Garage detachment, Part 2

Around the same time I started feeling discouraged about getting a variance for the problem with the addition jutting too far in front and back, other issues popped up that were even more discouraging. The rough plan the previous owner had given us was just a line drawing and didn't show how the front of the house would be affected. As Wagner was drawing up his more detailed plans, however, it became obvious that extending the garage into the front yard would create some logistical and aesthetic difficulties.

Our house currently has beautiful curb appeal, in my opinion; it's one of the reasons we bought it:


The circular driveway that loops across the yard has proven to be an unexpected delight. I love having a convenient place for guests to park, as well as being able to get close to the front door when unloading heavy packages. The kids also use it extensively, riding their bikes or scooters round and round in circles. Also not shown in the photograph are two enormous trees in the front yard (the photograph was shot level with and standing between the trees). These trees are some of the few on our block that survived the bad ice storm about 5 years ago, and they're two of the tallest and prettiest trees on the street.

If we went with the original plan, we would have to close off half of the circular driveway and reroute it. If we had the garage door facing sideways, we'd lose most of our front walk area and landscaping, and the house would look lopsided. If we had the garage door facing the street, we'd have to shave off a large portion of the semi-circle front lawn and pave perilously close to one of the trees, possibly damaging it. In either case, it became rapidly evident to us, the nice balance and attractive facade of the house would be negatively affected.

This, along with the variance issues, was creating all sorts of misgivings in us. Then one day Wagner asked, "How important is it to you that the garage be attached? We could solve all these problems and leave the front of the house unchanged if you simply put the garage in the back yard."

And with that simple suggestion, things began falling into place.