The Front Porch Interior Megapost

The Slow, Almost Unintentional, Evolution of the Front Porch Interior

I'd say most of the projects here at 173 are outcroppings of the project before that one.  There really hasn't been an overall, overarching design plan, which is completely contrary to all the sage advice in the latest house magazines, blogs and other social media outlets.  And, this Megapost is about just that.

The front porch - New windows and door

December 04, 2011

Before we bought 173, the front porch looked like this:

I loved the grill work in the door and the windows. By-the-way, the lady in the picture is (along with her husband) the only owner of this house before us! They owned the house since it was built in 1928! The guy in the picture is the father of one of my best friends! As a matter-of-fact, she's one of the kids in this picture:

A couple years after buying 173, we put a lot of work into the front porch. At the time, we did the best we could with what we had, and it turned out pretty good. The picture below shows the front porch after stripping the clapboard down to the bare wood, putting in a new ceiling, installing a ceiling fan, and a lot of painting. 

Notice how the windows opened into the porch? Looks nice doesn't it? Well, it wasn't. They were constantly in the way, and they weren't the least bit weatherproof...

The other thing about our original remodel was that there are 13 windows in the front porch! That's a lot of money, and back in the day, we just couldn't afford to replace them. Well, a couple months ago I told you about hiring a contractor to work on the porch roofs. Well, the guy did such a great job, I hired him to replace all the windows and doors! So, last week (or maybe the week before) we moved all the porch furniture into the dining room, and I hinted at the project here:

Oh...and for years now I have lost sleep over the wisteria that we planted on the side of the porch. That stuff may be beautiful in the summer, but it's insanely invasive, and beginning in the fall, all the way through 'til spring, it looked like this:

I was oh-so-sad to learn that in order for the windows to be properly replaced, the wisteria would have to come down! (Can you read the false sorrow? LOL) Anyway, the outside of the porch was really looking rough too. The wood was so old and weathered it wouldn't hold paint anymore.

Now, 173 is by no means a fancy house, but we do take pride in it and want the ol' house to look nice. THIS does not look nice:

Five days after the contractor started...we have new windows, and a new door with side lights. I haven't taken the "after" pictures yet. The inside of the porch won't get the spruce up from a painting perspective 'til spring, so I'll save that for another post in a few months. In the meantime, here's a sneak peak...

Starting the details: Inherited chair

July 24, 2013

As we wind up a big project here at 173, we're at that details stage. Today I finished the Inherited Chair. Nah, don't get too excited...it's not Bauhouse or Stickley or anything like that. When we moved into the house there were a few things left in the house by the family of the previous owners. In view of the fact that one of the granddaughters is one of my dearest friends, and also due to me being a bit of a sentimentalist, I've endeavored to try to incorporate most of what was left into the current iteration of the good ol' 173 (even down to what we call the house!).

One of the things left behind was what could only be an old kitchen chair. Not the table, not a set of chairs...just one chair - perfect! It was painted yellow at the time and looked well-used, so when the porch was originally re-done, I painted it a flat red just to add a little pop of color to the porch.

Well, in preparation for the impending reveal (maybe another week or so), Inherited Chair got another makeover of its own:

I have a lousy cell phone camera, so I can't really get a good shot, but click on the picture and look close, you'll see a couple little touches that will be clues to the future reveal! See ya soon!

At long last - Front porch reveal!

August 06, 2013

173 is so lucky to have two great closed-in porches! When we first moved into the house, the front porch was getting a little tired, and needed an update. A couple years later we gave it a mini-makeover. Here's a mid-project shot taken lo those many years ago:

Looking at that picture really makes me realize how much a difference a digital camera can make. That old film picture makes the porch look tiny. And how about those chairs? I guess that was about all we could really afford back then. Anyway, the mini re-do left the porch looking like this:

I loved the look of this version, but those windows just had to go!  We were pretty pleased with the result, but as explained in this earlier post, there were some flaws, particularly the windows. In December of 2011, the windows and door were finally replaced. Of course having that much work done exposed the fact that the porch was again beginning to show its age.

 

So we finally went all out and got 'er done! Of course it was a lot of work...using the heat gun to remove paint (now THAT seems like an endless task), caulking, priming, painting etc etc etc...

Ugh, nothing like stripping paint overhead!  After the overhead paint removal was done...

...the floor was sanded, then the lower half was sanded and caulked, cleaned top-to-bottom three times over, and primed with Kilz prime. I gotta tell ya - that stuff really works!

Then came the painting!

It's hard to capture the colors with my little phone camera, but here's what was used:

WINDOW FRAMES: "Do It Best" Best Look white paint
LOWER PORTION OF WALLS: Valspar Duramax semi-gloss "Sweet Mint"
FLOOR: "Do It Best" Porch and Floor in light gray
DOOR: (Interior and Exterior) Valspar Duramax semi-gloss in "Goldenrod"

Before I go any further I have to say this...that Do It Best "Best Look" paint is awesome! Apparently it's made by Sherwin Williams and up to this point it's the best paint I've used! We went with the light gray for the floor so it would be a lighter color than the old brown, be a neutral color, and a bit of a traditional porch color. And the "Sweet Mint" was light, colorful, and while not an exact match, it hearkened to another traditional porch color - Haint Blue! 

 After the painting was done, the blinds went in, then it was time to start the decorating. The decorating part isn't done yet, but that will take a little time.

Here's a few random pics:

There's the inherited chair!

And here's a few shots of my little corner:

I found this old clock/radio in a second hand shop several years ago and have been waiting for this moment! The radio works great but I had to replace the clock with one of those battery-powered movements. I wanted an old school look so I went with a simple shelf. If you know me at all, that's probably not the least bit surprising!

And the "Made at 173" rustic book case:

And finally, just as a point of interest!

So there it is - 173 has a new, brighter front porch!

Thanks for stopping by and be safe out there!