The Porch Life

A Minnesota couple makes a case for more screen time in the best way: a new midcentury-inspired screen porch and deck that turn the everyday into a getaway.

- JODY GARLOCK,SPACECRAFTING

When summer rolls around, many Minnesotans head to a lake. But not Dave and Linda Engler. Just five steps from the back door of their Edina home is their slice of heaven: “This screen porch is my happy place,” Linda says. It’s not hard to see why. The porch’s midcentury modern profile—with its pitched roof and artfully gridded screened walls—is unexpected in a suburban neighborhood of mostly traditional ranches. “Screen porches are generally understated, but this one is such a statement piece,” says architect Tammy Angaran, part of the PKA Architecture team that designed the