Modern Veranda

June 13, 2024

Words by Andrea Darr | Photos by Michael Robinson

A French Provincial home in Mission Hills adds a Parisian-inspired modern-meets-traditional new form.

ndrea and Steve Morgan had recently returned from visiting her aunt in Florida when the longing for a big veranda set in. Andrea’s lifelong experience of sitting on her aunt’s screened-in porch became something she wanted for her own home.

“I grew up with that,” Andrea says. “It’s where we spent all our time—either in the kitchen or on the porch. We gravitated toward it.”

So when the couple’s real-estate agent, Andy Bash, took them to see a French Provincial-style house in Mission Hills in 2019, Andrea saw a place with potential for her dream to come true. She looked at Steve and said, “‘We could do the porch thing,’” Andrea recalls. “I’d always envisioned it—if it would work.”

The 1960s-built home was decadently trimmed and accented, dripping with gold chandeliers and traditional cabinetry. And though the Morgans loved that, they didn’t exactly want more of it with their new addition. Rather, Andrea’s Pinterest board was filled with modern-meets-traditional inspiration. Her previous job took her to Paris, where she appreciated the city’s architecture—particularly how Parisian designers preserve old buildings’ character while adding beautiful modern additions. Andy connected them with a local architecture and interior design firm that could do just that: SixTwentyOne.

The couple met with co-founders Jacob Littrell and Dan Brown, initially thinking they’d put a porch to the side on the back of the house.

“Andrea told us her dream of a big veranda and sitting out on the porch,” Jacob says. “They wanted to enjoy the experience through the seasons.”

The duo pondered whether they could develop something more usable year-round or at least three out of four seasons—a design that, as Dan says, “doesn’t blend in, doesn’t blur the lines, but dissolves them completely.”

They proposed a 1,500-square-foot addition across the entire back of the house, with four bays opening to the backyard and a modern wood pergola covering an outdoor grill area on the side.

“SixTwentyOne came back with this idea mapped out,” Andrea says. “And we loved it. They did an amazing job listening and understanding.”

However, while the couple greatly desired the indoor-outdoor space, they didn’t want it to diminish the main light source coming into the back of the house where their main living room is located.

The design team ran a handful of daylight studies to test how much light came into the living room at various times of the day in the existing space. They then tried to match that with the room addition.

“We didn’t stop adding windows and skylights until we got there,” Dan notes.

The studies-based approach alleviated any anxiety the Morgans had about the project. “The minute we saw the numbers work out, we knew we could move forward,” Andrea says.

The veranda’s design intentionally distinguishes it from the existing house in its modern form, yet the use of similar materials, such as white brick, preserves the original character.

“The aesthetic of the house was incredible,” Jacob says. “It was easy for us to do something not obvious but to juxtapose older and newer forms. We appreciate the modern intervention of something historic.”

The long, linear space is divided into two areas: an “adult side” sectioned off by a dual-sided fireplace at the primary suite entrance and a side with dining and seating areas just beyond the living room and den.

The space isn’t cooled or heated except by ceiling fans and radiant heat emanating from the limestone floors, respectively. The black-framed doors punctuate the crisp white walls and open onto the formal garden, where mature vegetation beckons them outside.

The veranda has become the family’s new favorite space—just like Andrea’s aunt’s screened porch was for her.

“We use it every night,” Andrea says. “It’s our safe haven, and it’s so relaxing.”

Architect/Interior Designer: SixTwentyOne, @sixtwentyone_

Contractor: Gahagan-Eddy, @gahaganeddy

Interior Designer: Brasstacks Design + Build, @brasstackskc