The porch is done! It took longer than we thought, was more expensive than we planned, but it’s done, and it’s perfect.
I’m going out of order because I am so excited. I still have a post to do on refinishing the porch furniture, colors, and fabrics…. but whatever. I can do that later. I only feel slightly guilty about that. I’m a bit behind with band camp and the start of school…. but hopefully things will calm down soon so I can write a bit more, AND do a few more projects.
The most important aspect of all of this, is that there is NO MORE ROTTED WOOD on the exterior of our house. The interior is another story, but the fact that we are officially rot free on the outside is something to celebrate. It only took 23 months. Goodness. Remember last Halloween when kids said, “Your porch is really scary”? They were right. Remember this?
So, you could say that we did it for the children. You’re welcome, kids in masks and teenagers in really boring costumes. You are welcome. Come and get some fun-sized candy bars feeling safe and secure this year.
The red chair that I refinished looks lovely. Rumor has is it that it’s terribly uncomfortable if you sit in it without pillows. But WHY would you do that when I sewed 18 pillows for the porch? Why?
The lighting looks even better when they are hung over something lovely.
Even the mailbox and house numbers and plaques look nicer.
On the other side of the porch are a pair of wicker rockers that I found on craigslist. You’d know all about them, if I posted things in the order with which they occurred. If “Star Wars” can make movies out of order, I guess my little blog can do it, too. No one pays attention anyways, right?
Actually, looking at those rockers in real life, they look great. On these pictures, they look like they need more paint. I will get on that.
The “sneaky stairs,” which have always been one of my favorite features of the house as a whole, have been repaired and restored and painted purple (my favorite color).
The steps and the railing turned out great. I’m glad we decided to have the stair balusters set more like a staircase, and less like a deck or porch. I just love that. I was worried about it looking silly, having a railing on the steps but not the porch, but I’m OK with it. Which is good, because we couldn’t afford a porch railing right now even if we wanted one.
The porch skirt is a detail I am really proud of.
Home. We are the luckiest.
This porch swing was a wedding gift 13 years ago from my father-in-law. It has hung on 4 houses, and we hope this to be the last porch it hangs on.
Here is the whole of the exterior of the Murray-Bryant House, completed!
I really – truly – can’t believe that this is done, and what a remarkable transformation it has been. There are so many people who ACTUALLY made this happen – the contractors and painters. It was strange to not do a project 100% on our own. We did what we could with the outside, but this was a project out of our league. I’m proud of my design and the things we accomplished on our own, but I’m more thankful of finding the right people to take care of and love a historic house as though it were their own as they worked on it.
What’s next? Finishing the Cottage – we have a tenant wanting to move in October 1! And I’m really excited about it, because I get to do a bathroom for the first time in 5 years…. they are my favorite, and even though it’s a bathroom for a rental and won’t be ours, it’s going to be so much fun – I can’t wait. Stay tuned, and head on over for a porch party!
And, if you want to see the whole exterior journey, here you go, easily organized for your entertainment or procrastination. I’d love your feedback!
Fabolous!!! Congratulations!!!!
I love it. Porches are so important to a house and it’s neighborhood. What a treasure.
Thank you so much! We LOVE it, and love spending time on it.
In the old photos, the house looked naked and plain without the porch. You did a fantastic job. I would love to hang out there and read or drink tea.
Side question/thought. Your house color scheme is similar to the previous color scheme. You said you got the idea from the stained glass. The man who restored the house before you said he installed the stained glass to save money when repairing those windows. So did he (or his wife) chose the colors of the stained glass to match the house colors, or was the house painted to match the glass? Or did they come together at the same time? Or happy coincidence?
Thanks so much! I’m not sure if the stained glass or the paint scheme came first for the Beidlers. I know that the paint happened last, but they may have picked the colors previous. They did such a great job with all the details.