Sneak Peek: Gray Front Porch

All I’m saying is that I’m pretty sure in the last three months I’ve developed an allergic reaction to hunter green.

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So it was well worth the hours on a Wednesday evening to scrape down the entire porch…

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And then spend more hours sweeping, vacuuming, and wiping down the floor. (Which is suspiciously like cleaning, by the way, and we all know how excited I get about that.)

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Just so I could roll on a coat of not-hunter-green.

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It took me a while to come around to the idea that the porch floor wouldn’t be refinished wood, but I actually love it gray.

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It needs a second coat of paint and to be cut in around the house and railing, but hey, look! I can walk out the front door without breaking into hives now. (Although that glass block doorindo does make my left eye threaten to twitch.)

Of course I’m itching to drop everything and build a porch swing immediately, but the bank list will make that impossible before September…

I may be able to find time to throw down a rug and move my new-old patio table out here sometime soon, but even if it means sitting indian-style in the middle of this bare wood floor, after this weekend you can expect to find me out here every single morning for the rest of eternity, eating breakfast to the sunrise.

If I haven’t mentioned it yet… yes, it’s a mind-boggling amount of work, but it doesn’t matter. I really really love this house.

23 Responses

  1. I LOVE that porch swing/couch! Oh, to have enough porch to make it an outdoor room… I envy you! Keep going; you’re making great progress!

  2. Actually, I’m crushing on that glass block dorindo something fierce! I think it’s gorgeous, which just goes to show I may have no taste. 😉

    1. I mean, there are far worse things. It just doesn’t fit with the look and feel of the house. I’ll put a false door in there eventually!

      1. Before long the entire free world is going to be using Kitisms.

        I think everyone should absolutely have a doorindow of their very own.

  3. The amount of work you get done in such a short period of time AMAZES me!!! Obviously you are younger and more energetic than me! You are doing an awesome job. It’s looking beautiful.

  4. The porch looks amazing – so cool that it faces the morning! What a great place to build your porch swing bed of awesomeness sometime post-September.

  5. It looks great! The grey (or is it gray?) bounces light all over the place! And, yes, it needs a porch swing bed of awesomeness. Next to the beer bar.

  6. I love how much light there seems to be now! If you need throw pillow covers sewn for the swing, just let me know!

  7. Looks wonderful and I marvel at your ability to stay on task. Here in the South we paint our ceilings light blue to go along with the grey. Definitely agree, the glass block has to got to go. I fixed up an old, 1840’s, country house 25 years ago. I never climbed the roof though. You are remarkable.MD

  8. It’s so great that you’re loving the house. It’s a bit of a leap of faith to take on something like that, and I’m glad to hear that you’re loving it. The porch looks great. I’ve always wanted a porch swing, and I can’t wait to see you DIY one.

    1. It’s custom tinted latex porch and floor paint. Pretty sure it’s a Valspar product.

  9. It looks great! Sometimes I really love the way painted porches look, and this is one of those times. 🙂

    1. The mail gets dropped off at the road, to my– you guessed it– hunter green mailbox. lol. I need to repaint that thing.

  10. What is with that glass block? You probably explained why the POs seemed to have done that, but it’s slipped my mind. Would it actually be convenient if it were a genuine door, as it seems to have been?

    1. I don’t know why they pulled the original door out– I’m assuming it was old and drafty– but I have no idea why they went with glass block instead of, say, a false door. Except the previous owner was a mason so this was probably more in line with “what he did”.

      The way the interior layout is, the front door is about 10 steps away from this opening, so it’s no real convenience to have it as a working door. I’m pretty sure when I replace the glass block it will be with a 6-pane false glass door.

  11. Your porch looks fantastic. You are amazing. The skills you have!!! I live in a 100+ year old victorian. Our front porch needs to be repainted. Can you tell the steps you took to get the wood smooth and ready for paint? That would be a great help to me and others I’m sure. Thank you for taking the time to write.

  12. Love your house Kit, and what you have accomplished so far! Have you done any research into the original owner and/or builder of the house? There could have been a reason for that side door off the porch, different from the main front door. Maybe that house was the house of a Dr or some important person like that. Doesn’t that door lead into the NotSoPink Parlor? And isn’t there that thick wall with the archway that leads into the big hallway? That parlor may have been an office of some kind. Separated from the rest of the house and with a separate entrance for a reason. The fancy brickwork above the door and the sandstone lintel looks like that opening was original to the house, not an addin. I know you are busier than a 1 armed wallpaper hanger with an itch, but perhaps looking into the history of such an old, large and beautiful home may be in order… and answer some of your (and our) questions.

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