for this project. (Home Depot online purchase with FREE same day delivery! Yeah!!) I figured that I could either spend $450 on two brackets like the ones I bought for the side studio portico/awning/whatever it is (I’m pretty sure those were $165 each when I bought them for the studio door, so the price has gone up considerably since then), or I could spend $219 on a bandsaw, plus buy lumber for the brackets, and probably end up paying less overall for two brackets while ending up with a tool that I’ve wanted for a very long time. So for this project, I’ll be making my own brackets rather than buying. I’m so excited to do this project now!

 

 

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51 Comments

  1. I LOVE reading your thinking process. It helps me learn to think through all kinds of things. I think you are going to love this.

    1. Your workshop is turning out so cute, you’re doing a great job. I always say it’s a good project if I get to buy a new tool. I’ll be anxious to see you cut a super thick piece of wood with a $200 bandsaw.

      1. When we cut brackets we laminate several layers of wood together. It makes for a lot of sanding, but it’s safer and less expensive than a huge slab.

  2. Those vines always look so gorgeous in photos. We had a clematis vine over our front porch entrance and it was beautiful. However, we had to remove it because, every time someone walked out of the door, they were attacked by bees. We did leave the one over the garage doors, though, since we enter and exit those in the car and use the side garage door if we need to move a project outdoors. You have a longer growing season in Texas than we do up north, so I would imagine you would have more of a bee problem than we did. Glad you changed you mind. It was for the best!

    1. Exactly, Judy. We also have a very similar workshop in our backyard and my husband stores our lawnmowers and all kinds of other equipment there. During the summer the overhead door often is open and lots of bees and bugs get inside. Some of them drill holes in the walls so I immediately thought why would you invite them in? Vines harbor spiders and bees. Because you are planning on becoming a gardener you will have to use all kinds of tools, containers, pots; odds are the doors will be open frequently. Arbors are beautiful but IMO they belong as a focal point in a landscape and not as a nuisance. Especially if you are allergic to bees and wasps.

  3. YES! The pergola extending out from the fascia board definitely looks better than extending from below the fascia board. YES! The wider pergola which extends beyond the light fixtures and is the width of the steps definitely looks better than the narrower pergola. It’s going to be great!

  4. Oh, SO much better, visually! I really didn’t like the look of the pergola crammed in under the roof line. Kudos to Marianne for the suggestion. It’s going to look great.

  5. It’s a very nice plan and your workshop will be so pretty it will look like a small cottage.
    I think a wood structure over a door is called a door canopy. I do know that a portico has columns.

    1. Yes, door canopy! Talk about going down a rabbit hole admiring all the designs for both roofs and pergolas on Pinterest!

  6. Rather than planting anything over the door, I believe once you have the window boxes installed and planted, it will give you the dimension you you are wanting.

    1. I agree. I think I’ll keep the portico vine-free and just admire it for its own beauty and dimension that it adds. And the last thing I want is for vines to start spreading on the roof of the workshop. I don’t want to have to get on the roof regularly to trim vines. 😀

  7. “…before the crazy takes hold and spins out of control…”,snort laughed at that one, sounded pretty familiar to my home renovations

  8. Try a cupola if you want to add some architectural interest to your shed roof easily. You can buy them prefabricated, and they attach with four screws. We got one when we purchased our shed, and I was surprised at how quickly the shed guy installed it.

    1. I was looking at those just two days ago! I love them! But I was surprised at the cost. Where did you get yours? Was it reasonably priced? The ones I found started at $450 and went to about $1200 or more.

  9. About the vine idea…I speak from experience. We had a lovely vine climbing up & over a pergola and it attracted bees when flowering (a longer time than I expected). I worried about children in that area being bee stung. I myself was stung twice. We finally relocated the vine to a back fence where it promptly died. So you may have dodged a problem by not proceeding with the vine idea.

  10. I love the pergola design! It’s clean, simple, and beautiful. I believe what you have over the door on your studio is referred to as a gable roof.

  11. The covering over your studio door is referred to as a “Porch Cover”, I know, sexy, or an “Eave”. These are attached to the house and provide shelter for the entrance and exit of the house. If it had columns attached, it would be called a “Portico”.
    Now that that’s out of the way, will you have a gutter system on the shed? I ask because of where your placement of the pergola is going. No gutter, and place it too high, and you could take a shower under it. No gutter and placed in the right spot with a clear plexiglass over top of it, and it will provide some rain protection. I love the wider pergola; you love symmetry and once the width of the stairs are in, you’ll see it immediately. They’re plenty of vines out there that do not bloom so the bee problem is handled. I would use the flowering plants for the window boxes, and nice English ivy for the pergola. I’m so excited to see how this comes together.
    Cheers!

    1. I was outside just this morning thinking about gutters and how they would work with this. I landed on the idea of incorporating plexiglass into the structure of the pergola to give covering to the steps and door. I’m still thinking through the particulars.

      1. If you will be covering the Pergola with Plexi, (good idea!) you could just have the gutters end on either side of the pergola, and sloped to the corners of the building, where the downspouts will go. That’s how they ran our gutters for our porch.

  12. Climbing roses or clematis would probably be your best bet. A coral colored climbing rose would look so pretty around your doorway. We are training a Bougainvillea to grow across an arbor next to our carport. I was so excited to try to grow them when we moved to Florida and I became enthralled with all of the exotic plants and flowers grown here. It can be lovely but it has long, sharp thorns that lawncare workers despise. It’s an unfussy but mean plant. The thorns sometimes catch our clothes as we walk past. I had silver lace and trumpet vines in Michigan that grew so aggressively I was in a constant weekly battle with them, hacking at it to keep it’s explosive growth within reason over our arbor. I expected the silver lace vine to either wrap itself around my neck or to bellow “Feed Me!” as I approached with my trusty loppers. The wasp/bee issue is real with flowering vines. We always have to have a wasp trap out because they build nests in the vines or near the flowers. something to consider. I don’t think I ever had that problem near my clematis vines or roses in Michigan.

  13. I lack it. I lack it uh lawt. It’s got the symmetry you need, and gives some dimension and heft to the entrance. Will you build a stoop to get into the door, or just steps?

  14. I love where you’ve landed with the pergola over the door and I think that you could do the same over the garage door portion of the workshop. Plus add the magnetic black accents that you can get to dress up a garage door to make it look more like a carriage door.

    1. Oh my goodness, I hadn’t even thought of doing that over the garage!! I love that idea! That end of the building definitely needs some dressing up since it’s what I see from the back doors of the studio.

  15. On your Instgram story you show the finished workshop and I love the steps. Will you do the same steps for the side entry to your house workshop?

    1. I will! And I hope to do it soon. When I get to that project, I’ll share why it took me so long to do it, what roadblock I was dealing with, and how I got around it. There’s an actual reason I haven’t done those steps yet. I’m not saying it’s a good reason 😀 , but a reason nonetheless.

  16. When determining what vine you want, remember that what grows on top of soil is also what grows under the soil.
    Such as the plant with long vines will typically also have long vines as roots. And they grow everywhere! We had a wisteria and its roots were everywhere including barely underground & on top of the soil. The more we cut it back, the more it grew. So choose wisely!

  17. Hey, any excuse to buy something we want, is a good excuse! I’m glad you picked the wide one and in your mock up, added in the stairs. It looks completely designed. If you want lattice, put two on the back of the shop and plant morning glories. They grow fast, love lattice support, and have pretty colorful blooms.

    Vine with flowers over your door calls for bees over the door. You don’t want that.
    No 4 foot holes to dig, no concrete, etc. Tack the lattice directly to the shop?

    How is the bedroom coming along?

    1. Morning glories take over and grow everywhere. We tried 11 years to get rid of ours. Just when we thought they were gone. They’d pop up somewhere else. And I do mean they grew everywhere. I hate them.

  18. You know….you don’t need the arbor for a vine. Just stick a couple flat trellises attached to either side of the door, and the vine will grow up the trellis and onto the pergola by itself (or with a bit of training, depending on species). You could grow Star Jasmine, non-invasive honeysuckle, Clematis, Passion Flower, or even Climbing Rose if your trellis is sturdy enough. Do research whatever you pick, and decide if it’s too aggressive first.

    1. I just read a bunch of comments about bees….I turned my front yard into a butterfly garden so it’s always full of bees. They really haven’t tried to bother me at all, and I’ve never been stung, not even when walking past the two flower boxes by my front door. The only thing to sting in the past 6 years was a wasp, but wasps are A-holes, so just get pest control to kill any nests you find. The bumblebees of assorted sizes that live in my yard have always been chill – I’ve even petted a few of them. They tend to lift half of their legs and wave them around like “Eew! It touched me!” which is hilarious. The carpenter bees are super friendly (and fuzzy) too, but you probably don’t want those….

  19. So glad you liked my suggestion! It looks great in the mock up! Good that you slept on the idea of a vine covered pergola. The biggest pain is waiting forever for the vine to grow! My hubs once made me a free standing trellis that went over the walk to our back yard. It was Cedar, and the “slats” were #/4 inch copper pipe. It was really pretty!

  20. Decades ago my girlfriend was lamenting that her just bought house didn’t have a “ doo-dah” over the front door. Oddly enough I knew just what she meant!

  21. Yeah, 2 in 1…I love the direction you are going…your resolution to DIY more of the work and an adorable pergola!!!

  22. Can’t wait to see it! And I totally relate to the whole rational morning mind versus the crazy evening thoughts lol… Just wanted to say that I’ve learned so much following you all these years… so thank you!

  23. As a gardener, I would build the pergola across the whole side of the building. Then you can plant vines in the space on the outside of the windows. This gives you the ability to add large vines like trumpet vine or honeysuckle.

  24. I think you might want to do a little more research on the vines for the pergola. There are many different types of vines that are not so thick and die back during the winter. Additionally, you can put them in a pot either on top of the ground or under the ground to stop it from getting too big. I have had a couple of pergolas through the years and they looked beautiful with vines,