How to make a grand entrance and enjoy unloading groceries in the rain
We always enjoy driving into a porte cochère: there’s a certain sense of making a grand entrance, of feeling important, tinged with our nostalgia for more elegant times.
So what is a porte cochère? The literal translation from French is “Door Coachman”, and is sometimes (erroneously) defined as “carriage porch” or “Carport”. We define it as “a sheltering roof without walls over a driveway next to the entrance of a residence or business.” And in case you were wondering, here’s the correct pronunciation: /ˌpôrt kōˈSHer/.
“The front desk had already made a great fuss of Johnny and Mary, lining up to greet him at the famous porte-cochère as soon as his splendid old Rolls-Royce had arrived…”
– Stephen Fry, More Fool Me, 2014
Although we readily admit our bias for heavy timber porte cochères, examples of beautiful steel porte cochères do exist. To wit, Marylebone Station in London:
In addition to providing embarking and disembarking vehicle passengers with a glimpse into the ageless past, adding a heavy timber porte cochère to a home or business brings another benefit: it shields guests and customers from the weather.
Build a timber frame porte cochère driveway at your residence, and you’ll appreciate it every time you unload groceries in the rain or snow.
Stay tuned: my wife wants to add a timber frame (what else) porte cochère to our home and she’s designing a contemporary shed type roof version with large overhangs.)