Week 7 & 8 Belle Renovation Update
For a girl from California, a screened porch is something that I had only witnessed in the movies... that is until I bought a house in upstate New York. Well, let me clarify, my house does not have a screened porch (at least not yet) - however, my neighbors have them and I have managed to sip a cocktail or two on these cozy country wonders.
As the work at Belle moved into its second full month, I got to thinking about screened porches and how they came into our lives. According to a New York Times article:
The porch is a concept that dates to ancient Greece, when columned porticoes (from which the word ''porch'' is derived) marked the entrances to temples, halls and gardens. (Sort of interesting). The American version (of porches) flourished in the 1840's, when large Southern plantations featured Greek Revival mansions with grand verandas, followed by a proliferation of porches on smaller houses throughout the country, a sign of more leisure time. (I am all about leisure time).But where did the screen come from? According to the same article the history of screening can be traced back to a surplus of wire mesh sieves produced during the Civil War that were later sold as window covering. But it wasn't until the 1880's that the product was being widely produced and sold. Check this out: in a 1930 survey from The Journal of Home Economics = window screening ranked as the third most important ''household appliance'' behind running water and sewage disposal. (Gives you a sense of how serious people took their screened porches)So my beautiful Belle never had a screened porch (that I know of) over the last 160 years... but she will soon! We have decided to make the family room a bit smaller to add in a cozy screened porch on the back southern part of the house.... and I think it might be my favorite part of the renovation project so far.
Add a new floor ...
OK enough about the porch... Another VERY large achievement was made in the last two weeks... the successful removal of the original summer kitchen.
I think that this video says it all......
It is so cool.... watch it again!
Before: With the original summer kitchen
After: without the summer kitchen
Better!!!!
Our Superheroes also framed out the new beautiful window which will be above the kitchen sink! Can't you just imagine doing dishes and looking up at our barn and the property... heaven.
So in summary, the last two weeks involved a lot heavy equipment and a lot of hard work by our Superheroes....
I see windows in my future.