The Front Porch Interior Megapost

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

New windows, old furniture, gallons of paint and a series of unplanned projects slowly transformed the front porch at House 173.

How the Front Porch Evolved

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.

Looking back at all these old posts together, I think that's actually what I like most about the porch. Nobody sat down twenty-some years ago with a drawing and decided exactly what this space would eventually become. We fixed what needed fixing, changed what wasn't working, kept what we liked, and occasionally stumbled into something better along the way. In that sense, the front porch evolved pretty much the same way the rest of 173 has, one project leading rather naturally to the next.

New Windows and a New Front Door

December 04, 2011

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

Pictures like these are one of the reasons I enjoy documenting the changes at 173. We're certainly not the first people to sit on this porch, look through these windows or open that front door. Long before any of our paint colors, furniture or projects came along, this was already somebody else's familiar place. I like having these old photographs around because they keep that part of the house's story from disappearing completely.

Anyway, 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!

And looking back through all these pictures, I think the best part is that it still looks like 173. The windows are newer, the colors have changed, and the furniture has come and gone, but an old chair left behind by the original family is still here, things made in the workshop have found their way onto the porch, and the room has slowly become ours without completely forgetting what came before.

Not bad for a space that never really had a plan.

Thanks for stopping by and be safe out there!

This is how old houses actually get done.  You buy the place with grand ideas.  Then you discover thirteen windows cost money.  So you paint what you've got.

A few years go by.

You replace the windows.

Which makes everything around the new windows look terrible.

So now you're stripping paint.  And since you're stripping paint, you might as well sand the floor.  And if you're sanding the floor, obviously the walls need painting.

Then suddenly it's twelve years later and you're standing on the porch wondering how one project turned into seventeen.

That's an old house.

What I really liked, though, was the chair.  Most people would've thrown that thing out twenty years ago. It didn't match anything, wasn't valuable, and apparently didn't even have any friends.

You kept it anyway.

Now the windows are gone. The old paint is gone. The wisteria is gone. The porch has changed more than once.  And that goofy little chair is still sitting there.

That's exactly the kind of thing worth keeping. - Old-House Owner

Frequently Asked Questions

Why were the original porch windows replaced?

Although the older windows had plenty of character, they opened inward into the porch, frequently got in the way and provided poor protection from the weather. With 13 windows on the porch, replacing them had originally been postponed because of the expense.

What colors were used on the remodeled front porch?

The window frames were painted white, the lower walls were Valspar Sweet Mint, the floor received a light gray porch-and-floor paint, and the door was painted Valspar Goldenrod.

Why was Sweet Mint chosen for the porch walls?

The goal was to introduce a light, cheerful color that would brighten the enclosed porch while loosely recalling traditional porch colors such as haint blue.

What happened to the old chair left behind by the previous owners?

The single kitchen chair was one of several objects left at the house by the original owner's family. Rather than discard it, it became part of the porch furnishings and was repainted as the porch evolved.

Why combine several older posts into a Megapost?

Projects at House 173 often happen in stages, with unrelated projects appearing on the blog between them. A Megapost brings those individual entries together so the entire evolution of one project can be followed from beginning to end.

Keywords

front porch remodel, enclosed porch renovation, front porch interior, old house porch, enclosed front porch ideas, porch window replacement, DIY porch renovation, porch paint colors, historic home renovation, old house restoration, front porch makeover, porch before and after, House 173