Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Porch

I hosted my first tea party on our screened in porch recently and realized that I've never really shown pictures of our porch! David and I have wanted to add a porch to this house for several years!

What a blessing to be able to enjoy this space now! We are so thankful for how God has provided for us!

So - here is your photo tour of the process:

As always - I must start at the beginning. This picture was taken before we even lived in this house. It needed a TON of work - the siding is rotten in this photo, we had just replaced the roof and were in preparation of painting the entire inside and outside of the house. A true "before" picture!

Here is a more recent "before" picture taken the day before the porch construction began.

Initial prep work.

Preparing for the foundation...

... cement mixer! We had fun watching this from inside!

And, freshly poured cement!

Framing the porch begins ...

... open rafters were one of our requests! It's beginning to take shape!

Starting the roof.

Time to take out the window and add french doors! It was freezing cold this day - so I stayed in another room most of the time, but here is a picture from our kitchen looking out to the porch through the open wall.

The window is officially gone - here are the new doors!

Framing in the half wall below the window openings.

Looking from the porch into the dining room - new doors and lights!

Looking up! It feels like camp!

We still have a bit of exterior trim/painting to do - but it is almost finished!
And, now I'm having fun fluffing the inside of the porch!
Finished pictures of the table plus a special treat I served on the porch coming soon!

24 comments:

Stephanie in SC said...

How fun, Monica! We recently added a room onto our home, it's amazing how exciting it is!
I love the open rafters!

Melissa said...

Your porch is so cozy! It IS the perfect place for tea parties. Can't wait until fall!

Julie said...

That's a big project. I know you'll love your new sun porch. We had a screened in porch, but since it gets pretty cold up here we could use it only during summer months. We've since turned it into a sun room, and we practically live there.

Dorothy said...

Praise God from whom all blessings flow - even cool looking screened porches! Enjoy :) I am sure you will use it more and more as the weather heats up to bring many blessings to those in your lives.

In Australia where I live, porches and verandahs are an essential part of our architecture. We need the sun protection! Thanks for sharing Monica,
Blessings
Dorothy

And isn't the phrase 'tea party' most delicious and promising?

chrissy said...

How lovely! One of the things I miss most about our beach house is the HUGE screened in porch!

Bevy @ Treasured Up and Pondered said...

What a neat transformation...

can't wait to see the rest.

Becky said...

Beautiful!! I'd love a screened in porch, but I guess it'd be pretty impractical in Chicago :-)

My in-laws had a sun room, and my favorite thing was to go out there at night and watch the lightning during thunderstorms. Technically, that's probably horribly dangerous (almost the whole room, including ceiling was glass) but it was beautiful!

Looks great, can't wait to see more pictures!

LynnMarie said...

How wonderful for you. Would love to enclose our deck but so far God has us waiting. In the mean time we do have a great deck to sit on in the sun.

Jenny said...

It is beautiful. You are really going to enjoy this added addition. Such a blessing for your family.

Sherrie said...

How fun is that?!? I love it!! When can we all come for tea?

*carrie* said...

Yay--loved seeing these pix again. It looks great, and I can't wait to see it in person someday!

Kristina said...

I love it!!!! I'd love to have a screened in porch! :)

Kristina

~katie~ said...

Wow ~ look at all the work that went into it ~ I bet that makes you enjoy it all the much more! :-) I love your selection of wood & lighting ~ very warm & cozy!! Is this where that infamous polka-dotted farmhouse table is located?? Lovely! Looks like the perfect place for a tea party to me!

Wendi said...

Ohhh, that looks wonderful! I can imagine all the fun you will have out there.

Carrie said...

How beautiful and fun! I can't wait to see what you are doing to 'fluff' the inside!

angie said...

The open rafters really make you feel like you are at a cabin in the woods. Lovely!
I can't wait to see the pics of the inside decorating you have done.

becka said...

I love your new porch! I know you and your family will really enjoy using this new space for many years to come. It does look like camp!

Mrs. Pear said...

Beautiful!

Are you planning a family sleep out in your own camp?

Anonymous said...

cant wait to see the fluffing-that's the most fun part:)I'm sure it will be fabulous! Enjoy-Jill

Flannel Jammies Farm said...

What a lovely porch!!! Can't wait to see more photos!

Katy said...

It looks fantastic! :) What a wonderful place to spend time! We hope to build one on to the side and wrap around the back of our house! :) I am a huge fan of screened in porches!!! :)

Agnes said...

Monica, it is beautiful, I just love it and I am so glad you can enjoy it.

Amanda - Small Home Big Start said...

Looks fantastic and so inviting! I can't wait to see what you do with it. I LOVE the rafters and fans. They'll be a godsend in the summer.

Molly said...

I love it! What a fun place for your girls to play and to entertain guests. My parents built a screened in porch on their house after I was married and my kids always LOVED to play there!